Negotiating your salary can be scary if you’re not well-equipped.

• “What if I ask for too much?”
• “What if they’re offended by my asking price?”
• “I can’t take the rejection – what if they say ‘no’?”

These are all valid questions, but remember – this is your livelihood!  Here’s how to approach salary negotiations confidently and effectively.

Promotions and Pay-Raises

After working for a firm for a few years, you will begin to have an idea of what the promotion and pay-raise environment looks like.  That doesn’t mean you have to sit idly while they decide your future salary.  Here are some tips and tricks that will help you hone in your target salary:

1. Gather Information:  Understand the typical pay raise range for your role. What achievements are needed for the highest raises?  What percentage of employees receive the upper limit?  Typically, you can ask your manager or HR for this information.
2. Communicate Your Expectations:  Armed with the information from our previous point, let your manager know that, based on your performance, you are expecting X% increase in pay this promotion cycle.  Outline some of the projects and wins you contributed to and why your presence made them happen.  (This is a great time to mention that you should be documenting and recording your achievements throughout the year!) You can say something like: “I’m hoping for a 12% bump this cycle.  I really feel like I wore a lot of hats and learned a ton on the big project.  I can’t believe I still had time to finish all my other engagements!”
3. Set Future Goals:  Share your career aspirations and seek advice on achieving them. This demonstrates your commitment and ambition.

Edit:  I’d like to make some additional remarks from some discussions with my mentees:

1. Be aware of these 2 common traps
   • Manager calls you unexpectedly – If your compensation discussion date is scheduled for a week from now, your manager (or whomever discusses compensation) may request to have the meeting moved to ‘today’.  This is an attempt to catch you off-guard and unprepared!  Politely decline and ask if you can keep the original meeting date or perhaps be willing to reschedule to a day or two earlier.
   • Manager says he can’t raise your pay because it wouldn’t be fair to the others – If you have stellar evaluations and have been told that you are performing above-average, then it’s reasonable to expect the compensation to reflect that.  Now, this only works if you are in fact a high-performer.  Politely ask why you should be motivated to continue performing if your pay is equitable to the average performer?  If you haven’t realized, the key is politeness!

End Edit

Negotiating Salary for First-Time Applicants and New Hires

If you’re applying for a position at a firm you’ve never worked for, gathering information can be little more challenging.  Keep in mind that if this is your first job out of college (or first time in the industry), you probably don’t have enough leverage to negotiate beyond the starting salary.  However, here is some advice that has helped me in the past:

1. Market Research:  Use sites like Glassdoor and Reddit to learn the typical salary range for your role and location.  Make sure you have a good idea of what reasonable compensation looks like before entering negotiations.
2. Leverage Your Resume:  Your resume is the KEY that unlocks the first door towards a new career.  It needs to highlight all of your success from previous positions and underline any relevant skills that may be applicable.  Make sure you know how to wield your resume so you can accentuate the reasons why YOU are the best candidate for the position. Your resume is your story – know it front-to-back!
3. Understand the Role’s Context:  Research why the position is open.  Here is an example of some questions to ponder:
   • Did someone leave?  (Why did they leave?)
   • Is the company experiencing rapid growth?  (What’s fueling their success?)
   • Is this an entirely new position they created?  (What are the metrics of success for this position?)
4. Aim High with Confidence:  Always ask for 10-20% more than your target salary to allow room for negotiation.

No matter your experience level, you deserve to be compensated fairly!  Don’t leave money on the table – make sure you are equipped with the knowledge and the confidence you need to ask for more.