Salary Negotiation

Full-Time Job Negotiation Tips and Considerations

So you have a full-time job offer in hand. Now, what can you do to make sure you are earning what you are worth? The following are tips and resources. Please note that more information is available on campus , as University of Cincinnati’s Women’s Center offers AAUW Start Smart Workshop(s) focusing on salary negotiation. All students are welcome.

WHY NEGOTIATING YOUR FULL-TIME SALARY MATTERS?

In the co-op and academic internship program, we ask you NOT to negotiate your salary as the heart of the co-op experience is to gain industry experience. However, as you enter into your professional career as a full-time employee, it is an important to start off of on your best foot financially. A recent George Mason and Temple University study found that by failing to negotiate your first salary from $50,000 to $55,000, you could miss out on $600,000 over a forty-year career.

Negotiating your salary can influence the gender and race pay gap. 55% of women are apprehensive of negotiating and 39% of men (AAUW Smart Start). A Levo League survey found:

  • 59% of millennials didn’t negotiate for any part of their compensation

  • 79% didn’t negotiation their offers in the first jobs out of school

  • 2/3 of candidates reported not knowing how to ask for more

If we want to influence the pay gap within gender and race (shown below) and even among institutions. For instance, graduates from certain schools may be offered more for the same role than a graduate from another school. We must try to negotiate. See more statistics from AAUW like the one below.

WHERE TO START? KNOW YOUR VALUE.

Consider the following when going out their for a job search which also comes to play as you negotiate your salary

  • Professional accomplishments (awards, recognitions, certifications, learning outside of the classroom)

  • Positive results and significant contributions to projects at work

  • Transferrable technical skills, class, student organization, and life experiences where you excel

  • Previous co-op/internship/work successes

KNOW YOUR TARGET SALARY

AAUW provides the following 6 steps to benchmarking your salary and benefits to ready yourself for negotiations.

Step 1: Research and identify a comparable job title. Here are a few resources to assist with informing your answer.

  • A few recommended salary calculators are at (payscale.com and salary.com). Payscale.com provides you with the median salary level for the position title and location. You can answer additional questions to consider other salary options, such as bonuses if part of the business. Salary.com gives you the salary range for the job title from 25th to 75th percentile and to help identify a target salary. Early job seekers are encouraged to look at or below the median. Another resource is fairygodboss - a site built for women to find out more about opportunities, salaries, and reviews of company culture.

  • Exlpore glassdoor.com and view salary information for the company/position reported by past employees. Their salary calculator is the tool called "Know your Worth".

  • Another great resource is crunchbase to see more about the company and dive deep into company information. You can sign up for a word trail.

  • For state, federal, or government jobs (including government contractor roles) note that you typically can see the salary range based on the grade of the position and have access to see what individuals make on state sites (think higher education/state government).

  • Search on O-net online to assess occupation growth, projected employment, and wages per location. See picture below.

Step 2: Salary range and establish your target salary

  • After using the above tool identify your salary range and target salary (aka. start of your salary range)

  • Consider cost of living and location. An offer in Seattle, WA should be higher and look differently than and offer in Cincinnati, OH due to the cost of living. Use a cost of living calculator like this one from Nerd Wallet.

  • Note that if you are forced to provide target salary information in the application process, try to leave blank or write N/A…if forced to answer, provide a mid to high number within your salary range.

Step 3: Create a realistic budget.

  • Calculate take home pay accounting for taxes at Paycheckcity.com.

  • Utilize the 50/20/30 rule when creating your budget. See image below.

Step 4: Determine your resistance point (aka. Lowest salary you would accept) or “walk away” point.

Step 5: Determine the value of your benefits (of fringe benefits) – includes health insurance, pension or retirement plans, bonus opportunities, paid vacation, etc. Ask to meet or talk with someone to talk about health benefits if it is not part of the interview process.

Step 6: Practice negotiating and prepare a value statement (what you bring) and solid argument for higher pay. Tips are provided in the next section.

YOU GOT THE OFFER. NOW TO NEGOTIATE.

  1. Be gracious. Employers want to know and see that you want to work with them.

  2. Ask for a timeline to accept.

  3. Get the offer in writing (do not negotiate over email). Ask to review the offer and see the specifics. You could say something like, “ I want to make sure I understand all the components of the offer; could you send me an email outline the proposed terms?” If you need more information about benefits and have not been able to touch base with HR, please ask to do to so at this time.

  4. Respond within a 48-hour time frame.

  5. Decide if you want to negotiate any parts of the offer. More to come.

NEGOTIATION DON’TS.

Let’s get the Negotiation Don’ts from “Can I Wear my Nose Ring to the Interview’ out of the way before we discuss what TO DO.

  • Don’ t get specific until the time is right (offer time)

  • Don’t confuse a perk and benefit. Perks like gym memberships are not negotiable but are perks instead to consider as part of the employment package.

  • Don’t price yourself out of a job. Be realistic with the starting salary based on the job you are offered.

  • Be positive, not adversarial. Negotiations are hard for both parties and try to express empathy and understanding during the process.

  • Don’t lie about your previous salary (instead ask if it is necessary to provide and/or discuss different between co-op and full-time role). Information is often verifiable.

  • Don’t undersell yourself. Meaning do not accept the offer on the spot.

  • Don’t have anyone call to discuss benefits or salary or to negotiate on your behalf.

THE OFFER AND GETTING TO THE SALARY RANGE.

When negotiating the ball may be originally thrown in your court. If they ask you, “How much money are you looking to make here?” – DEFLECT…”In preparing for this interview, it really became clear that the salary range could vary widely for a position like this, what type of range did you have budgeted for the position?” If they come back to you and ask again try and avoid giving a NUMBER (if you provide a salary outside of the range high or low it could backfire). One way to respond would be: “Well, I’ve done my research on your company and the position and do believe that my skills are a good fit, but you are in the best position to determine what your company values for a position like this? What kind of range is XYZ company comfortable with?”

If they ask you, “How much were you making previously?” – legally you do no have to share. You could deflect and say “So I think it is difficult to compare what I was making while in college to now. If we decide we are a good fit, I’m curious to see what range you have for this position.”

The offer is in hand. HR says, “We’ve budgeted this position in the $65,000 – $75,000 range.” Salary Tutor suggests responding with the high end number and putting a hmmm after it…”75,000. Hmmm.” Hmmm, may lead to more money or the company coming back with additional incentives or it may lead to the HR rep sharing with you reasoning behind the range and not budging. AAUW suggests for you to be gracious ask for more clarification of benefits (if needed) and either start negotiation or ask for more time (if needed).

As you negotiate have the following in front of you:

  • Your value statements (accomplishments, experiences, and awards)

    • Example. (a) I have 2 years of development experience as an intern with websites and mobile apps. (b) I led a project team my final co-op term working on an IoT application in the insurance claims space.

  • Two benefits that would make an offer especially compelling to you

  • Brainstorm three to five different ways the employer might respond during the negotiation and prepare your reactions.

  • Practice your persuasive responses (see examples below).

Persuasive Responses. Once negotiation starts here are several ways from AAUW that you can start to counter offer.

  • “Do you have any flexibility on the salary number?”

  • “Thank you for the offer. Based on my research with comparable roles in this area, I was thinking of something in the range (your target salary range)”

  • “Based on my prior experience and familiarity with this role, I believe that an additional $_______ would stand to be a competitive salary in the market.”

(1) The ability for the reevaluation of your salary in 4 to 6 months after being on the job. (2) Need for providing more information to assist with making a solid argument (see an example of resource you could provide from Salary Tutor (3) Not being able to fit within the budget currently. (4) Other things to renegotiate if money is not possible, perhaps your title, tuition reimbursement (or certification financial support), or flexibility in your schedule (is work environment permits). As you respond, make sure to thank the employer and voice your appreciation for their support in this matter.

One final note, can you create a 1 pager (like the picture below and linked here) that takes into consideration your qualities/skills as a candidate, desired salary, position details, and fringe benefit considerations. Also, here is a link to a version of the 1-pager that encompasses your research that can be replicated for your search.

IN CLOSING

Salary negotiating is not easy, but often things that are worthwhile are not easy. If you are wanting to practice your persuasive statements, arguments, and responses during the negotiation process attend a University of Cincinnati’s Women’s Center AAUW Start Smart Workshop(s) this semester.

This blog is written in collaboration with the UC Women’s Center