10 tips to use when negotiating for a job offer

Practice asking for the salary you’d like to receive so that your delivery comes across as confident and in control. [iStockphoto]

Negotiating a salary may overly look intimidating.

When an employer presents an employment package, he gives a benefits package verbally or written. When the offer does not match your academic qualification, you may choose to negotiate.

If not yet satisfied, you may suggest other packs such as extra vacation days or stock options among others.

These 10 Tips will help you to negotiate a job offer:

1. Remember that you’re in your most powerful negotiating position when you’re pursuing a new position before you’ve gotten hired. Take advantage of this extra leverage while you have it.

2. Research some market data on average salaries for your position, acknowledging that certain parts of the country pay more than others.

3. Factor in your own level of experience and unique attributes that you bring to the table. It's possible that as a highly valued candidate, you can command even more than the market average.

4. Set a target salary range. Your target numbers should be realistic for your location, industry, position and skill set.

5. Practice asking for the salary you’d like to receive so that your delivery comes across as confident and in control.

6. Even though you feel well-practised and ready to negotiate, let the hiring manager bring up the topic before you do. The employer may see it as poor form – and a sign that you’re more interested in your compensation than solving the company’s problems – if you start talking about salary prematurely.

7. If the employer raises the salary conversation before you have a job offer in hand, try to deflect it by speaking more generally until after you’ve been formally offered the job. You don’t want to get pinned down to a specific number too soon, without knowing all of the details of the position.

8. Don’t share your salary history with the hiring team. Sharing too much information about your past salary could pigeonhole you into a lower offer.

9. Remember to ask for benefits as part of your salary discussion.

10. Build in a small cushion of cash that goes slightly above the actual number you want, so that if they offer less than you ask for, you'll still be happy with the results.