Raise Your Salary Raise Expectations –
Quite often we sell ourselves short. We feel that charging more or getting paid better would be treated as arrogance. But the truth is people who do salary raise negotiations for a raise are the ones who value their work and themselves.
There’s no free lunch. If people expect you to work for less than you deserve then it’s as same as a free service, if not worse. Thus, be bold, be courageous and value yourself and your work a little more. If you feel you need a raise, ask for it.
Specifically, when you go for an interview the first thing you do is to be confused about what to ask. Don’t. Use these tactics and negotiate. If you negotiate, you will get better pay. Most people who negotiate do.
You’re more than you think you’re. Don’t let the organizations you would like to work to decide your worth. You decide for yourself. And then ask. And as the Bible says – “Ask and you shall receive” will be true for you.
Salary Raise Negotiation Tips:
1. Be open and willing
The best part of salary raise negotiation is that you value yourself as much as you value getting the job. When you’re in a situation where one of them has to be chosen, please choose yourself. To start the process, it’s always wise to be open to the salary raise negotiation.
All interviewees are asked – “What’s your expectation in terms of salary level?”
Most of them answer – “As company policy.”
Then – “The end!”
Congratulations! You’ve successfully sold yourself short. Now the company has all the right to tweak your salary level and pay you much lesser than you deserve.
What if you change the spirit of the conversation in the following manner?
“What’s your expectation?” (Recruiter)
“I’m open to the salary raise negotiation.” (Candidate)
Once you say that you’re open for salary raise negotiation, you’re in charge. Once you’re in charge you can talk to them about your expectation and if both parties agree, you can close the deal.
2. Ask for the range of budget
Recruiters use different tricks to stop you from negotiating. They don’t do it with any evil purpose. Their motive is to get the best talent at a minimum cost. So, if you don’t negotiate you will be sold out for the minimum cost for the company.
One of the tricks they use is asking for the exact figure. Most of the candidates who don’t know how to negotiate or don’t have the information about what this position should cost to the company, mention a figure which is usually less than they deserve. And recruiters agree and jot down.
A better way to handle this salary raise expectation question is to ask another question – “What would be the range of budget you’ve allocated for this position?”
Now, recruiters cannot step back and tell you the range. If you feel that the highest point of the range is suitable for you, then say – “(The amount) would be good for me!”
For the next interviews onward try this tactic. It’s very useful and it puts the recruiter in his/her own trap.
3. Know the best pay for the position
A lot of recruiters and companies mention the salary “as per the industry standards”. But this is a vague statement. When companies post that in the job sites they know well in their heart how much they can pay and it’s not always as per the industry standards. They do that to attract more interviewees and to fetch more conversions. But that’s not always in your best interest.
What would you do then?
You would go out and find the best salary level according to the market you’re in for the same position.
But how do you do that?
There are 3 particular things you can do to gather the information.
- Visit PayScale and find out the best salary level offered to your position in your market.
- Search in Naukri.com or any job sites for the salary level offered for your position. You would gain a good idea of what can you expect from your potential employer.
- Talk to the people who’re in the same industry and ask them what they think would be the best salary level for an efficient professionals like you!
If you do the above, you would at least get an idea about industry standards and you can negotiate accordingly.
4. Mind your power
Power is important in salary negotiation. No, it’s not to dominate the opposite party; but to have control over what you want out of the salary raise negotiation.
How would you get power?
Power depends on two important factors.
First is value. Do you need to ask yourself which party would get more benefit out of the salary raise negotiation?
And the second part is alternatives. How many alternatives each party has?
So, when you’re going to do the salary raise negotiation to make sure that you’re negotiating for “Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)” if you don’t reach the agreement. This term is coined by Fisher & Ury in 1981 in their book “Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In”.
You don’t want to affect the relation while negotiating especially if you’re asking for a hike in your present employment. So, while negotiating – mind your power. Understand that your employer has alternatives. But if you’re exceptional in your job, it’s difficult to find a replacement at a similar cost.
5. If you want a raise, don’t go for win-win
The party who says that s/he/they want win-win agreement aren’t too bold to ask for what s/he/they want.
It may feel good and you sound excellent in front of the other party but that doesn’t pay you well. It’s being seen in the study that not always two parties agree because a win-win situation is not available.
So, in that case, both parties look for the next best alternative. But please don’t worry about the other party while salary negotiation. When they’re in the salary raise negotiation, they know the deal and they know their price, value, and alternatives. Rather deal from the perspective of yourself. Don’t look for win-win; look for your winning while salary negotiation.
The tactic may sound arrogant, but actually, the reality is far different than the theory and by thinking most about your own interest, you’re putting the reality into practice. And guess what? That will help you earn better.
6. Take charge
It often so happens that the recruiters never talk about salary levels in the interview. They take the interview and then completely skip the process. A nervous candidate always gives up to the mandate of the recruiter and says nothing and leaves the place. Later if s/he gets selected gets to know about the salary raise structure.
It’s unfair and partly you’re responsible for the same.
Often the company which provides you the job thinks that they’re proving you the job opportunity. But when you join, it’s not only your benefit and the company is not doing any favor to you, rather you’re ready to share your time, effort, skills and expertise with the company. And even for that if you don’t get what you deserve, how does it feel?
Don’t let it happen to you.
If the recruiters don’t bring up the topic of the salary level, you take charge and bring up the topic. It’s natural to let you ask a salary expectation question at the end of the interview.
Instead of direct salary raise negotiation, talk to the recruiter politely about the compensation. Put it like this – ‘I think we’ve skipped one of the most important points of the discussion for the salary level position.’ Then ask the recruiter about the budget for the position.
Quite often recruiters do that because they want people at a very low cost. It’s not the fault of the recruiters. They’re also answerable to the management. But you’re not before you join in. Ask for what you’re worth. And you’ll get it most of the time.
7. If you like to earn more, avoid compromise
You may have heard the concept of opportunity cost. The company for which you’re giving an interview has a lot of other alternatives. So have you. If there is no agreement, say no, especially when you know there are thousand of other companies who’re in demand for your expertise.
Here’s the deal.
It’s believed that the smartest charge the most. And also the other way around! If you charge the most, eventually it will have a psychic impact on your skill. You will be forced to improve.
This is not a tactic, rather a mindset. Go with the mindset that you will ask for this (your desired amount after researching the industry standards) and if not, never compromise.
Most of the time, when you say no for the salary company offers, the recruiter gives you more value and doesn’t want to lose you (subject to that that you have the expertise in your field).
Try this mindset in salary negotiation, you will win.
8. Control the logistics
The moment you are called by the recruiter that moment onwards salary raise negotiation is started. You may not realize this. But from the following conversation, you will get that. There are two scenarios. Notice the conversation, language, and specificity.
Scenario: 1
Recruiter: When you would be free for face-to-face interaction?
Candidate A: Any weekdays before lunch would be wonderful!
Scenario: 2
Recruiter: When you would be free for face-to-face interaction?
Candidate B: Next Monday, at 10 am. I would be available.
Who do you think is more powerful in his approach?
Of course, Candidate B shows that he is valuable and his time matters and he is not free always. When he specifies the time and the day, he ensures that he controls the logistics which will create better representation in the mind of the recruiters and he will definitely fetch a better salary level than Candidate A if the other aspects go well in the interview.
Sometimes, you may face that the interviewer is not getting ready to meet you the time and day specified by you. Be assertive. Tell them that you’re busy on all other days. If they want to meet you when they need to wait maybe the other 2-3 weeks. That will do the trick.
9. Break up the salary raise negotiation in two meetings for the better deal
Sometimes it gets difficult to come to an agreement in one sitting. Thus, it’s wise to break it up in two meetings instead of one.
Here’s how.
When you’re interacting face-to-face for the position you would be hired for, you and the recruiter may discuss the salary raise matter. But that doesn’t mean it will reach an agreement between two in terms of the offered salary level. And it may happen that with your demand the recruiter may get a little aggressive.
The best way to deal with that is to discuss the matter again in the next meeting. You may say like – “I think we can discuss the matter later on a separate meeting where I will present you some facts, proofs for asking for a better offer. Till then let’s see how it goes.”
Breaking up the salary raise negotiation in two separate meetings puts the other party at ease and s/he can also take her/his time and prepare for a better deal. And you also get some time to prepare your own agenda for better compensation.
10. Build rapport by disclosing personal information
Researchers have found that building rapport is a great tool for ensuring better deals. And the best way to do that is to disclose personal information.
The matter of fact that the information you share should be unrelated information. Deal the whole thing in the following manner.
Once you enter the room for face-to-face interaction, the first question the recruiter would ask you is – “Tell me something about yourself.”
In response to that talk about your personal and professional achievements briefly, but don’t forget to mention one or two weird things or hobbies about you. If you do this it will help you fetch a better deal and you will get a better salary raise by building rapport.
Always remember that a recruiter is a human being just like you. S/he may try to fit you in under the budget s/he has for the position, but s/he also likes to feel good. Building rapport makes him/her feel good and that helps you win.
Conclusion
Salary Raise Negotiation is a craft. Yes, it’s more than a skill. The more you practice, the better you will be in negotiating the deal in your favor. Start using the above tricks and see what works for you best. Wish you good luck in becoming better negotiators.
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This has been a guide to be open for salary raise negotiation. Be bold & courageous. Start using the tricks mentioned in this article & see what works for you best. These are the following external link related to the salary raise.
