Negotiate Your Way to a Higher Salary

When you are trying to negotiate your salary, patience really helps! One of the keys to effectively negotiating a higher salary lies in the knack to disconnect yourself from one of the most decisive factors in taking a job: your compensation. You really don’t want to include your salary range by making it sound like you simply added up your bills and tossed in some extra for a vacation cruise! In most cases, conversation about your pay must never be initiated by you. It should ideally start only after an employer has put an official job offer on the table.

So read on to know how with a proper mindset and a little finesse, you can “sweeten the pot” in a job offer by 10% or more.

Don’t be reluctant to ask for a higher salary

The horror of getting rejected or the fear of coming across as too pushy are reasons enough to stop people from asking for more. If you are someone who hesitates in asking for more money for reasons ranging from fear of sounding greedy to a lack of confidence in your worth, then its time you faced your nemesis. Fear is a killer of all good things in life and the sooner you face it the better off you are both mentally and financially.

Toughen yourself

If you don’t ask for it, you seldom get it! Employers are not mind readers nor do they unexpectedly feel like multiplying your salary for no rhyme or reason. Remember, while a “no” can be a probable answer, so can be a “yes” or a “we’ll see what we can do”. In both cases you still manage to open the employment relationship with an optimistic message of courage and pluck. Remember, if you don’t ask for it somebody else would. So be the gutsy one instead!

Build you case and show your worth

Reflect on things that make you exclusive and valuable. It is all about creating your professional worth and confirming to yourself the reason to ask more. Measure your skills and knowledge with your contemporaries and put down factors that make you “a cut above” the others. Highlight your strengths, provide concrete facts and give in depth proof of your worth to your employer.

Be pragmatic and rational

It is foolish to wait for the stars when you’ve already been given the moon. Aiming for a higher salary is a good objective but asking for a sky-high compensation, much above the top end of your position’s market worth is quite risky. Only if you have an exceptionally good reason to do so, be careful to pitch it just right! Some companies can only afford so much before your “uniqueness” gets way out of their league.

Be prepared for a “No” and end it on a good note

It is good to know in advance how you’ll react to a “No”. Aim to be affable and remind yourself that this is business and not personal. A simple “okay thanks” is a good enough way to respond. Don’t turn a “No” into a backlash and invite a withdrawal for any job offer in the times to come.
Also remember that your salary is a big piece of the pie, but not the only one. There are some great ‘benefits’ and “perks” that can make a lower salary the most appealing. So learn this delicate art and keep the door open for new offers in the future.