Understanding Your Options

When it comes to salary, most people underestimate just how much room there is for negotiation and discussion. Once you have gone through the difficult process of searching for a job, interviewing, and winning a position it can be difficult to fully appreciate your salary negotiating options. It is often such a relief to have received a job offer that the last thing you want to do is risk losing the position by questioning the offer made.

Understand the offer

The first step to understanding your negotiating options is to fully understand the offer being made by the employer. Depending on the job position and the level within the organization, the employer's offer may be verbal or written. In most cases, you will receive an initial verbal offer that is conditional upon acceptance of the final written offer.

It is important to be very clear about all elements of a job offer. Take notes on the verbal offer and compare to the written offer when it arrives. If there are any discrepancies, address them right away and ask for clarification. Once you fully understand the written offer, you can evaluate your negotiating options.

What's negotiable?

There is an old adage that everything is negotiable, but in reality this is not always the case. Negotiable elements in any job or salary offer will vary based upon numerous factors such as the type of position, competitiveness of the job market, and an individual employer's willingness to negotiate at all.

Some of the most common elements that may be negotiable include:

• Salary
• Bonus/incentive pay
• Work schedule
• Work location
• Telecommuting
• Probationary/evaluation period
• Start date

It is highly unlikely that every single one of these elements will be negotiable, so the next step is to evaluate the overall situation and choose your negotiating points.

Choose your negotiating points

Carefully consider not only the specifics of the job offer, but also the overall situation. Understanding just how much room you have to negotiate will help you decide which points to negotiate and which to leave alone.

When it comes to salary, most employers have a designated range for each position. It is helpful to know what the range is and where the salary offer you receive falls within that range. If the offer is toward the low end of the range, you may have more opportunity to negotiate than if the offer is more middle to upper range.

If the salary is such that you don't feel you have much room to negotiate, consider other items that make up the total compensation offer. For example, there may be a bonus or incentive paid upon completion of a probationary period or if certain goals are reached within a specified period. You may be able to negotiate the amount of the incentive or the terms under which it will be awarded.

In some cases, though, there is little if any room for negotiation. Perhaps the job market is weak and there are few jobs available so you are fortunate to receive an offer at all. Or maybe your personal circumstances are such that you urgently need to get back to work so you don't want to jeopardize the offer by attempting to negotiate. Your best bet is to have done enough market research and personal evaluation to know the strength of your negotiating position, and use this information to choose which, if any, points you will attempt to negotiate.

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