Negotiating a salary can be the most profitable and humiliating thing an employee or job seeker can do. Given the correct knowledge on how negotiations work, an employee can achieve wonderful results. If taken lightly, the negotiation will often end in frustration and humiliation. Therefore, the knowledge route should definitely be chosen by anyone who is serious about negotiating a high salary. Here are five important tips for the salary negotiator:
Tips #1 – Always aim for a win-win scenario The basic principle of all negotiations, not just salary negotiations, is that negotiations will end in cooperation between the parties only if the benefits to both of entering into an agreement outweigh the costs of doing so. Therefore, the salary negotiator should always aim for a win-win scenario when negotiating salary.
Tips #2: Focus on the interests of the employer In order to achieve the desired win-win situation, the employee or job applicant must be very focused on the interests of the employer and really understand them. The job whose salary is negotiated fits somewhere in the employer’s plans. The employee or job seeker must understand these plans to be able to present themselves as the solution to them or an important contribution to their achievement.
Tips #3 – Prepare carefully before negotiating salary Research shows that the key factor that explains the difference between successful and less successful negotiators is the extent to which preparations are made. There are several important steps to take, including finding the range within which salary can be negotiated and brainstorming a case that the employee/job seeker should be paid at the higher end of this range.
Tips #4 – adopt a winning attitude To be successful in anything, a winning attitude is of great importance. This goes for athletes and salary negotiators alike. One way to adopt a winning attitude is to draw an ambitious goal for the salary negotiation, the scope of which is later visualized by the employee or job applicant days before the negotiation.
Tip #5: Make sure the timing is right The employee or job applicant should wait and try to avoid discussing actual salary figures until the appropriate time. The employer must “be on the hook” first, being genuinely interested in the employee/job seeker and her job there. Only then will he name the price of her.
