Not Ya Mama’s Salary Negotiation Advice
How To Get The Salary You Deserve
Did your parents ever teach you salary negotiation?!
Me neither. (Sorry Mom)
If you’ve struggled with salary negotiation before, this is for you.
I want to help you get an additional $10K in your pocket this year.
Sound good? Great!
Let’s start with mindset.
How You Gon’ Win If You Ain’t Right Within?
Before we even get into “how to do the thing”, let’s make a promise.
Let’s promise to adopt the right mindset first. Without the right mindset about salary negotiation, we can’t succeed.
Stop reading RIGHT NOW and repeat this 3 times:
I Am Valuable. I Am Worthy. I. Will. Negotiate.
Repeat this anytime your inner critic shows up.
If you don’t believe you’re worthy of a higher salary, no one else will either.
Before you even get an offer, decide that you owe it to yourself to negotiate.
Subscribe to this mindset FIRST, the money will come second.
These 3 simple steps can get you $10K-$20K more in your next offer!
Negotiate At The Right Time
If you’re not negotiating your salary, you’re leaving tons of money on the table. The fact is, most people DON’T!
But Anthony, what do I do when asked about my salary expectations?
DEFLECT. DEFLECT. DEFLECT.
If a hiring manager asks you what you expect and you say $60K, but the average starting salary for the specific role is $75K-$80K, you’re screwed.
This isn’t a multiple choice test, you can’t go back and change your answer.
MAJOR KEY 🔑: The first person to say a number loses!
So if asked, you deflect. Here’s a great example of how to:
Recruiter: “What are your salary expectations? We’re trying to see if you’re in the right range.”
You: “Great question. My top priority is finding the right company fit. I want to ensure that I’m in alignment with the team so that I can contribute as much value as possible. Once that’s established I’d happy to talk salary later in the process.”
Boom!
You just took the 1st step to get the offer you want. Kudos!
Now some recruiters will continue to push.
And this is where most people crack 😿.
If they continue to ask for your salary requirements you’ll have to be a little more savvy.
Here’s how.
Finesse That Deflection Like Your Salary Depends On It
Remember this:
In some states (California for example), it’s illegal to even ask about about prior/current salary.
So if you’re making a career change, just know that your previous salary shouldn’t be a limiting belief that holds you back from asking for more!
Here are 2 ways to professionally deflect again:
#1 Market Research: Do your market research and come prepared with a number. Glassdoor, Paysa and Buffer’s Transparent Salary Calculator are all great tools for this.
#2 Position Yourself: “I’m being considered for roles in the $85K-$90K* range, but I’m flexible and happy to negotiate.”
*insert the market rate for the roles that you’re actively interviewing for.
I learned this technique from Ashley Stahl.
She’s a career coach who’s been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post and Fast Company just to name a few. So she’s the real deal!
You can use this approach to answer any company that forces you into naming your price.
Don’t Ask For More, Make A CounterOffer
If you were able to deflect and finally get the offer, congratulations!
You got through the hard part. Here’s where things get fun.
DISCLAIMER: Make sure you get your offer in writing! If not, it DOES NOT exist.
Once you get your offer and review it, it’s time to make a counter offer.
This is where most folks sell themsleves short.
Here’s how to counter offer:
#1 Schedule It: Some folks disagree, but in my experience, salary negotiation should happen over the phone. An email thread is the last place you want to negotiate your future.
#2 Be Affirmative: Take Karen Catlin’s advice and say something like, “If you can get me X, I’ll accept the offer right away.” This shows decisive leadership. And most companies want confident leaders on their team.
#3 Leverage Your Market Research: “I’ve done some market research during my process and have found that the average salary for this position is around $XXX,XXX. Is there a way we can make up the difference here?”
#4 Differentiate Yourself: “In addition to the market research, there are 3 areas where my skillset can provide fresh solutions to some of the team’s current challenges. [Explain your 3 unique reasons briefly]. Because of this I’m excited about helping the team overcome some of the obstacles they’ve been facing. Given what I bring to the table, my counter offer is $XXX,XXX. How’s that sound?”
If you’ve never done this before it may seem a little pushy.
You may feel uncomfortable.
THAT’S OK!
This is what’s going to get you an additional $10K-$20K.
So embrace the tension.
Hiring is time consuming & expensive. So use this in your favor.
If a company has done ALL THE WORK to extend you an offer, the last thing they want to do is pull your offer because you tried to negotiate.
And don’t forget, do this over the phone! Everyone tries to skip this part!
