Salary negotiation in a job interview
Follow these three simple steps and you will always be perfectly prepared.
⏱approx 4 Min
In my years working as a recruiter, I found the part about the salary negotiation the most interesting, as it showed how confident a candidate really was.
Now as a career coach it is one of the questions, I get asked the most: „How do I negotiate properly, so I can get the salary I desire?“
Therefore, I have put together a strategy, based on three key steps so you can maximize your success when it comes to your salary.
Listen to our latest episode if you are curious to know what the forth step is :-)
#1 preparation, preparation, preparation
First You will need three goals. I call them min, good and love. So, for a salary negotiation you will need three different amounts.
Min:
This is your minimum amount – anything below that is a no go. For example, this could be the salary you have calculated to cover cost of living, or if you are working already, this could be the salary you currently have. It is important to know that this amount is your secret and is not negotiable.
Anything below that would result in you having problems paying your bills or you could be demotivated if you still take the job offer.
Good: This is the amount you are actually aiming for. If you negotiate this, you can be happy and proud of yourself because you got what you wanted.
Love: This amount is the figure you will tell your negotiating partner. It is high enough so there is enough room for negotiation.
In a nutshell you could say, in every negotiation it is critical to aim for love :-)
💡Did you know? The best thing that can happen to you in a negotiation is when your negotiation partner does not agree to your terms? Why? Wait for it :-) 💡
#2 practice, practice, practice
As a second step you have to practice this so-called love amount. The amount has to roll of your tongue, so you get used to it. Say it as often as possible.
Then you should practice with a friend. Let her/him play the role of the „bad cop“.
Prepare your arguments as to why you are worth the extra money and then get into the battle.
If you cannot convince your “bad cop”-friend, work on your arguments and try again until your friend is convinced. This helps you also to handle rejections and to learn the other side‘s perspective.
The goal is to find an argument for every objection you get. For example:
Hiring Manager: „Unfortunately this is over our budget.“
Hiring Manager: „We have fixed salary bands and this amount is above the band we have decided for you.“
#3 technique, technique, technique
How does the negotiation usually start? At three quarter of the job interview the interviewer usually asks you what your salary expectation is.
Most people then start moving around on their chair or they mumble something that is difficult to understand. Or my favorite moment is when someone says what he wants to earn and then starts arguing that "of course it depends on the package, and it’s not only about the money..." as if to overcome this feeling of insecurity by talking.
No worries, almost everybody does that. When I used to name my fee – I continued talking and talking so my potential client did not even have a minute to think about it.
Nowadays I say my fee and just stay silent and wait for the other person to react. And based on their reaction I react.
Here is what you do when it comes to the negotiation part.
First you say something like:
„You told me that you are looking for a … who is capable of … So due to my experience and my recent degree as …, I consider an annual salary of € XX,000 gross to be appropriate.”
It is important that you repeat what you spoke about and why you are the perfect candidate. Then you say your number and after that – most important - keep quiet. Wait until the other person says something. I know, it can feel like hours but usually it’s just a couple of seconds.
There are three possible ways how hiring managers and recruiters could react:
- They just write your amount down and say nothing more and move on to the next thing on their Agenda.
- They say something like. “Uh – that is not what we have expected and unfortunately this is over our budget. Is there an amount below that, you would also be satisfied with?”
- Or they ask you about your pain threshold.
Trust me! This is the best thing that can happen to you!
Why? They are obviously interested in you. Otherwise they would not try to find a good solution for both sides.
A "no" is not the end of the negotiation.
It's the beginning!
Now most important: Don’t just give them a number that is below your first offer.
If you have given them your salary expectation in your application documents, they have already talked about an amount prior to the interview. And if your expectation was so much over their budget, they would have never invited you.
So here is what you do instead (let’s go with the budget example):
You say: I can understand that it is important for you that the salaries are within the budget – So what is your budget exactly?
It’s their turn now to name an amount and then you can decide whether this is appropriate for you (remember – if it is between your good and your love amount it should be appropriate – or even if it is higher that your min amount - you could still agree if you think the job is worth it).
Last but not least: Money is not the only thing that you can negotiate
There are things that can also be negotiated. So, if you have reached the limit there are things you can also negotiate as part of your package:
- Benefits: Such as a train ticket, travel reimbursement, a company car or a specific training / certification
- Work Situation: remote work or less working hours
My all-time favorite is the salary staggering: You accept their offer but you agree that the salary will be increased to a certain level after 6 months or a year.
Most people fear the negotiation part in a job interview. I hope I was able to take away some of the fear. Negotiations are part of every professional job interview and it's crucial that you prepare yourself also for this part of the conversation. Do this and negotiations could actually become fun :-)
Become a Negotiation Pro
You are still unsure how to negotiate, what your strengths are or how to present yourself ideally in a job interview? Book a free introduction call with one of our coaches and together we can figure out how to help you in best way with your next interview.
Und hier findest du noch weitere Tipps rund um Beruf und Karriere:
