Easy Negotiation Techniques

The Best Time to Negotiate Salary

Salary is one of the most important thought going through the minds of candidates appearing for interviews. But the initial phase of the interview is not the time when the issue of remuneration should come. The best time to negotiate salary is when the interview or the round of interviews is drawing to an end. Only when the employer is sure that he or she would like to hire you, and you are sure that you would like to accept the job, should you deal with the question of salary.

Some employers may raise the salary issue earlier and ask, “What are your salary expectations?” As a candidate, you should be prepared to answer the question in a diplomatic manner and have at least three kinds of answers on your fingertips.

1st Response: Depending upon the friendliness or openness of the employer you could tactfully indicate that until he or she has definitely decided that he/she wants you, and you are sure that you too can be of service to him, the attempt to negotiate salary would be premature. This response should work in most cases.

2nd Response: In some instances however the employer is not easily warded off and demands to know very early on in the interview the salary you are looking for. At this point your response could be to say that you’ll gladly come to that point, but could the employer first help you understand the demands and necessities of the job?

3rd Response: If a particularly stubborn employer still does not budge and demands to know your expectation, talk in terms of a range of salary, such as Rs. 2-3 lakh per annum. Usually an employer would be satisfied with a range of salary and would himself or herself be thinking on those same lines. If not, then maybe you should also rethink whether you want to work for such a person or not. Clearly salary is the first thing on his or her mind, and they don’t even have a range in mind. Their first figure is going to be their last. This happens only when an employer is keeping salary as the first and foremost yardstick in selecting a candidate, ad this not always a desirable situation to be in.

However the above case is always likely to be a worst case scenario. Usually employers too save negotiating salary till they have decided about a candidate. Remuneration should not be discussed until:

1. You find out what exactly the job profile involves.

2. The employers have had a chance to find out how well you match the job-requirements.

3. The employers have seen you at your best, so that you can stand out above the rest.

4. You can tell when they are being firm or flexible about negotiating salary.

Keeping this discussion till the end will help you to prove your worth during the interview, so that later you may negotiate for a figure higher than what they has in mind, and particularly so when an interview has gone off well and the employers have decided to obtain your services.

Shilpi Ganguly is a blogger who frequently writes on various topics. Find more of her tips on salary negotiation skills.