Don't be afraid to negotiate your salary

By Gery Gilpin

Every day we are called upon to use negotiation skills of one sort or another, whether it is buying a new car, planning the family holiday or resolving a credit card dispute.

The same basic skills are used to negotiate job terms, and yet job negotiating requires a level of skill and knowledge above what we might have gleaned from personal experience with the car dealer or carpet fitter.

What is negotiation? Negotiation is a process of making arrangements and setting terms through discussion.

Two parties work out an agreement on the terms and conditions of their working relationship.

In practice there are three phases of the salary negotiation: 1. Receiving The Offer The window of opportunity for negotiating an offer is necessarily narrow. No negotiation can take place unless and until an offer is made.

Once an offer has been accepted, the negotiation ends, and usually no further terms and conditions can be discussed.

So once you have received an offer from a potential employer, you'll need time to evaluate the offer, prioritise your needs and plan your negotiation strategy. Try to resist being pressurised into making a quick decision.

Planning Your Strategy
Planning is the most important part of successful salary negotiation.

First, compare the offer you've been made with your "ideal job preferences".

This is not a description of your "fantasy job" but a list of realistic hopes and desires concerning what you would like from this particular job and employer.

You may be perfectly happy with the deal as it stands but there may be room for movement and indeed the employer may expect you to negotiate.

Remember that you are negotiating your future market value.

You should identify those items on your list that were not a part of the package offered but that you think should be part of your negotiation strategy.

Remember to review any notes you have taken or analyse any discussions that took place that may give you an indication for potential room for manoeuvre. This will form the scope for negotiation.

Then you must formulate an acceptable compromise position for each of these items, ie those you would be willing to settle for if you cannot get what you will be asking for.

Try to look for "win-win" alternatives that benefit both you and the potential employer.

When planning your strategy make sure that you are aware of how much you are worth, both in wider industry terms and also how much you can bring to the offering organisation.

Make a list of those items you will want to discuss during the negotiation session.

Then for each item describe your rationale for asking for this particular item.

Remember you are bringing a great deal of relevant experience to the job so try and not sell yourself short.

Conducting The Negotiation
Having planned your negotiation strategy always remember to negotiate from a reasonable position.

Negotiating through a third party such as an executive recruitment consultant enables the removal of personalities from the negotiating process.

However, this approach is not always available.

Playing hardball in salary negotiations may make you appear arrogant, devious, or mercenary, so even if your negotiation is successful, remember you still have to work with the person that you ground out a deal with! During the negotiation process you should make positive noises about your commitment to the company and put forward a rational argument for your position by referring to the market rate for the position and the value you will add to the company.

Stick to the reasonable plan that you devised earlier and offer alternatives where possible if a request is turned down.

A successful negotiation will be one that has been well prepared for, one in which you are not afraid to ask for what you feel is warranted, but one that shows willingness to be flexible, while maintaining a positive and assertive attitude throughout.

If the employer is not flexible and the offer still isn't something you can accept you should either ask for time to consider or else decline the offer.

If you choose the latter, then you should sign off on as pleasant a note as possible so that the employer will hopefully not hold this against you.

At all times remain positive, cordial and professional without showing emotion.

Northern Ireland is a small place, and you never know when you may be negotiating a similar deal with the same person sometime in the future.