You just completed an arduous interview process which finally resulted in a job offer. The ball is finally in your court! Most people don’t take advantage of this opportunity. It can be the difference of anything from a few thousand dollars or pounds to over $50,000 if you’re a senior or executive job. Also it can be the difference between having a company car and not having a company car having courses paid for etc. Ultimately it’s putting you first! The only way to do that is to learn how to negotiate a salary offer and package. In this blog post we’re going to discuss some of my top tips to negotiate a salary offer.
Can you Negotiate Salary After a Job Offer ?
Yes and yes! After receiving a job offer is the perfect time to negotiate a salary offer. As this is the point where you will have the most leverage is your choice to make whether you want to take the job or not or whether you want a better salary. What’s important is to actually learn how to negotiate salary after a job offer because if you miss this golden period where they want to discuss the salary and package it then becomes very difficult to come back and try to renegotiate.
When to Negotiate Salary?
Salary negotiation is a process that can happen through multiple emails and conversations. It usually isn’t done in one simple go. The best time to initiate the process is when you have been verbally offered the job and have told you what the salary for the position is. That is when you can start to negotiate the salary offer.
However sometimes during the interview process you might be asked about your salary expectations. What you say here matters because if you end up giving a figure at this stage that then will impact how much leverage you have when things go further down the line and an offer is made. my advice when it comes to what to say when negotiating salary in this situation is as follows:
Interviewer: How much salary are you looking for?
Interviewee: If you don’t mind I’d like to spin this question on its head. Why do you make me an offer that you feel is fair, based on my experience and our interview!
With this approach you avoided limiting your leverage when it comes to negotiating the best possible job offer for yourself
4 Effective Ways to Negotiate Salary Offer
How to negotiate salary after a job offer, This is when the real negotiation begins, run through 4 key strategies you apply to get the best possible job offer.
Step 1: Your psychology
This is crucial when negotiating salary because trying to get the best possible job offer can also be a stressful experience and naturally when a person is stressed they can be more emotional and lack clear objectivity in their decision-making. Therefore, making sure that you stay cool, calm and collected is vital. So how do you stay calm whilst you negotiate a salary offer. You need to do the following things.
Don’t get anxious about the job offer being rescinded because there’s a lack of contact and on noise from the other side. They made you the offer there is no reason other than reasons beyond your control why they might pull an offer i.e no longer have the budget for a new person.
Know your worth, have an idea of what your absolute minimum that you’re willing to accept. Don’t give this minimum figure to yourself, because you want to be negotiating above that number. This ensures that you don’t undersell yourself by accepting a lower job offer due to FOMO.
Stay Calm: When a job offer is made, don’t be over excited by the offer, be gracious and thankful with positive energy. It’s important that they don’t see the eagerness to join as a reason to low ball you.
Step 2: Developing your Counter Offer
By this point the company has already made you an offer and this is where we would normally start the process of negotiating a salary offer. What key is that is that you’re able to put together compelling counter offer to the one they’ve made. You can negotiate salary by email or over the phone. Below are a number of ways that you can do this:
Give a salary range
Don’t go in there with a hard number because what does is limit the amount of leverage that you have they can only equal or offer below that figure. Alternatively you could price yourself out by giving them a hard figure which they’re not willing to meet. By giving a range of an upper limit and a lower limit for a salary it will you increase the likelihood of them offering you a higher salary offer above your lower limit (remember your lower limit is not the same as the minimum amount your willing to accept, it’s usually still far above that figure).
Discuss Package
When negotiating a salary also mention the following ‘depending on the package’. It might genuinely be the case that the company can’t go above a certain salary threshold that you are looking for. However, you can leverage more from the package such as company car, company shares, bonuses, Private Healthcare and paying for any professional qualifications. This can sometimes result in a better overall package than just a higher basic salary.
Give Clear Reasons
Companies would like to know why you’re simply not accepting the offer. You have to give a viable reason otherwise there will be no motivation to negotiate a salary offer. This can include things such as the fact that you have to travel to the office, your previous job had a larger bonus, you are due a promotion in your current role and therefore your expectations are higher in terms of salary. One of the strongest negotiation positions is to actually have another job offer which is offering a better package. You can also use market rate statistics to justify your reasoning.
Step 3: Patiently wait for the response
This is where when it comes to negotiating salary, you hold your breath and stay calm. The balls in their court give them time to consider what you have proposed. Don’t constantly chase up, give them at least 2 to 3 days to get back to you. If you chase them up they will realise that you’re anxious and eager to close the deal which might result in them not meeting your expectations.
If you find that after two to three days and they haven’t responded. Send them a gentle reminder email asking them for an update. However, in most cases you’ll find that they are discussing your proposition with various people within the business to try to get the sign off, usually this means speaking to someone in finance who has access to the purse strings.
However if you find that they have just gone radio silent then at this point it is important to be proactive. Giving them a quick call to find out what’s going on.
Step 4: Be willing to walk away
If the counter offer that the company makes doesn’t meet your expectations you can go back and of course try to renegotiate. However usually at this stage that secondary offer that they have just made will be not much different to their final offer. Now this is where if you’re not happy or satisfied, you have to be willing to walk away and say thank you however I’m afraid due to the salary package begrudgingly going to have to decline the offer, even though you are really keen on joining the company.
This now can either go one of two ways they come back with an improved offer or they pull the offer. If you’re willing to push it this far then you have to be content with the second outcome because if you’re not then you should have just accepted the final offer that they made.
How to Negotiate a Higher Salary After a Job Offer?
When it comes to having to negotiate a salary offer, especially if you’re aiming to substantially increase your salary you have to follow the 4 steps that I’ve mentioned in the previous section. The only difference is that you’re more assertive and brazen in your negotiating style. The way you do this is by being more direct with your language rather than being diplomatic. When it comes to step 2. Give them a higher range of salary and of course if they don’t meet your expectations be willing to walk away.
However, please remember when it comes to how to negotiate a salary after job offer, particularly in a situation where you want a lot more money you have to be prepared to know that this approach could ruffle a few feathers.
How To Negotiate Salary on Email?
Although this is necessarily the most effective way of negotiating a salary. Since the optimal way is to negotiate over the phone or in person and follow up with an email. However, if there is an instance where you have to negotiate by email then below I have put together a negotiate salary email template.
Dear [Employer],
I am writing to express my enthusiasm for the [Job Title] position and to discuss the salary offer that was presented to me.
Firstly, I would like to thank you for extending this opportunity to me. I am excited about the prospect of joining your team and contributing my skills and experience to help achieve the company’s goals.
After careful consideration of the salary offer, I would like to discuss the possibility of negotiating for a higher salary. Based on my research and market analysis, I believe that my experience and qualifications justify a higher compensation.
I would like to suggest a salary range of [Insert Your Desired Salary Range Here]. This range is in line with industry standards and reflects my experience and qualifications.
[Insert additional reasons here supported with facts]
I understand that the company has set a specific budget for this position, and I am willing to work with you to find a mutually agreeable salary that fits within that budget. I am also open to discussing other benefits, such as additional vacation days or a signing bonus, to help reach a satisfactory agreement.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with you.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
If you have a job offer from Amazon or AWS I really recommend you check out our post on how to negotiate your salary at Amazon.