Everyone wants a salary that caters to all their wants and needs; that’s common knowledge. Even if a person has a thick cheque of cash waiting in their bank accounts every month, the human wants don’t end there – everyone wants more and more cash, that’s a well-known fact.
For that very reason, everyone should know how to negotiate a higher salary ingeniously if they feel like they’re being underpaid or simply if their salary doesn’t resonate at the same frequency as their desired lifestyle demands.
Salary negotiation is a trick that no one should be a stranger to as it guarantees heftier amounts of cash, which, let’s be honest, is what everyone wants, if not up front, then at the back of their minds.
In this article today, we’ll be learning how to negotiate a higher salary and how to negotiate salary offers. So, sit back and relax as we walk you through what you want most!
What is salary negotiation?
If you don’t already know what salary negotiation is, let us break it down for you. In its essence, salary negotiation is a process in which an employee deftly negotiates the amount of their salary, income, pay, commission, wage remuneration, or salary raise with an individual sitting in a higher position, usually a representative of the employee or their manager.
Reasons why salary negotiation is important
Negotiating a salary offer can seem like a daunting procedure for people. According to the results of a 30,000-American people survey by PayScale, 57% of individuals have never had this talk with any of their employers in their careers.
There is a plethora of reasons why people don’t negotiate salary offers with their employers, the first and foremost being they don’t know how to negotiate a higher salary effectively. Secondly, the mere thought of this conversation with their bosses sends shivers down people’s spine, making them colossally uncomfortable in ways they didn’t even know were possible.
In addition to that, people are stupefied by the thought that asking for higher pay might lead their managers to perceive them as too ‘greedy’ or ‘cash-hungry,’ and nobody wants a ‘greedy tag’ chaperoning them wherever they step foot.
In spite of all that, it cannot be stressed enough how important salary negotiation is if you want to assert your self-worth. Think of it this way – you’re potentially losing thousands of dollars if you don’t demand a higher salary right this instant.
Here are some reasons why negotiating your salary is extremely imperative.
- Not asking for a higher salary is going to cost you
When you’re not sending a salary negotiation email or aren’t taking any action to get your current salary revised, you’re actually incurring a cost to yourself. When you go for salary negotiation, you are not only negotiating the number that’s going to be credited to your bank account; you’re going beyond that.
Settling for a lesser salary and being underpaid is astronomically detrimental to your work performance. Underpaid employees are generally dissatisfied and less productive than employees that are paid appropriately. If you’re an underpaid employee, your motivation levels plummet, making you less likely to earn a raise in the near future.
- The greater good
Failing to negotiate for a higher salary is like failing to grow, as negotiating salary offers is also linked to other non-monetary benefits. Learning how to negotiate a higher salary and how to negotiate salary offers allows you to tackle challenging conversations in your office. It allows you to be very professional, cooperative, committed, and not appear to be at anyone’s throats at the same time.
- There isn’t as much risk attached to it as you might imagine
Did you know that 75% of people who asked for a pay raise successfully got one? We did not brew these numbers up; studies say so. If you’re fretting over that your employer will fire you just over a demand for a pay raise; you’re very wrong. Long story short, salary negotiation really isn’t as risky as you perceive it.
How to negotiate a higher salary? Tips on how to negotiate your salary offer
The pandemic created a shortage of skilled professionals, which still persists today. This means there’s an increasing level of competition. If you consider yourself to be a skilled and adroit individual, settling for a lesser salary will leave some good cash on the table if you don’t know how to negotiate a higher salary.
Discussed below are some salary negotiation tips that you may find useful.
- Familiarize yourself with industry salary trends
Before starting your salary negotiation process or writing your salary negotiation email, it’s best if you do your homework first. It would be best if you were as well-informed of the industry trends as possible. Find out how much people with the same skills as yours and people in similar job roles are getting paid. It opens your doors to greater pay if they’re getting paid more than you.
- Build your case and speak facts
Once you get a salary offer, don’t shoot back a counter salary offer that’s greater; build your case and explain to your employers why you feel like you deserve more. Showcase your skills and expertise to your employer in a way that wins them over. Negotiating salary offers this way is sure to bear fruit!
Furthermore, when negotiating a salary offer, always tell the truth. Don’t artificially and baselessly inflate your previous salaries to demand a greater salary; this puts employers off.
- Practice your delivery
Before actually facing your manager to negotiate your salary, make sure you practice your delivery. Practice your delivery in front of a friend or mentor before taking the big step. Practice your pitch a few times to ensure that you’re confident with all the points you’ve practiced.
- Wrapping it up like a pro
If your hiring manager doesn’t seem to be too taken by your demands, make sure you don’t drag your negotiations, as this may frustrate them. A reasonable and wise manager won’t fire you because you asked for a pay raise, so don’t worry about that. Wrap the salary negotiation up when you feel like you’re going nowhere.
- Compose a salary negotiation email
If you shudder at the thought of negotiating your salary in person, try out a salary negotiation email. This way, you won’t have to face your employers physically. However, when writing a salary negotiating email, ensure your content is sufficient to build your case in a positive light. If you feel like you won’t do well on your own, type in ‘how to negotiate salary offer via email sample’ and look at different salary negotiation email samples available on the internet.
- Maintaining positivity
Know that employers don’t usually like the salary negotiation process, so stay positive throughout and remember that your employer isn’t your foe. Make sure your tone is always positive and calm when negotiating salary offers or salary in general.
Now that you’re well aware of how to negotiate a higher salary and how to negotiate salary offers, you’ve already taken your first grand step towards a higher pay that vibrates at the same frequency as your desired lifestyle and standard of living.
