Salary Negotiation Advice

Salary negotiation advice: How to achieve the best outcome when job hunting.

Getting salary negotiations advice can be a key part of your job search. While there are many reasons to be looking for a new job, from seeking new technical challenges, to relocation. The main driver is often achieving a better salary. In the current cost of living crisis how much we must spend each month has a major impact on our standard of living. Unless you are very fortunate, salary is the main way we cover our costs.

Despite wages being the main reason, we go to work, in Senex Recruitment’s experience it is often a subject that many candidates do not talk freely about. Many people enter the job market, with the view that the market will automatically respond to their application with best possible salary outcome. On numerous occasions we have often spoken to candidates who wished to keep their salary private. Who then find the resulting offer was way below their expectations.

This is why we think getting the best salary negotiation advice is extremely important. In our latest article on job hunting advice, we will reflect on how to enter salary negotiations to ensure you achieve the best outcome. The salary you want.

Salary negotiations advice: Setting a realistic objective.

You have decided to look for a new job. Apart for the obvious next steps such as registering with a recruitment consultancy such as Senex Recruitment. It is critical that you start to contemplate what you are looking for in your next job. What are the important things in this new role that will motivate you?

Is it the sector? your colleagues? The benefits? The career progression? Location? Work Life balance? Or maybe it is the salary? It is likely to be a mixture of many of these factors and it is important to decide what and why. We recommend deeply assessing the reasons and focusing on your priorities. They are areas we will discuss with when you register with Senex Recruitment, so we understand and advise on what you are looking for in your next job.

Salary negotiations can be a delicate process, and there are various factors beyond the salary itself to think about, such as the overall benefits package.

What’s important is to be well prepared, know your worth in the market, and put across your arguments convincingly. By doing so, you’ll stand the best chance of getting your expected salary.

Salary negotiations; Do your research.

When beginning your job search, you’ll want to know what the market rate for your role, industry and experience is. There are several ways to find this out. Firstly, you can use websites such as Glassdoor or adzuna who have a salary guide, which can even focus on specific companies. Secondly, contact Senex Recruitment who will have up to date market knowledge on the current job market. Our salary guidance is built on current expert knowledge of day-to-day job market and is likely to be more up to date than online salary guides which can be up to 12 months out of date.

Location can be an important factor to add into your calculations. If the job is based in a place with a higher cost of living, such as London, then it’s fair to expect some sort of additional weighting. However, it is important to remember companies will not consider an extensive commute that you choose to do. However, they may add flexible working into the offer rather than an increase in salary.

You also need to focus on the type of organisation you’re applying for. The salary is likely going to be different for a company that has a high risk factor such as a venture capital funded technical start-up. A high salary maybe offered, but the company may struggle to obtain profitability.

Once you’ve figured out your salary expectations for a given role supported by research, you can move onto building a convincing argument for interview.

It is important to note that Senex Recruitment will address and advise on these areas. We will have already discussed your salary expectations and justified this with the recruiting manager. Each interview is different, and your will need to judge your response accordingly.

Consider the whole benefits package.

One of the most important questions to ask at interview is about the entire benefits package. While the salary is an important part of this, you can get a better picture of the other benefits that might sweeten the deal by asking the question during the interview. Look out for some of these benefits to factor into the overall figure such as bonus and overtime.

How to answer, ‘what are your salary expectations?’

You’re ready with your research and you’ve got your persuasive justification for your expected salary planned out. Now it’s time to put together your answer to this question.

In general, our advice at interviews we organise is to express your current salary and package and say that you are looking for a competitive offer. We will do the rest.

However, if you are approaching an interview via a Recruitment Consultancy who does not have the attention to detail that Senex Recruitment has or attending an interview directly you will want to express the following points.

Express the average salary for either this job role, or an equivalent job, and where you found that information.
Define your level of experience and support with evidence of your accomplishments – jobs usually have a salary range.
Reiterate the added value you can bring to a job role, due to your skills, experience, and achievements.
Identify and demonstrate any skills that you have that are especially valuable and in-demand,

Practise your response

Just like for any other potentially tricky interview question, the more you practise answering the better you’ll come across. You want to be as confident in your answer as possible, and stumbling or getting mixed up at this point won’t do you any favours. Practice answering the question with a friend or family member as part of your overall interview practice.

Clearly state your desired salary or salary range and have your concise and thoughtful justifications ready – these can be two or three points that make it clear you know your own value and you’ve done your research on the playing field.

Be flexible

Negotiation requires some give and take from both parties. When stating your expected salary, it can be a good idea to give them a range rather than a single number, leaving some room for manoeuvre. If you are stating your range first, the hiring manager might try to pin you to the lower end of the range, so if you’re set on a particular number, make sure that’s near the bottom of your range. It is also important to stick to your expectations, often candidates increase their expectations at the later stages of the negotiation process. This is always off putting to the recruiting companies and should be avoided.

Know your worth sometimes you must walk away or compromise.

It’s an unfortunate fact that sometimes the employer’s budget and your expected salary do not align. Misaligned salary expectations can understandably be a deal breaker, and if you know your worth, you’ll know when it’s right to respectfully walk away from negotiations. It is also worth considering that you may have to compromise, because the job is the right one for you.