Negotiate Like A Boss
I ran through that buck-fifty live nation fronted me
they workin on another deal they talking two hundred fifty
I’m holdin’ out for three
two seventy-five and I just might agree
-Jay-Z, 3 kings
How Negotiating Defines Your Value
Negotiation is one of the core ways to demonstrate your value to a potential employer, and the costs of not negotiating are very high. The Society of Human Resources Management estimates that over the course of a career, a person who did not negotiate a higher salary each time they began a new job would lose $500k - $1M in lifetime income, compared to a person who asked for more. That’s a lot of coins.
Negotiation can be easy if you keep an objective mind about it. It’s not personal, rather its factual. Tools like salary.com, glasdoor.com, payscale, blind and even linkedin are good places to start your research. Use these sites to establish a baseline number of what your skills are worth and compare that to salary data other candidates and employees have reported. Is your future employer paying more than their competitors? Less? Do they offer signing bonuses, or annual bonuses? Is stock available? This will give you a solid starting place to identify your salary range and other compensation levers you can use during negotiations.
Certainly, there’s some risk in salary discussions. You can aim too high and price yourself out of a role, but the biggest threat is aiming too low. But it’s a worthy conversation. It is much harder to get a raise once you’re in an organization, than it is to come in at a salary that is not only fair, but competitive with the market.
Many of us are price conscious when it comes to spending money, but we’re not price conscious when it comes to making money. We'll travel further to spend less money on groceries. We’ll compare gas prices and pick the gas station we think offers the best value for the price. Yet we don't see the importance of shopping around when it comes to our salary.
The most impactful thing you can do is to aim to secure a second offer from another company. This way, you can truly see what an organization is willing to pay you and let the numbers speak for themselves. Obviously, if one offer is from a non-profit organization and the other is from a national corporation, the numbers will vary wildly, but you’ll begin to see what your skills are worth, and provide more options for yourself at the same time.
If negotiating makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone. Luckily, comfort is not required to negotiate. What is required is a knowledge of how much the market is willing to pay you for your skills and experience. If you balance this knowledge with the needs and budget of your future employer, you can then identify an ideal salary range that is likely to work for both parties.
Never be afraid to ask for what is fair, given the market value of your skills. And if you’re exceptional at what you do, ask for even more. When you start a job, it's best to be focused on the work, and not regretful about how you left money on the table.