Negotiating a job offer can feel a little awkward, but trust us it’s worth it. This is the best chance you’re going to get to increase your salary and improve the benefits of your new job because after all, once you’ve accepted an offer your leveraging power is lost.

At the interview stage, you should have already been thinking about what job perks and working conditions are important to you so you know what it is you want to negotiate should you be offered a job.

So then, what’s negotiable?

You might be surprised to hear that more than just salary is negotiable. Based on what you need and want, any of these may be negotiable:

• Salary
• Start date
• Holiday
• Level of authority
• Relocation expenses
• Laptop, mobile phone, home office technology
• Auto (car, mileage)
• Flex-time
• Training

We recommend consulting this list before accepting a job offer as choosing what’s important to you will help you decide on what to negotiate.

Research the company

Conduct specific research on the company’s benefits and culture to see how likely you are to get what you are looking for. Research salary information, and ask current or past employees for advice too, to see if they were able to negotiate and on what.

Compromise

Before you begin negotiating It’s important to bear in mind compromise. Salary is the most common and usually the first aspect that gets negotiated so keep this in mind when considering what else is important to you. For example, if the company isn’t willing or able to increase the offered salary, you can attempt to gain more benefits that equal the value of a higher salary through a car allowance for example.

The Offer

When offered a job, make sure to show your enthusiasm for the role and enquire about how long you have to evaluate the initial offer. This is a major decision and you need time to think about it, even if you know you want the job.

The company clearly wants you on their team, they’ve invested time into you throughout the hiring process so remember that you do hold some power here too – but don’t let that go to your head. As stated before, be enthusiastic and be prepared to compromise.

Like previously mentioned, It’s likely you’ll negotiate salary first. If you’re successful with this, then be prepared to compromise n the other items you wanted to negotiate. Likewise, If you’re unsuccessful when negotiating this, don’t be scared to push for the other items you’re interested in.

Negotiating Tips

• Ask questions, don’t make demands. This will make the exchange feel like a win-win solution, so be sure to form your requests as a question e.g. “Based on my specific skills, I was expecting a higher starting salary. What can we do to increase this number?
• Make sure you’re negotiating with the right parties and that you know who has the ultimate authority.
• Be prepared to walk away if the offer doesn’t meet your expectations in the areas that are important to you.
• Focus on what’s in it for them – explain how they will benefit from hiring you.
• Leave your emotions outside. This is a business.
• Remember, the company is lucky to get you and your skills. They’ve invested a lot in this process and they want you, they don’t want to have to start over.
• Once all is said and done – get it in writing!