Welcome back to Recruiting 101 with Camille and Kierra. Recruiting 101 is dedicated to helping candidates understand the process from the recruiter’s perspective. In this segment, we’ll be sharing tips and tricks as we experience them. And this week’s topic is about negotiating salary. So I’ll start us off with the conversation.
In order to negotiate salary, I feel like there’s a lot of research you need to do beforehand. I know when I have done this, I’ve always looked up tips and tricks, like example conversations, really watch videos. I know there’s a lot of resources out there, so we’ll include some in the comments too. But really it’s just about being confident, being prepared, doing your research to have that conversation.
So best thing to do was really just do your research on the salary, know your worth, know the market, know what that company pays for that certain type of job title, and also what you’re bringing to the company with your experience. So I would just make a cheat sheet of like all the points that you have, just gathering data and research on the company as well.
Yeah. And when looking at what you should be getting compensated for as far as that position goes, you can reach out to other companies and see what a fair salary would be for that position if you’re not really sure what other people in that position are making. That’ll show that you kind of know what people should be making when you go in to do that
negotiation, shows that you did your research, you know the market, that kind of thing. I think it’s super important. It’ll definitely come through when you’re showing your confidence as well that you know and you did all the research you needed to do. With that being said, there’s other ways to get compensated.
So I think you need to look at the overall package when considering the salary. You can be compensated in a lot of other ways as far as like your benefits goes, perks, PTO, that kind of thing. I think that’s a good thing to factor in when looking at the overall. Base isn’t everything. I know that it’s a start for a lot of people, but I think
knowing everything that goes into it is important. And let’s say the base isn’t where you want, you can also negotiate that with things like being compensated for your commute or asking for remote days. Those type of things are things that you can negotiate for and ask for when you’re talking to somebody about the salary.
Definitely. And I think it’s important to remember certain pay just based on location and because companies are remote, so it’s important to consider that before going to negotiate that salary and even some perks. I know some companies have health benefits, so like they’ll pay for your gym membership.
I know a friend of mine even got like an Apple watch towards health benefits. So there’s certain things that the company can do for you to compensate if for some reason they’re a little locked with that budget. There’s other perks that you can consider as well, and like unlimited PTO, bonuses, salary increases after a year.
There’s a lot of things, just if that solid number isn’t where it’s at for you. There’s a few other things to look at before going to negotiate. But we’ll talk a little bit about how to negotiate here. Yeah. And just one thing about that location, it is going to be different for a big city. If you’re looking at salaries in a bigger city rather than a rural area, the salaries are going to be a lot different just because of cost of living as to where that location is.
But as far as budgets, some people can’t go over a certain budget. One of the things that I think would be good to kind of keep as like a rule of thumb, is if you are doing like an entry level position or a position that you’ve never done before, don’t ask more than that 10%. I think that if it is a new position for you, it’s going to be hard to kind of justify that.
So I think that 10% is a good starting point if you do not have that experience prior. Yeah, that’s a good point. Yeah. Yeah. As far as like preparing to ask for negotiation, where would you start with that? Yeah, so I think in preparation I would really gather the offer. Make sure to read through it. Read all the benefits, see if there’s any type of bonus after a year or salary increase after year.
Really just gather all of your information, see what you’re working with. What worked for me is I had reached out to a mentor of mine who was an experienced professional, had about 10 years experience in talent acquisition. So it was really helpful. She shared her experience with me and kind of prepared me for the conversation.
So really helpful to talk to a mentor, look up example conversations to prepare. Really just write your notes down. And probably best, just one tip would be to always do it over the phone with a recruiter or hiring manager, whoever you’re speaking with. Just make sure that you sound respectful and that you’re very thankful and appreciative of the offer.
But maybe say- and just kinda lay it all out. Say that “I’m bringing this experience” I know maybe you were making the same or even more at your last job. And just kind of explain and go through the details why you’re looking for more and just see what they can do. A lot of times they will be able to give you more.
I haven’t really heard of many people saying that they couldn’t. At least they can throw something more in there if they really want you to be part of their team. So just do it respectfully and just share those details of why you’re looking for more. Yeah, I agree with that. And you also like don’t want to ruin your chances by asking for like far too much.
So I think that along with that research piece, that’ll help a lot. But one way you can word that is by asking, “Is this number flexible?” And then you’ll kind of be able to gauge where they’re at as far as that number goes. But really just knowing how to advocate for yourself, I think is really important in this process.
I know that 30% of women negotiate their salary, which is very low. It’s under 50%. So I think just like actually going for it is something that we need to do more of. And I think it can be very intimidating, especially being right out of college or even five years or less into your career, it’s very intimidating to negotiate your salary.
And I feel like that’s something that I have heard from experienced professionals who are older than me many times is that our generation doesn’t know how to negotiate. And so I really don’t think it’s a topic that is talked about enough. I have known people or friends of mine have come over and told me that
they accepted an offer and then negotiated. And I was like, “Well, you already accepted. Like they know you’re going to accept, so why would they give you anymore?” So I think it’s just something that isn’t really talked about. I know I had talked about it with my dad when I was in college, so he gave me some tips and advice to kind of do that.
But if you don’t really have anyone to go to or a mentor, it’s really hard to know what to say and be confident in it, and really like build your case for it. So I think it’s a really tough thing to do. So I would just say do your research, talk to your mentors, and really just kind of talk to others about it and spread awareness for how to negotiate salary. Especially as women it can be very intimidating to do.
Yeah, and like one thing I think you should remind yourself is the worst they can say is no. Then you know at least you tried. So I think that’s a good thing to keep in mind when thinking about negotiating. Definitely and always just be respectful and confident and hold your ground. But just know that if they’re not able to give it to you, you just have to know if they’re not able to go up anymore, are you going to accept the offer or not?
So that’s just something that you’ll have to decide yourself. Yeah, I agree. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Remember to check out all of our content on talentinsights.hirewell.com and follow us on LinkedIn for more content. Have a wonderful day.
