How to Respond to a Job Offer & Negotiate a Salary
After you've found a job, but before you've been officially hired, there is often a period in which you and your new employer will negotiate salary. Such negotiations can be tricky. While you don't want to hold out for too much and lose the position, you don't want to agree to do the job for less than you could potentially be paid for it. For this reason, it's important that you follow a few basic steps when both formally accepting the position offered to you and when discussing how much you will be paid for it.
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Instructions
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Accept the offer graciously, in writing. When accepting a position offered to you, its important to accept the offer in writing, such as in an email or a written letter, even if the offer was made over the phone. If things turn ugly, this will provide written proof that your employer made a verbal agreement to give you the position.
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2
Arrange to discuss salary in person. While your employer may wish to discuss salary over the phone or by email, if possible, get a face-to-face meeting. It's harder for a person to say no to you when you're in the same room as he is.
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3
Research what the job is worth. Before beginning negotiations, do some research to get an idea of what fair compensation is for your position. Check references such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and websites such as Salary.com, and ask professionals who work in the field.
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4
Ask your employer to make the first offer. The employer may ask you to name a price. To avoid low-balling yourself, try to get him to offer the first number. If he asks you directly, say something polite, but vague, like "I'm sure we can come to an agreement that we'll both be happy with."
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Make a counter offer. After your employer sets down a figure, come back with a figure that's somewhat higher. There's no hard-and-fast rule about how much to raise him, but try to shoot for a number higher that the figure you calculated in Step 3.
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Settle on a number. Keep in mind a walk-way figure -- the lowest possible salary that you are willing to work for. When you've reached a final figure that you can live with -- one that's larger than this number -- you can shake hands with your employer and get down to signing a contract.
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