Six Elements of a Successful Compensation Negotiation

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Get the offer by following up the “right” way

While there are many nuances to a successful compensation negotiation, keeping these five principles in mind will increase the odds of your making tens of thousands of dollars in minutes.

  1. Look to postpone the negotiation until after you get the offer. Once they make you the offer, all the negotiating leverage has switched over to you. After the offer is made, the hiring manager wants you to start “yesterday”– they are focused on you, they aren’t thinking about the other candidates. So things that weren’t negotiable before are suddenly negotiable. Often, compensation is a screening question asked by HR or a search firm, and the wrong answer can sink your candidacy even if the number you mention could ultimately be negotiated. Look to deflect initially, by referencing that you’re looking for the “market rate” or that “we’ll be able to work something out.” If you need to give a number, give a broad range.
  2. Always place yourself on the same side of the table of your employer when negotiating.  Do not be an adversary– re-iterate how much you’re looking forward to contributing.
  3. Focus on negotiating the job, not the compensation.  That is, make your case for compensation by showing that you will be helping them with more than the job posting.  Or, by saying that you need to be brought in at a higher level to get the respect and attention you need to do your job effectively.
  4. Take into account all aspects of compensation when you negotiate.  It’s not just base salary, it’s bonus (and how likely you are to get it), profit sharing/equity, 401k matching, amount of raises, frequency of raises, tuition reimbursement, job title, and on and on.  In short, everything is negotiable, and you should consider the big picture when negotiating.  This means you need to have all the information about compensation before you negotiate.
  5. Following on #4 above, have a long list of items to negotiate. If they say “no” to one item they’re more likely to say “yes” to the next – they don’t want to keep saying “no” to you because they like you and want you to work for them.
  6. Research is your best friend in a negotiation. If you can make the negotiation about the market rate that competitors are paying, and not about what you want, your case will be much stronger. Check out the compensation research links under the Resources tab of my website.