Believe it or not, 60% of workers accept the first salary offered by the company without negotiating at all, even though deep down they are still not satisfied with that amount. Because many people believe that if they negotiate the salary, it may cause you to lose that job, make the image look bad, or cause difficulties and conflicts. It's easier to just accept the offer. These beliefs are not only true. It also makes us miss the opportunity to get the best. Let's look at some reasons why everyone should negotiate their salary and what techniques can you do to successfully negotiate your salary?
Why is salary negotiation a good idea?
The most basic reason is because salary negotiations are the norm. All applicants, whether for small or large positions, can negotiate salary. Because every time a salary is offered, HR people prepare themselves to be negotiated by the applicant. Successfully negotiating salary, whether the increase is large or small, also helps us have more confidence in ourselves.
The most important reason why salary negotiation is worth giving a try is that receiving a salary that is less than you should have will have a negative impact on your income in the long run. Calculating your income on a monthly basis may not make much of a difference. But when calculating earnings over years or years, small salary differences become more apparent.
So instead of looking at salary negotiations as creating conflict, think of salary negotiations as a shared goal between us and the company: we want the right job. As for companies, they need the right people who are ready to create value for the business and organization. Calling and earning a reasonable salary is therefore a common goal for both us and our employers.
Salary negotiation techniques
- Wait for the right time: The best time to negotiate salary is when you become the 'best candidate' in the eyes of the employer. Therefore, if the employer has not yet asked about the expected salary, just don't rush to talk about it. Let us show them that we are suitable for this position with all our experience and skills until we receive an offer first. After that, we can start negotiating the salary. But if you can't avoid being asked about your salary early in the interview, if you have a number in mind and are confident that it is a reasonable number, tell the amount of money in a range or the lowest acceptable and highest desired first. But if you're still not sure how much salary you should ask for, ask about the salary range for this position according to the company's structure so that we can get a picture. Ready to say "I would like to ask for more time to understand the responsibilities of this position" so that we have time to go back and study good information instead of asking for a salary without criteria and risking losing good opportunities.
- Evaluate the salary you should earn: Normally, the salary increase when moving each job is based on your original salary, plus an additional 10-30% or more or less as appropriate. Based on the average salary in the labor market, but one thing you absolutely must not do is not lie about your current salary. No matter how much you want an increase in salary, because you have the right to be asked to see your pay slip and you will be caught. There is no fixed rule for calculating current salary. Some people may only think about the base salary. But in general, a fixed income is usually added, such as salary + fixed bonus + provident fund. Therefore, when telling HR your current salary, please explain further how this money is calculated. Along with telling us what benefits you have received so that HR can calculate the likely salary to present to us. Finding salary information for people in the same position as us same business as us. This is another thing that should be done because it will give us a reference to prevent getting a salary lower than the market price. This information can be obtained from reliable organizations or agencies. In that information will be the lowest and highest salary along with experience. Let's see where our experience lies on the cylinder. If our experience is so high that it's near the tip of the barrel, you can call for a salary close to the highest salary according to the information. However, other factors may need to be considered as well, such as work experience that matches what employers are looking for, other special abilities that facilitate work. There are certain skills that we are good at and are hard to find in the general public, for example. These things will give us a greater handicap in salary negotiations.
- Evaluate the situation and see how much bargaining power you have: It cannot be denied that timing and opportunity also result in our bargaining power increasing or decreasing. For example, if we didn't think of changing jobs at first, but HR contacted us and invited us to work with them. In this case, we are considered to have quite an advantage. Because the employer wants us more than we want the job. On the contrary, if we are currently unemployed and need a job in the near future, employers may view you as having less bargaining power. This causes us to use our ability to negotiate more or lower our expectations instead. Or in the situation where we just moved last year and then we want to move work again, they may be able to get a smaller salary increase than people who have moved for a long time because our experience has not increased much.
- Prepare to answer and ask questions: Let's start with the question that you will definitely face, which is "How much salary do you want?" We will answer in a range to make it easier for both parties to negotiate. Because it gives a better picture of what the salary we really want is and what the lowest salary we can accept is. The technique for setting a range is not to set a wide range and to set the maximum amount in the range a little higher than the amount we actually need because there is a high chance that the company will negotiate secondarily. Setting it a little higher means that once the negotiation is complete, we have a better chance of getting a salary that matches the number in our minds. And there is something to be careful about when telling the desired amount. Should not be changed later. You should make a decisive decision first. In addition, in the job interview process, there is also the chance that we will encounter difficult questions such as "Are you interviewing elsewhere or have you received an offer from another company?", "If we made an offer tomorrow, would you say yes?", "Is our company your first choice? Or not?" etc. Answering these questions may affect salary negotiations. Therefore, we should think of these answers in advance and think about how you can respond without making yourself seem less attractive. The advice is to answer honestly and not lie. And of course, when the negotiation is about two sides, we, as applicants, can also ask questions to collect additional information. Examples of questions that may be useful include: When the company has offered a salary and we are still not satisfied, might as well start with it. "Can I negotiate my salary?" to show courtesy and determination. "Apart from salary, can I negotiate other benefits?" is used to ask if we have additional needs. "I'm not sure how this amount is calculated?" is used to ask if we feel that the salary may be too little compared to the job position, responsibilities, and our experiences etc.
- Prove that you are capable: The more you can prove yourself, the more you increase your chances of negotiating your salary. This must start with having a good resume. During the interview, present how our experience and skills will help develop the company. Bring out the strengths that are likely to match what employers are looking for. But be careful not to look arrogant. The important thing is if you get the opportunity to do an assignment to prove your knowledge and certain skills from the selection stage, you should do your best because it will be an important indicator of how much we can actually do what we say. Whenever we are the 'right person', you can believe that HR is ready to talk with relevant people to help us get the salary as close to what we want as possible.
- Don't rush to accept an offer if it doesn't get what you want: When I received the offer, the salary I received was still not quite what I wanted. If we consider our duties, responsibilities, work content, and abilities we have and believed that he should receive a more appropriate salary and it is expected that the company itself should be able to provide more than this, you may try submitting your offer again along with giving reasons why we think so and sincerely reassure the employer that we truly intend to work here. If the negotiation results are not as desired, it may show that the salary we are asking for actually exceeds the salary cap or budget set by the company. We have to come back and consider whether we still want to accept that offer or not. Or you will decide to look for other opportunities instead. You should not negotiate the salary just to try and decide whether the other party will accept it or not. And in the end, if you didn't choose to work here, it will waste time on both sides, look unprofessional, and do not respect that company.
Ultimately, achieving success in the negotiation process, whether it results in a slight salary increase or meets our expected target, brings a sense of satisfaction. It signifies the company's trust in our abilities to fulfill the job requirements. Moving forward, our primary responsibility is to demonstrate our value and worthiness of this salary by consistently delivering high-quality work and actively contributing to the company's growth and success.
