Tips for First Time Salary Negotiators

by Carol Sand

When you want to negotiate your salary for the first time, it can be pretty intimidating experience.Obviously, you want to maximize the amount of money that you can get from your employer, while your employer wants to save money.

The first time I negotiated my salary, I was terrified. Here are a few tips to keep in mind if you are about to negotiate.

Stay Confident

There are several apprehensions job seekers have when stating their salary before they know the range their future employer is willing to pay. You definitely don't want to shoot too low and regret it when your hiring manager is getting a bargain. On the other hand, you don't want to price yourself out of the market. When going to salary negotiations, you have to be confident at all times. This is not the time to second-guess your abilities or anything else. If you are not confident in yourself, you probably won't be able to get the salary that you really want.

Do Some Research 

If you are interested in negotiating your salary, make sure that you do a little bit of research before you go into salary negotiations. Even if you just got a job offer, you need to do some research and figure out what you should be paid. Research what other people in your field are getting paid, so that you can negotiate the job offer salary to a level that is in line with others.

Don't Provide Ammunition

When you are applying for a new job, don't provide information about what you are expecting to receive in compensation. If you tip your hand, the employer will have the ammunition that is needed to negotiate with you. If you instead leave this blank, they will not have a starting point for the negotiations. If you didn't include any information about what you expected, they may have offered you a lot more.

Focus on Your Skills and Accomplishments

If you are going undertake the process of negotiating your salary, you need to make sure that you stay focused on your skills and accomplishments. You need to make it clear that you are bringing something to the table in this negotiation. If your employer looks at you as just one of the masses of people out there who could do the same thing, you aren't going to have much leverage in your favor. If you can separate yourself from everyone else, you have a much better chance of success.

This post was written by Carol Sand

Carol Sand's MAP in Houston is a career management firm. Using her experience in the corporate world, Carol now advises others in their own career advancement. Tweet her on @Carol_Sand_MAP and watch Carol on YouTube.

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