Salary Negotiations

While the ability to negotiate a competitive salary is a good skill to have during the interview stage, it is also a talent that will benefit you throughout your career. 

If you’re like many workers who are taking on additional responsibilities, working longer hours and not seeing any increases to your remuneration, it may be time to request a salary increase. So to improve your chances of success, you’ll want to make a good case. 

Consider these simple steps:

1. Do your homework. Review salary surveys, talk with professional contacts and recruiters and check comparable roles on online job boards. This should help you determine what pay band you should fall within.
2. Track your successes. Make a solid list of your contributions and have it handy during
   the salary negotiation. Consider where you’ve improved investment – ROI – and why you deserve a raise. For instance, have you saved your current or past employer money or improved efficiencies? Have you helped them deliver a new initiative on time and within budget? What’s some of the feedback you’ve received from your colleagues? Citing specific accomplishments that had a bottom-line benefit will help you make a stronger case for a raise.
3. Be flexible. Before you approach your manager about a raise, know specifically what
   you want and be open to other forms of remuneration: If you ask for a 10 per cent pay
   increase, and you’re told there’s no money in the budget, perhaps you can negotiate a
   more flexible benefits package. If all else fails, ask your boss if you can discuss a raise six months from now when the company is in better fiscal shape.
4. Time it right. How’s your company’s business doing? If your organisation has undergone recent budget cuts or redundancies, it’s not the best time to ask for a raise By following the above advice and ensuring the timing is right, you’ll be better positioned to ask – and receive – the pay you deserve.

Download the salary negotiations tip sheet now or watch our salary negotiations video.

If you are looking for a new job, search our latest secretarial and administrative vacancies now.

Submit
your CV