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Posted Aug. 20, 2014

Postgrad Careers: Negotiating Your First Job Offer

Now that you have received that all-important job offer think about negotiating the best salary package for yourself. Some jobs, for example in local government, the NHS and the military, have fixed pay scales, but other companies will be open to negotiation, which is a vital skill when job-hunting. Once you have accepted a job at a certain point on the pay scale, if you lag behind your colleagues in terms of pay, it may take you years to catch up. An extra few thousand on your salary at the start of your new job may be worth hundreds of thousands over the course of your career if you invest it wisely. Perhaps you didn't discuss money in your interview: it is often advisable to leave the question of pay until you have received a definite offer. Provided you gave a good impression at your interview, you may well find that your prospective employer is open to your negotiating a better salary package for yourself.

Research has shown that employers may see women who try to negotiate salary increases as demanding and greedy, and somehow less "nice". For this reason, women sometimes find negotiating for themselves difficult, and it is crucial that this problem is tackled if current inequalities in lifetime earnings are to be reduced. One tactic is for the prospective employee to outline the unique benefits she will bring to the organisation overall rather than simply ask for her value to be recognised financially.

Do your research Make sure you research your employer thoroughly. You need to find out what the company is likely to be able to afford, and what are the typical salaries for your grade. You are selling a product, yourself, for the best price you can get, and the buyer, your prospective employer, will want to get the best value for money. As long as you made a good impression at your interview, you should be able to negotiate a salary at the top of the range.

Resources to help you find out what sort of salary you should be asking for include:
  • People in your professional and social networks
  • Job adverts, online and in newspapers
  • Trades Unions and professional organisations
  • Your local Training and Enterprise Council

Information from any or all of these sources will help you to get a feel for the market rate - you do not want to pitch it too low or too high, either of which might put off your prospective employer.

The Benefits Package If you don't achieve the salary you were hoping for, it is well worth trying to negotiate a better benefits package. Benefits offered may include a bonus, shares, a non-contributory pension scheme, health insurance, and a company car or mileage allowance. You will need to look closely at the small print: some bonus schemes are payable over several years, to act as an incentive to get you to stay with the company. Health insurance and company cars are classed as benefits in kind and will affect your tax coding.

Don't Sell Yourself Short Job adverts sometimes include the phrase "salary range" or "salary negotiable".

Either way, the onus is one you to negotiate yourself the best-possible salary. Your employer will start at the lower end of the scale, and it is up to you to drive your price up. Keep your tone calm and professional and be prepared to back up your request with arguments to support your case.

If you are fortunate enough to have a genuine alternative offer, it is as well to be open about it, but if you don't, then don't bluff: you might find yourself left with nothing.

Finally, don't appear to be more interested in the package than in the job. You are being employed for your capabilities and enthusiasm, and you should not appear to be too greedy and grasping. A good employer will want to see you get a fair deal, but you need to show that you want the job.

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