The secret to salary negotiation involves timing, preparation, and not being the first person to blurt out a number. This short presentation offers tips from the hiring manager's perspective on how to approach salary negotiation, and how to ask for more than you want to end up with exactly what you need.

1. Salary Negotiation Tips:
Don’t Leave Money on the Table

2. How Do I Get There in the First Place?
 You have a cover letter that addresses
the hiring manager’s needs by
promoting the future benefit of your
expertise
 You have a properly architected
résumé with quantified
accomplishments, where possible
 You know how to control—rather than
just “survive”—the job interview by
knowing your résumé inside/out
 You understand how to promote your
professional brand throughout the
entire hiring process—even after
interviews have ended
Negotiating a Salary…

3. Not like:
 Labor unions vs. management
 Sports agents vs. team owners
 Lawyers vs. other lawyers
These negotiations usually leave people stressed,
angry, and further entrenched in their initial
positions throughout most of the process
Salary negotiation is more a “fine-tuning” of
compensation that satisfies both parties without
the emotional angst
Salary “Negotiation” is Different
Negotiating a Salary…

4. Factors Influencing Salary Offer
 Local/regional competitive salaries and benefits
for the same type of work or position
 Sometimes some accommodation for special
expertise
 General condition of the economy (expanding or
shrinking?)
 How well a specific business does in the
marketplace (local, national, international)
 Salaries offered by employers represent a
balance between the minimum compensation
necessary to get you to accept the job and keep
you on the job
Negotiating a Salary…

5. What Most People Do with a Salary Offer
 They accept the first offer they receive
or…
 They turn down the job offer
altogether
 There’s a third option that many
people fail to pursue: negotiation
Negotiating a Salary…

6. Best Time to Negotiate?
 Most salary offers are made after interviews are finished
 Don’t respond to the question “what are your salary requirements?” with
a number yet--don’t get eliminated from further consideration just
because of a number
 Instead, ask: “Are you presenting me with an offer to hire now?” If they
aren’t, respond with “I’d be happy to move forward with that question
when you are officially offering me the job”
Negotiating a Salary…

7. Who Can Negotiate a Higher Salary?
Your probability of success is higher for:
 More senior-level/executive-level candidates
 Depending on industry or field, highly
technical positions may leave room for
negotiation; in others, sales and marketing
 Candidates with unique or highly sought-after
skills, experience, education, or knowledge
 Candidates with excellent communication
skills and a little unabashed self-promotion
Negotiating a Salary…
Recent college graduates, people out of the job market for the first time, or those
returning to the job market after being away for some time generally have little
room to negotiate

8. 5 Mistakes to Avoid
 Not doing due diligence on salary research
(Salary.com and Simplyhired.com) and
communicating those facts during
negotiations
 Consider the timing (in a recession?
Downsizing? SEC investigations?)
 Conceding too much too soon
 Only seeing the salary and not the whole
package (rank your priorities)
 Not acting like the complete professional
your résumé portrays during negotiations
Negotiating a Salary…

9. Salary Negotiation Secret:
Don’t be First to Give a Number
 Successful salary negotiation follows a very
simple rule people use when buying a car
 When you are the first to offer a salary
number, you may very likely have left money
on the table because your number may be
lower than the number they had in mind
 Know in advance the amount necessary to
cover your family’s immediate and future
needs (insurance, vacation, retirement,
salary)
 Do not assume built-in “consideration” for
special skills or expertise—do the research
Negotiating a Salary…

10. Salary Negotiation Example 1
Hiring Manager: “We’d like to extend an offer
to you for the position. What is your salary
requirement?”
Candidate: “Well, I’m looking at $82,000…”
Hiring Manager: “Great. I think we can
accommodate that number. Can you start in
two weeks?”
Here, the candidate was the first to throw out a
number, and while he may be happy with
$82,000, maybe it was a lower number than the
hiring manager had in mind
Negotiating a Salary…

11. HM: “We’d like to extend an offer to you for
the position. What is your salary
requirement?”
HM: “It’s very competitive with similar
positions in the field…”
HM: “This senior-level position has a
salary range of $79K to $85K…”
HM: “So, $85K is what you need?”
HM: “Hmmm…that’s a little out of the range
for the position…let me see what HR has to
say.”
(Later in a phone call to candidate):
“The absolute best we can do is $86K..”
Candidate (he’s thinking $82K): “That’s
great. What is the salary range for the
position?”
Candidate: “I know that’s what the job ad
states. What exactly would that range be?”
Candidate: (seeing he initially
underestimated his value): “Based on what I
know I can bring to this position, I believe
the upper end of that range is close to my
salary requirement. ”
Candidate: (asking for more than what he
needs to be able to get what he wants):
“Actually, $87K is the number I need to
move forward.”
Candidate: “That’s a fair offer and that’s
acceptable. I can start in two weeks if that’s
agreeable.”
Salary Negotiation Example 2
Negotiating a Salary…

12. Benefit Negotiation
 For some, other parts of the compensation package have more value than salary
 Most popular negotiated benefits are flex-time schedules, work-at-home options, and
vacation time
 Sometimes such agreements are made just between hiring manager and candidate with
HR involvement after the fact
 Most employers will yield to some benefit negotiation without any need to adjust salary
levels to account for such changes
 Some benefits may not be spelled out but can be had simply by asking, such as attending
or participating in professional association meetings or conferences (could count as
“professional growth”)
 Just know what you need going into the game
Negotiating a Salary…

13. Key Takeaways
 Don’t be the first party to provide a number
 Continue asking questions so you have more information with which to make an informed
decision
 Know where the initial salary or package boundaries are drawn first so you know how far
to extend them for your own circumstances
 Know when you can—and can’t—negotiate
Negotiating a Salary…

14. Books by Donn LeVie Jr.
Winner of the 2012 Global eBook
Award and Winner of the 2012
International Book Award for
Jobs/Careers
Available September 2015
Donn LeVie Jr. has more than 25
years in various hiring manager
positions for Fortune 500
companies. He has reviewed over
1,000 cover letters and résumés,
involved with hundreds of
interviews, and hired countless
numbers of technical, marketing, and
communications professionals.
Free articles, tip sheets, videos, and
podcast interviews at:
www.donnleviejrstrategies.com