WCIYP (Secrets Of Salary Negotiation)

According to What Color Is Your Parachute , by Richard Bolles, there are six secrets of salary negotiation that every job-hunter should consider. For this blog post, I will list all six secrets and provide a brief analysis from my point of view as a current job-hunter.

1.) "Never Discuss Salary Until the End of the Whole Interviewing Process at That Organization, When (and If) They Have Definitely Said They Want You"

• It is critical to determine how the interview is going before even mentioning the word salary. In addition, you need to be sure that you would like to work for a company before a salary is ever discussed.
• Below is an image of the best and worst times to negotiate salaries during an interview

2.) "The Purpose of Salary Negotiation Is to Uncover the Most That an Employer Is Willing to Pay to Get You?

• Negotiation is essential in order to find range in which you and a potential employer can agree upon. 
• Ideally, you will walk into an interview with a range that is is in the middle or above an average salary for your industry, in hopes that you can convince an employer that your skill set is worth a salary that is on the larger end of the spectrum. 

3.) "During Salary Discussion , Never Be the First One to Mention a Salary Figure"

• It is best to let an employer ask about salary during an interview, as the person who brings up a salary figure first typically falls on the losing end of negotiations.

4.) "Before You Go to the Interview, Do Some Careful Research on Typical Salaries for Your Field and in That Organization"

• Conducting research about salaries related to a job that you're interested in is a critical step in the job-hunting process.
• Salary research comes in two main forms; online and offline.
• Online Examples: jobstar.org, salary.com, bls.gov, or salaryexpert.com- to name a few.
• Offline Examples: Talk to people for insight, especially individuals who currently have a job in the field that you're interested in.

5.) "Research the Range that the Employer Likely Has in Mind, and Then Define an Interrelated Range for Yourself, Relative to the Employer's Range"

• This can be a rather difficult process, but understand that you want a range to base salary negotiations off of, or else an employer will hold all the power during the end of an interview if they chose to offer you a position.
• If you invest enough time and research, the ultimate goal of this step is to create a range that begins at an employer's highest offer, so that there is less ground to lose during a negotiation.

6.) "Know How to Bring the Salary Negotiation to a Close; Don't Leave it Just Hanging" 

• An ideal way to bring salary negotiations to a close is to discuss employee benefits, such as health plans or holiday time. This will enable you to close a negotiation by summarizing what is important to you. Please note, it is recommended that an employer signs the agreed upon terms, or else it is an unofficial contract.