How to Negotiating Salary at a Job Interview

It's important to know what you're worth when you head off to a job interview. This is especially important once salary is discussed during the interview. Many people believe that they have to take the first salary that is offered for fear that the job offer will be rescinded. This most likely is not the case, especially if this is your second or third meeting with your potential future employer. Here is how to negotiate salary at a job interview.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Begin by knowing the average salary for the position before you go to the interview. Websites like Salary.com allow you to investigate salaries for different jobs by position and state (see Resources). Knowing how much you should get paid will be very helpful when negotiating your salary.

2. Allow the interviewer to bring up the subject of salary. You don't want it to seem as if you just want money and nothing more from the job. If it appears that you're greedy, you may actually talk yourself out of a salary or out of the job.

3. Come up with a salary range and use this as your bargaining tool. Some people believe that your range should include amounts lower than what you're willing to accept. This is just silly as it sets you up for a low-ball offer. If you read that your position normally gets paid $40,000 a year, you should set your range at $40,000 to $43,000. This sets you up for a higher offer.

4. Be confident when negotiating salary at a job interview. You should be sitting up straight and looking into the eye of your interviewer. Make sure that your voice doesn't crack or waver or else it will make the interviewer believe that you are willing to waver on your salary desires.

5. Find an excuse to stall before you decide on the offer. Perhaps the salary is the exact one or even higher than you were hoping for. You don't want to seem too eager to take the position, though. Respectfully explain that you need a day or two to "think it over." You could also say that you have one more interview that day or that you have to "consider another offer." This puts the ball in your court when it comes to negotiating salary.

Tips & Warnings

• Know when you should accept the offer and when you should walk away. For some jobs, it may be worth it to take a salary that is $1,000 less per year than you had wanted. If you truly believe that you are being disrespected with the offer presented before you, though, you should decline and continue your job search.

Resources

• Salary.com

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