How to Negotiate Your Salary

Peter Richardson is a vice president of Planning Excellence at Northwestern Mutual.

After several rounds of interviews and a few weeks of sweating it out, you finally got that job offer. Congratulations!

Your next task? Negotiating your salary.

For many of us, negotiating puts us out of our comfort zone. It requires summoning skills that we may not use often in everyday life, like self-promotion, confidence and conviction. And for those of us who are conflict-averse, a poker-faced conversation where all the cards are drawn can feel downright terrifying.

But the truth is: a healthy negotiation is how you let a new employer know that you value your talents and are secure in what you’ll bring to the company. And depending on your new firm’s review calendar, it may be your last chance for a year or more to ensure you get the salary you want and deserve.

So be bold before you accept the final offer, knowing you’re leaving nothing on the table. Here are some salary negotiation tips to help you negotiate your salary offer.

You’ve gotten this far in the process, which means you can bet they want you—and may be willing to pay up to get you.

1. Research what your position pays

Should you accept the first salary offer you receive? The answer is: it depends. You’ll want to make sure it's a fair offer that is representative of industry rates and your talents. The best way to understand what the going rate is for a job you’re interested in is to do some research.

Get a sense of what your role entails and what the job is worth. That will help you decide whether the offer you’ve been given fits your situation. Use career sites like Glassdoor or Indeed to look up salary ranges for comparable positions in your field or even at the same company. More and more companies will list pay ranges, so look at the pay range for your position or similar positions at other companies. If you feel you’re being undervalued and want to ask for more money, present some of the research you’ve done and counter with your desired pay. (A recruiter may be able to help here, or your network of friends).

2. Find your leverage

Your prior compensation is always a great starting point, but if this is your first or second job, you won’t have the benefit of a salary history to use as a negotiating chip.

You do have one big thing on your side, though: You’ve gotten this far in the process, which means you can bet they want you—and may be willing to pay up to get you. If the company is looking for the new position to start immediately, it’s possible they’re time-strapped and may make concessions to get the ball rolling. If you’ve got other offers brewing, don’t be shy about letting them know that while you’re excited to receive their offer, you’re also in talks with other potential employers.

If you are leaving an existing job, it’s not uncommon for employers to offer you a little more money to stick around. Depending on how serious you are about leaving, this could be another way to up your pay a bit (though it’s a strategy you can likely only use once and not one you want to plan on).

3. Rehearse

Organize your thoughts and have a plan for how you’ll communicate your wishes. If you’re negotiating over email, you’ll have a little more time to formulate your thoughts and respond. However, if you’re negotiating in person or over the phone, have your pitch polished and ready. Anticipate responses that might come your way and have answers ready to go. Especially if you think you may be nervous during the conversation, the more prepared you are, the better.

4. Keep your expectations in check

Though they may have room to work with you, employers are bound by factors you may not be aware of. They may only have so far they’re able to go. Keep your expectations realistic and be realistic with what you’re asking for. Asking for an extra $50,000 may be out of the realm of possibility for your role but asking for another $8,000 could be a reasonable request.

If you’re early in your career, you may very well get rebuffed when you counter with a higher figure. After all, you may not have the wealth of experience to back up your demand for more money, and entry-level salaries are the most likely to be non-negotiable, as companies tend to allocate the least to these positions within their budgets.

Plus, the earlier you are in your career, the more you’ll need to weigh your desire for more money with the experience you’ll get—an intangible but incredibly valuable asset. Consider this first negotiation good practice for the future.

5. See if they’ll put other perks on the table

So they said “no,” and you’re sure the answer is firm. Maybe you’re negotiating with a non-profit that truly is cash-strapped or a startup that has to keep the lights on before it kicks you a bigger paycheck. If you get a hard pass on a higher salary, see if you can negotiate other parts of the job: more vacation time, a more frequent review period or work from home days, for example.

But if this is a job you really want—and you sense the hiring manager won’t budge—know when to fold ‘em and preserve your offer.

6. Remember, it’s just business

No matter the outcome, it’s important to make your needs heard. If you got the higher figure you wanted, or close to it, congrats on successfully negotiating! But if you didn’t, this is no time to lose your cool or hold a grudge. The person you were negotiating with may very well be someone you’ll see every day for the next few years. Or they could end up working at another job you apply to down the line, so you don’t want to burn any bridges.

The fact of the matter is: getting an offer is a great thing—and starting a job on a positive note is even better. Even if things don’t go your way, smile, say thanks, and get ready to enjoy your new gig.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.