7 Tips For Planning Your Next Salary Negotiation

Negotiation planning tips from my chat with Executive Director, Ayana Ledford, of PROGRESS, The Program for Research and Outreach on Gender Equity in Society (PROGRESS). The mission of PROGRESS is “to teach women and girls the value of negotiation.” PROGRESS is housed at the H. John Heinz III College, Carnegie Mellon University.

Getting what you want in any salary negotiation takes planning on your part. These 7 tips will help you lay the groundwork for a successful salary negotiation.

7 tips for planning your salary negotiation:

1. Determine who is going to be involved in the negotiation. Is it an executive committee, the boss, the hiring manager, or the team with whom you will be working? It is important to understand how many different voices will be at the table. Equally important is to know if the negotiation is the beginning of a long term relationship with the person with whom you are negotiating or will you only see that person once.  Longer term relationship building will require a little more finesse.
2. Know what you want. In salary negotiations know the minimum salary that you are willing to accept. Know what your target value is and understand that realistically you will end up with a salary that is somewhere in the middle.
3. Make a list of all the things you can negotiate. Parking passes, vacation time, bonuses, salary re-evaluations, use of car, mileage reimbursement, car washes, college tuition reimbursement. Be prepared to address these in the salary negotiation part of your interview.
4. Don’t negotiate anything until an offer is made. Make sure the company loves you before moving forward on the terms of the employment contract. If you already work for the company, make sure you have solid performance reviews or other accolades to defend your raise.
5. Set a time that is convenient to you and the person you are negotiating with. Your boss won’t want to talk about your pay raise if he is in the middle of a crisis. But, don’t wait too long. You just might lose your courage.
6. Accept your nervousness. Prepare as much as you can ahead of time and know that butterflies will happen. A certain amount of tension is a sign that you are growing outside your comfort zone.
7. Understand ‘no’ can mean ‘yes’. If you don’t hear ‘no’ after you asked for a pay raise or negotiated salary its likely you did not ask for enough.

Increase the chances of getting the pay you want by incorporating these 7 salary negotiating tips into your preparation work.

Patty Tanji can help you plug the holes in your salary negotiation strategy. Click on this link to set up a time to chat.