How to Negotiate the Salary You Want

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Negotiating your salary can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially if you’re new to the job market. The good news – most managers are open to a little back and forth. The bad news – they have a lot more practice than most job seekers.

If you’re coming close to landing a job or you’re getting ready to negotiate your new salary, follow these 7 tips to give yourself the best chance of scoring the the salary you want:

1. Negotiate in person

In a world of tweets, text messages and emails, it may not seem like a big deal to negotiate over the phone or using email. Don’t.

Negotiating face-to-face gives you several advantages. First, it’s easier to make an impression on the hiring manager if you meet in person. Second, in-person negotiations give you the opportunity to read how the hiring manager reacts during to your propositions, and react accordingly. Finally, being physically present during negotiations helps build an expectation of resolution that a phone call or email just doesn’t create.

2. Do your homework

Prepare for a negotiation just like you would an interview. Research the company and the position on sites like Glassdoor and Salary.com, to determine the average salary and the high/low range for someone with your qualifications. Learn as much as you can about the different employee benefits the company offers, and be prepared to discuss how important certain benefits are to you.

3. Know what you’re worth

Once you know your salary range, determine what the precise number you are going to open with will be, and stick with it. Recent research shows that opening with precise numbers in negotiations helps secure a more favorable result. Not only are you setting yourself apart from the typical candidate by asking for $55,450 instead of $56,000, but you’re also making the hiring manager feel like you’ve done your homework, and you know exactly what you’re worth.

4. Make the first offer

If you’ve done your homework and determined what typical salaries look like for candidates of your caliber, be the first to make an offer… and make it a high one.

This strategy sets the bar for negotiations and pulls the hiring manager closer to the salary you want. In the end, making a well-researched, precise offer at the top of the salary range will make it difficult for the hiring manager to counter too far in the other direction, setting you up for success.

5. Ask about all of your options

You’re bound to have questions about the different benefits the company offers, and the hiring manager knows this. Treat the negotiation like another part of your interview.

At first, ask simple questions about the basics, like paid vacation and sick days, to set the hiring manager at ease. Once you’ve covered these options, dig deeper into different benefits you may be able to add to your base salary.

Be prepared, some hiring managers will not budge on their base salary amount. If this is the case, ask about how you can incorporate things like performance/signing bonuses or a guaranteed early performance review, with the possibility of a raise to supplement a lower base salary.

6. Silence is golden

Whether you’ve just opened negotiations or listened to the hiring manager’s counteroffer, silence is your best friend.

Once you’ve made your offer, let the hiring manager consider it. You’ve put your cards on the table and now it’s their turn to respond. Whatever you do, don’t change your offer just because you’re afraid of a little silence.

On the flip side, put silence to work for you once you’ve heard the hiring manager’s offer. Even if you know right away you are not going to accept, take a moment to “consider” the offer… maybe the hiring manager will make a better offer to fill the silence.

7. Know when to walk away

The most important thing for any negotiation is knowing when to walk away. Calculate your expenses and determine the absolute minimum you are willing to take in order to perform the duties expected of the position. If the hiring manager refuses to negotiate anything above that number, then it’s time to walk away. Accepting less than what you’re worth is a waste of your time and can negatively affect your career growth going forward.

As you prepare for your first — or next — salary negotiation, focus on mastering these seven tips to help score the salary that you want, not the salary they want to give you.

Do you have any great salary negotiation tips? Share them in the comments below!