How to: Negotiate the Best Salary Offer for Yourself

What’s the slowest way to lose $600,000? On average you could stand to lose $600,000 over a lifetime by not properly negotiating your salary, according to lifehacker.com.  This is based off of a 40 year career when asking for $5,000 more than your initial offer.

Below is how to negotiate the best salary offer:

1) Be Enthusiastic.

Let the employer know how gracious you are for the job offer and that you would love to work with their company. It is important to remember that you are negotiating with employees at the company and negotiation is filled with emotion. Being a likable person is going to get you a lot farther in the process and will set you up for success in the negotiation process.

2) Know what you’re worth to a company.

Research online or speak to recruiters on what salary is expected for your experience and within the industry. Even if you are a seasoned candidate who has negotiated job offers in the past, you want to make sure you do not price yourself out of a position because of what you are currently or were previously making. Take a job offer survey on payscale.com to understand a proper salary range.

3) Take time to evaluate the offer.

In order to properly understand an offer, you must look at the entire package. Take a look at vacation time, benefits, bonuses and everything included in the offer. This could change how much you would like to negotiate and it gives you talking points to improve your salary offer.

4) Be prepared.

Asking a company that you just received an offer from for a higher salary can be challenging and they will ask a lot of questions. It is important to not only do your research, but prepare for those questions such as:

– Do you have any other offers?

– Are we your top choice?

If you are unprepared for these questions you may answer incorrectly or give false information which can hurt you in the long run with a company.