Negotiating salary - tips?

SideWinder

SideWinder

SideWinder

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Following on from this thread...

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18436757

I thought it would be better to start a new thread as some of the people who commented in the previous one may not return to see an update. Plus this thread will apply to more people!

What is the best way to neg a salary with a new company?

Although i am on £19.5k, my company others me benefits such as share options, discount etc. The new company believe i am on £21k which sounds about right when you add everything up. They have thrown around £22k-24k.

According to a salary calculator (http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk), after tax per month it works out like this....

This is AFTER student loan payments.

19500 = 1288
22000 = 1411 (123 increase)
23000 = 1460 (173 increase)
24000 = 1509 (221 increase)
25000 = 1552 (264 increase)
26000 = 1607 (319 increase)

So i think i want to aim for £25k...just because it is slightly above what they said but not too cheeky...thoughts? And what would be the best way to approach this?

Have you asked negotiated a higher job salary before taking a job?

Have you asked for a pay rise and how did it go?

For my situation, the company i may move to is a lot smaller so there would be more vulnerability surely?
 
What's the market salary range and where are you and they getting the numbers from? What's your minimum acceptable salary? What would you settle for? What would you delighted with? What do you think you're worth? How confident are you at negotiating? Would you trade off an early higher starting salary for a year or two with no salary increase?

These are just some of the questions that need answers before anyone can really help you.
 
I was head hunted in my previous job and after going to two interviews I basically told them while I would love to work for the company the renumeration package wasnt currently worth the inconvience of leaving my current employment. I got a letter a few days later offering me 3k a year more and that becuase the job was being offered through an recruitment agency they would look at my pay again if I was successful in my probation. If they believe that you are on 21k you could take the same stance as myself and tell them why you are flattered that they want you they should come up with a bit more of a respectful offer before you could think of leaving at the moment.
 
Indeed, I'd be bordline offended if someone didn't negotiate the offer and I'd probably be considering whether I'd made the right call or not in preferring them.

e : this was in relation to Robbie G's post.
 
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As it's a role which seems fairly similar to the one you're currently in (i.e. within the fashion industry, a fairly senior role etc) then I think you are entitled to try to negotiate it. Lets not forget they approached you after all so they clearly feel you will be beneficial to their team.

If it's a role that you've never really worked in before then I think most people in that situation would have less scope to try and bandy around with negotiations.

They've said figures in the 22-24k, i'd hazard a guess they can afford more than this. Most companies would like to cut their overheads as well as the salaries they pay where they can. In light of this I think trying to go in with £25k wouldn't be a bad idea. Wait to see what they say first of all if it's brought up in an interview etc. No doubt they may ask what sort of money you are looking for first of all, but try and switch that card back around onto them. Say to them they had previously mentioned the 22-24k figure and enquire whether that is what they're still looking at or is the scope for improving that offer.
 
"The new company believe i am on £21k"

Why do they believe that? A simple check of your P45/46 will tell them what you are really on.

19.5k to 25k is quite a jump (over 25%), and it depends on the career path, there's no point taking 25k now if that's close to the top of the salary range for that job, you need room to expand and develop. NEVER just change jobs for the salary, it has to be for both the salary and the potential salary. Oh, and to do a job you enjoy, that goes without saying.

As far as salary negotiations, I have found great success with just being honest. My current company...I approached and said that I love the job and would love to keep working there, but financially it made no sense when I could go contracting and earn more, which was true, we just hired a contractor on approximately 50% more than my permanent salary. They asked me for a figure, I gave them one, they offered me more than that figure to stay on.

A smaller company doesn't mean you are more vulnerable, it depends entirely on how fluid the staffing levels can be. You might find that a larger company is more likely to merge departments than a smaller one, etc...you could always ask them about staff turnover figures, I wouldn't be in the least bit upset if someone asked me that during an interview as it's usually a good guide as to how well the company look after its staff...
 
If they're throwing around £22-24k then they can afford to spend £25k on the role. Go in at 26 and agree a reduction down to 25. If you go in at 25, they'll bring you down to 24 and you've just lost yourself a grand a year. I would offer you a bet that if you did what I said, you'd walk away with at least £25k, but you might be awful at negotiating!

Do you work in the media department at Asos? Warm? Cold?
 
How about negotiating a salary for a new role within the same company - as I'm going to be in that situation soon.

Any tips for that one?
 
Robbie G said:
I negotiated before starting my current job in April. As a recruiter I'd almost expect it.
Click to expand...

Would that only apply to people with experience? I'm a grad right out of university, and have been applying for lots of graduate jobs with a pretty wide range of salaries. I've not been negotiating on the salary in the interviews I've had because my lack of experience means I don't really have much to back me up.
 
iviv said:
Would that only apply to people with experience? I'm a grad right out of university, and have been applying for lots of graduate jobs with a pretty wide range of salaries. I've not been negotiating on the salary in the interviews I've had because my lack of experience means I don't really have much to back me up.
Click to expand...

I'd suspect it will depend on the company, some will have fixed salary ranges while others will be much more fluid. It's probably worth doing a bit of work finding out what the various averages are for that role but as someone fresh out of university you probably don't have a lot of experience to rely upon - however on a graduate scheme I'd expect you to progress a bit faster than you otherwise would so that might well offset a slightly lower starting salary.

Maybe Robbie G or [FnG]magnolia will have more advice on how to negotiate but it doesn't strike me that you're in the strongest position at the moment to reject offers if they're standard ones for graduate roles.
 
Im a temp, and although not on salary, i get less than 11k a year looool.

I want to ask for a better hourly rate, last time i asked, i got an increase.

This time i am not so sure....but if you dont ask you dont get :D
 
I always treat the payrise i'm getting when moving to a new company as the biggest I'm going to get in a few years, working on that position I can usually gauge what I would be happy with. You also need to consider your own change in costs if you move, for example everything I'm looking at at the moment is a bit further from home than my current employer meaning I'd pay circa £80-100 extra in travel costs alone, the knock on being I need at least +£5-6k (before considering difference in benefits) to even consider a move.

If they have intimated a salary range of 22-24 I cannot see £25/26k being a problem. I would start at 26 looking to settle at £25k. Of course this assumes you've not already told them you want £x and that £24k isn't already a very good salary for the role.

When you're negotiating on a yearly basis it becomes infinitely more difficult to get a decent rise. As above the best way to do things tends to be to have a good idea of what your own skills would get in the market and to have a realistic view of your own performance in the past year. Some companies (usually the larger ones) have strict wage structures meaning that you're pretty much doomed to a cost of living / couple of k every 2-3 years unless you move around, others will actively reward hard work and progress.
 
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When considering a new job, if offered, look into the pension scheme and how much it will cost you per month and what benefit you get from it i.e. whats the optimum amount you can put in that the company will add to.

I negotiated an extra 5% for my current job from their "final" offer. It was the most I could get out of them but was happy with it because they'd already made me a strong offer from what I was being paid previously as I was completely open with them. It also helped that they wanted me rather than me wanting them.

If you're ever in that position then you should negotiate as hard as possible and not be afraid to ask what you believe you deserve. My overall salary increased by 40% from changing companies and through strong negotiation.
 
For my current role they asked me what I was looking for, I gave them a number that I was happy with and they came back offering a bigger number so didn't need to negotiate anything up this time round.
 
Mr^B said:
"The new company believe i am on £21k"

Why do they believe that? A simple check of your P45/46 will tell them what you are really on.

19.5k to 25k is quite a jump (over 25%), and it depends on the career path, there's no point taking 25k now if that's close to the top of the salary range for that job, you need room to expand and develop. NEVER just change jobs for the salary, it has to be for both the salary and the potential salary. Oh, and to do a job you enjoy, that goes without saying.

As far as salary negotiations, I have found great success with just being honest. My current company...I approached and said that I love the job and would love to keep working there, but financially it made no sense when I could go contracting and earn more, which was true, we just hired a contractor on approximately 50% more than my permanent salary. They asked me for a figure, I gave them one, they offered me more than that figure to stay on.

A smaller company doesn't mean you are more vulnerable, it depends entirely on how fluid the staffing levels can be. You might find that a larger company is more likely to merge departments than a smaller one, etc...you could always ask them about staff turnover figures, I wouldn't be in the least bit upset if someone asked me that during an interview as it's usually a good guide as to how well the company look after its staff...
Click to expand...



Smaller companies are actually highly dependent on keeping their staff and must be very flexible in the pay offered.
I work in a small team within a small company and a lead programmer had to move due to family issues. This has had a big impact on the viability of our future, money was of no issue (he was undoubtedly asked to name his price, but the guy really doesn't care about money and gives everything above a certain value to charity).
 
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