How to Negotiate Salary After a Disappointing Job Offer
Job offers are exciting and are often the culmination of hard work. Your search for a job could take months, or even longer, with a salary offer and background check the final steps in the journey. However, a disappointingly low salary offer can deflate your excitement, at least temporarily. When that happens, remain upbeat and positive and sell yourself again -- this time to get the salary you want and deserve.
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Instructions
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Prepare for a salary negotiation before you're offered the job. Network on social and professional networking sites to gather salary information. Also check online salary sites such as The Riley Guide or CB Salary. Meet for coffee or lunch with others in the business who may offer reliable insight on salaries.
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Request the salary offer in writing. Usually, prospective employers offer jobs in person or over the telephone and disclose salary information then. Tell the employer you want some time to review the offer in writing and that you fully expect to accept. Ask that the offer include full information about the sign-on bonus, if any, a complete explanation of benefits and details on salary. Tell the hiring manager you will respond within a day or two after receiving the offer in writing.
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Call the hiring manager. After pleasantries, tell the hiring manager that you are accepting the job -- but that you would like to discuss the salary. Make a succinct case for boosting the salary based on your experience, current rate of pay and salary information you have gleaned from various sources. Tell the employer, for example, that your research indicates the job is worth $20,000 more per year than the employer is offering. Intentionally inflate the gap. For example, if the job is really worth $10,000 more, state that you believe the job is worth $20,000 more. Offer the hiring manager specific examples of industry averages for the position, if necessary, or some other documentation.
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Offer a compromise to close the negotiations. Tell the employer that although the job appears to be worth $20,000 more, you're excited about the opportunity and ready to accept immediately if the hiring manager will increase the salary by $10,000.
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Ask for a smaller increase if the hiring manager objects. Ask for $5,000 plus another benefit, such as an extra week's vacation. Also ask for semiannual performance reviews for the first two years instead of annual reviews. Keep negotiating until the salary and increased benefits provide a level of overall compensation with which you are happy.
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Tips & Warnings
Base your salary requests on your research and not on greed or personal desires. Requesting an outlandish salary reflects poorly on you as a professional and could be seen as insensitive.
Make your best pitch for a better salary and then take the job if you're unemployed. Most times it's better to have a job at a disappointing salary than not to have a job at all. Taking the job and working for a year gives you an opportunity to move on to something better, if necessary.
