How to Negotiate Salary after Job Offer | 5 Practical Tips

[00:00] 61 percent. 61 percent of people fail at negotiating a higher salary after receiving a job offer. And you want to guess why? It's not because the economy, it's not because the employer is being

[00:12] unreasonable, and it's not because they have no other offers to leverage. Most of those people lost right then and there when they decided to not even try to negotiate for a higher salary. In this video, I'm going to first help you understand the three practical consequences of not

[00:28] negotiating because I have the best salary negotiation strategies in the world, but if you don't get over that mental barrier first, none of it matters. Then I'm going to share my five favorite tips when negotiating salary after receiving a job offer so you can put it to practice right away.

[00:43] So let's get started. Hi friends, welcome back to the channel. If you're new here, my name is Jeff and we're all about practical career and interview tips. So if you're a current student or young professional, consider subscribing for more actionable content. The most common reason candidates are

[00:56] hesitant to negotiate salary is because they believe they have no bargaining power. A fresh graduate might think, well, does my first job? I have no experience. I have no bargaining power. Even experienced professionals might think, hey, if I have no other offers, I have no leverage.

[01:11] But here's what you have to understand. The hind process is stressful and expensive for the other side as well. Employers screen hundreds and not thousands of resumes spend countless hours analyzing and choosing applicants before finally deciding on a few to hire. By this point,

[01:27] the employer is invested in those candidates. So even fresh graduates have some bargaining power. Diving into three very real consequences if you choose not to negotiate your salary after receiving job offer. First and foremost, compounding means you lose out financially in a very big way.

[01:44] Jumping into this quick and dirty Google spreadsheet that I made. Imagine two people with a 10% difference in starting salary. $50,000 a year and $55,000 a year. Now, let's assume that both receive a 6% salary increase every year for the next 30 years. By your 10, the difference in the cumulative

[02:01] pay would be around $75,000. By your 20, $200,000 and by your 30, a whopping $424,000. Almost enough to buy that new iPhone. Now, this oversimplified example doesn't even take to account future career moves.

[02:17] If you move to another company that nice 20% pay bump that they're offering, that's anchored to what you're being paid currently. So often, this $424,000 gap is way larger. Number two, by choosing not to negotiate, you lose out on factors that the employer could have easily

[02:33] have said yes to. More vacation days, education reimbursement, a later start day, and number three, you lose out on an opportunity to make a strong first impression on your employer. Negotiation is a valuable life skill that benefits you personally and professionally.

[02:48] Your employer knows this, and by even attempting to negotiate, that might make you even more attractive in their eyes. If you can relate to what I've talked about so far, drop a like, and let me know down the comments if you've ever tried to negotiate salary before. Hopefully by now, you're more comfortable

[03:03] with the idea of negotiating salary after receiving a job offer. But what exactly do you do? Here are my top five techniques. Tip number one, imagine you negotiating for a close friend or for a loved one. I've found a subtle change in mindset instantly helps you become more confident

[03:18] and assertive. Think about it, your close friend. Here she worked hard for this offer, spent countless hours on interview prep, revamped their resume 20 times, gave up Netflix, Netflix,

[03:30] for a month. Doesn't here she deserve to be paid their worth? You feel that? That feeling has gone indignation. Anger at being treated unfairly. Use that to overcome your fear of negotiation. Tip number two, give a specific salary figure as opposed to a nice round number. So what this means is

[03:47] that if you say $57,650 instead of $57,000, you are much more likely to get to a final number closer to what you were expecting in the first place. It turns out, according to research done by

[04:00] Columbia Business School, your employer is more likely to assume you've done extensive research into your market value to reach that specific salary number. It makes out a total sense as well because if you're a friend working in a role that you're applying for with similar background

[04:14] experience, and here she tells you exactly what they make, you can be fairly confident that this is a number you can successfully negotiate for as well. Tip number three, have a worst-case scenario, a walk away point. Yes, you should do research and come up with a target ideal number. You should

[04:30] check out salary ranges on the site that I throw on screen here and link down below and choose a number at the 80-85% mark. The point of having a worst-case scenario in mind is that you're mentally prepared to walk away if the final offer is so low that you have to turn it down. You don't want to accept

[04:45] something that's just not financially viable or make you regret it afterwards. If you're enjoying these strategies, I actually have a Facebook group where I share exclusive weekly tips, so consider joining if you haven't already. I'll link it down below. Tip number four, come to the table with facts,

[05:00] not feelings. Your employer is much more likely to consider your salary negotiating proposal if you provide justifications, because this helps them understand why you deserve what you're requesting. Saying that you deserve a 15% increase in salary because you have two more years of working experience

[05:16] than the average person on the team is a much stronger argument than just throwing out the 15% number. Of course, it's easier to come off as arrogant by mistake when providing justifications, so here's a sample answer for your reference. The industry average is $62,500 a year not including

[05:33] benefits, and I found that Unilever actually pays a bit more than that at $64,000. The offer you gave is slightly below both these numbers, and I'd like to understand a bit more about the reasoning behind that. With my four years of experience in consumer goods and graduation and based on my conversation with

[05:49] the hiring manager, I feel like I'm uniquely positioned to help with this issue she's facing. Is there any way we can get closer to the industry benchmark? Notice I used very neutral language, brought up with her competitor was paying, and highlighted how my background

[06:03] was well positioned to help them with their challenges that they're facing right now. The combination of all this helps me come off as reasonable without being too pushy. Tip number five, negotiate your salary offer ethically. You should only negotiate with an employer

[06:19] whose offer you'd plan to accept in the negotiation goes well. It is unethical to negotiate with an employer whose offer you have no intention of accepting even if your preferred terms are met. In other words, if you reach an acceptable compromise, it is assumed that you would accept the position.

[06:34] Once you have accepted an offer, you really shouldn't continue interviewing with other employers. If you are interviewing with other organizations, you should reach out directly and let them know that you've accepted an offer and you're withdrawing from the application process. At this point, be sure

[06:49] not to burn any bridges. At a future date, you may have to work with some of these organizations professionally, or you may want to contact them again about employment. Last but not least, show how grateful you are to ever see the job offer throughout the salary negotiation process.

[07:04] Not only will this help you come off as more likable, but will also help your counterpart assume you have good intent. For those of you who are hesitant about negotiating salary after a job offer, hopefully the three real consequences I mentioned and the five practical tips that I shared

[07:19] have made you more comfortable with the idea of negotiation. Now that you're about to start a new job, check out my video on how to write professional emails to hit the ground running and let me know down the comments if you want more videos on professional etiquette. Subscribe if you haven't already and as usual,

[07:34] have a great one!