How to Negotiate Your Salary

Money can be difficult to talk about and so it’s understandable that so many people are reluctant to bring up the subject of a raise at work. Indeed, according to the Independent, 25% of people believe money to be a topic socially unacceptable to talk about in both social and professional settings. Given this unwritten rule, you might not be surprised to learn that in a survey by Salary.com, 44% of people claimed to have never initiated salary negotiations during a performance review at work. 

Worse still, a famous study by Linda Babcock for her book Women Don’t Ask found that only 7% of women attempted to negotiate their first salary compared to 57% of men. This could lead to huge financial repercussions for women in the long term.

Here’s why everyone should be negotiating their salary and tips on how to go about it:

Why is it important to negotiate your salary?

It’s important to negotiate your salary not only for personal financial reasons but also for the sake of your career. An increase in salary future-proofs your career so that if you were to apply for a job in the future you can demonstrate your career development. A rise in salary can mark a promotion or indicate an increase in experience, expertise and/or responsibility.

Negotiating your salary sets a precedent with your employer for growth, making progression an established regular aim throughout your tenure with the company.

How to negotiate your salary

1. Prepare your case – In order to justify an increase in salary, it’s important to prepare examples of your contributions to the company that you are expecting to be compensated for. Why should your employer raise your salary? Has your value to the company increased? Have your experience and/or responsibilities increased? Have your expertise and/or performance improved?

2. Research your value? – When deciding on your salary ambitions, it’s a good idea to research the range of salaries paid to people in your position at other companies. This will give you an idea of your value and what you could expect to be compensated with, should you choose to move to another company.

3. Know what you’re prepared to accept – it may be that your employer comes back with an offer in your meeting and expect a response from you straight away. Prepare for this by deciding what you are prepared to accept beforehand.

4. Choose the appropriate time – the ideal time to negotiate your salary is in your monthly/quarterly/annual review as this is when you will have your employer’s undivided attention and the topic of your contributions to the company has already automatically been raised.

5. Be polite – this almost goes without saying but people are obviously more receptive when spoken to in a calm and respectful manner.

6. Negotiate other benefits – Don’t limit yourself to an increase in salary. You can use this discussion to negotiate holiday days, a company car and/or flexible/remote hours.