This week, a topic came up regarding salary negotiations.
How do you go about negotiating a salary? In the sports industry we’re often told that negotiating salary is out of the question being that most positions are coveted. The truth is, we should all be able to negotiate. Do your research, know your worth and come up with a plan.
Below are some tips from our members when negotiating your next salary:
- Ask for what you want and don’t settle for what you can’t afford to be paid. You only get one chance to negotiate your first salary with a company. Look at the overall comprehensive package and see what other trade-offs you can get if the salary isn’t there (vacation days, flex time, work from home).
- Know what you’re comfortable with going into the negotiation. By comfortable I mean, a month into the job will you be regretting what you agreed to? Also, I would suggest thinking about it as a range: low, middle, and high rather than a dead set number. Based on my experience in HR, we made offers in ranges and were often surprised when folks hit us with a hard set number, often low balling themselves and leaving money on the table.
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Be sure to include professional development into your compensation package. Are there conferences etc. you attended in the past that were paid for by your employer? Most companies will pay for a conference if it’s relevant. And if so, is your new employer willing to support you in that way?
- Think about all the other perks that make the job tolerable when your manager and co-workers are annoying. Think about the travel, tuition reimbursement, and personal hot spot.
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I recently learned not to accept the first offer, but I’d be curious to see what others think about that advice. It worked for me this time, but I don’t know in general if that’s always a good thing to do. – “I was actually hoping for closer to (insert number).” Remember you have a number in your head, so that’s why you say “closer”. If they hit you right on that number great! If not, come with something that’s around there, you still won!
- My last 2 jobs I negotiated salaries after turning down the first offer. I think it was since I knew what my market value was and I was woke in regards to my profession and what the salaries were. I was also comfortable with not taking the job if I didn’t get what I wanted. In my case here at [company redacted], after I turned them down, they asked me what would it take to get me here. I gave them a number and they met it fortunately plus some additional perks that money can’t buy. What worked for me was being comfortable not working here and my other job. I didn’t act like or felt like I needed it.
- I was told to use my last salary and negotiate from 10% higher than that as a starting point
We hope these tips help with your next negotiation! Good luck!
Be great,
MiS