3 Tips to Leverage Your Salary Negotiation Power
This article is not on negotiation tips, but more on leverage tips. How can you best position yourself to garner a higher salary without hurting your chances of getting the job? It’s a fine line to walk, and there are certain things you can do to help your negotiation power.
Make sure the interviewer knows you are interviewing elsewhere.
It is always good practice anyways to be interviewing at multiple companies when on the job hunt. This way you can benchmark opportunities. Even if you don’t have an offer elsewhere, you should let the interview know you are interviewing at multiple companies. That way they have in the back of their mind that at any point you could get an offer and they need to move quicker.
Make sure the interviewer knows it is not just about money.
I know that probably sounds odd being that this article is focused on salary negotiation power, but you never want the interviewer to think it is JUST about money. That will hurt your chances of getting the role and possibly put a sour taste in their mouth. Make sure they know that when they ask about salary, you let them know salary is really important to you, but so are the right benefits, culture, team, product/service, growth, etc. That way they know you are looking for the right overall spot to land vs. just money.
If they ask you about salary, pivot.
Usually the person who throws out the first number loses. In some states it is illegal to ask one’s salary. This is a perfect chance to implement the method in the point above. Tell them you are looking for a competitive salary, but along with that, it is important that you find the right role with the right growth, team and culture. This will put the precedent back on them.
This is always a tricky and often uncomfortable aspect of the interview process. Typically, this is discussed towards the end of the first or during the second interview. If it is not brought up by the interviewers in the first two interviews, it is recommended you bring up the question to ensure nobody is wasting their time.