Suppose that you are engaged in a job search. Do you know what the typical salary is for the position sought? Do you know how to negotiate for the best possible salary? [While not acting too aggressively.] Today, we look at negotiating your starting salary. We focus largely on those entering the full-time job market, especially new college graduates.
Over the years, we identified good salary guides tor determining typical salaries. For example, click here.
To review information on salary negotiating in many different situations, read these two articles:
- A Great Tool for Salary Negotiations (with an interactive estimator)
- Tips for Salary Negotiations
For New Job Candidates: Negotiating Your Starting Salary
As Genevieve Carlton, writes for thebestschools.org:
Here’s a fun [?] fact most job candidates don’t know: Hiring managers expect new hires to negotiate their starting salaries. A Salary.com survey found that 84% of employers plan to negotiate on salary. And more than half of employers intentionally offer a low starting salary to leave room for negotiations.
Yet many new hires accept the initial offer without negotiating. A 2019 study found that about half of new employees negotiate — including 68% of men. By contrast, a study from 2020 found that 60% of women had never negotiated their salary. The cost of not negotiating adds up. According to one estimate, accepting the initial offer could cost you more than a million dollars in lost earnings over the course of your career.
Even over shorter periods of time, a high starting salary can make a big difference. Consider two new hires. One accepts the initial offer of $50,000 per year, while the other negotiates the salary up to $60,000. Over five years, with annual raises of 3%, the employee who negotiated will earn $53,000 more than the employee who did not negotiate.
Below, we cite some of Carlton’s negotiating tips. To learn more, read her full article.
First, conduct salary research and strategize before the negotiation, so that when you walk in, you’re already prepared. Second, go into your salary negotiations with confidence. Remember that employers expect you to negotiate, so don’t let fear keep you from asking for a higher salary. And finally, act professional and aim high. Selling yourself short this early in the job process could impact your whole career, but negotiations are also a chance to make a strong first impression.
For each tip in this chart, expanding the topic shows in-depth advice. To do this, visit the article.
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