How to Negotiate a Job Offer When the Company Won't Budge?
Negotiating a job offer when the company simply won't budge puts you in a challenging position. The prospective employer may sense that you really want the job. That possibly gives the employer leverage to hold his ground on salary, especially if the hiring manager feels the current offer is fair. This means you must get creative to achieve a better offer.
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Instructions
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Gather information supporting your position that the salary is too low. Talk to other people in the industry whose level of experience is similar to yours. Also look up salaries online from sites such as The Riley Guide or CB Salary. Use professional social networking sites to gather information as well. Review your salary history to help build a case for deserving more based on your current or most recent salary level.
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Send the hiring manager an email requesting a scheduled telephone call for a final discussion about salary and compensation for the job. Prepare a list of talking points in advance of the call.
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Open the call by emphasizing your excitement about the position. Then talk about salary. Tell the hiring manager that you appreciate her position on not budging on salary. Then get to the point as you make an argument for more money based on your research. Point to examples of similar companies paying more money for the same position. Ideally, provide examples of the company you want to work for traditionally paying more in salary for the position. Use the information to appeal to the employer's sense of fairness.
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Reduce your salary request if the employer won't budge from say, $50,000 and you were asking for $70,000. In this case, drop your request in increments of $5,000 until you reach $55,000.
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Take the conversation in another direction if the hiring manager is still offering $50,000 and you're asking for $55,000. Ask for other benefits to sweeten the deal. Tell the hiring manager you'll accept $50,000 -- if she'll include an extra week's vacation, a better relocation package, a sign-on bonus of $2,500 and a first-year bonus of $5,000 based on a set of objectives. Not every job offers bonuses, and yours may not.
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Focus on the overall compensation package. Intangibles such as additional vacation days and flex hours are valuable. Also ask for semiannual pay reviews starting in your first year instead of just one review. If a sign-on bonus isn't possible, ask for a start date two weeks earlier than planned, allowing you to work remotely and earning pay before officially reporting to the office. Continue negotiations until you have a deal -- or you choose just to walk away from the offer.
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Send the hiring manager a thank you note if you do turn down the offer because of salary. In the note tell the hiring manager you still want the job and you are ready to resume talks at any time.
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