salary negotiation

Society Business and Career
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Please share salary negotiation tips.

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Re: salary negotiation

Thanks for opening this thread STA ... Can I quickly ask which scenario you have in mind ? is it before accepting a new role or trying to get an increment in your current role? both have different tactics , so do let us and know and I am sure many heads here will be able to add some valuable advise ..

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Re: salary negotiation

It is before accepting a new role.

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Re: salary negotiation

Lut pari huwi hai.......... since job scene is not goin great, people settle for salaries which def dnt do justice to their talent but kya karen?! better than having nothing n in order to grow you in your career you have to keep working.

I have never been inclined to do a job but i did apply at few places of my interest and Alhamdulilah got selected but then the issue of salary came and i backed out. I can't compromise on it to the level they want but since other people are doing it, why would they bother to take me? I guess it comes to how much you want what you want.

So coming back to your question, you can negotiate to the level according to your situation; whether you can afford to the miss the offer or not.

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Re: salary negotiation

in my line of work, the salary is pretty much standard and it's preset.

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Re: salary negotiation

hmmm .. few things you got to keep in mind :

Have they mentioned salary details in the job desccription? Pitch yourself to the upper limit in that salary

Alot of times people get asked their salary expectation in the first interview stage .. think carefully so that you dont quote a wrong figure .. its best to give them a range but not an exact amount .. you can focus on saying things along the following lines:
- Tell them what your skill's market value is ... for example if their salary indication is £50K .. you want to pitch yourself at 52K .. then you say to them that based on other offers you have been reviewing your expectation would be in the range of early 50's .. however you are very much focused on getting the right experience and working for a progressive firm ,hence money is not the entire objective though its an important objective .. ..

That way you are not over selling yourself , while at the same time telling them that your expectations will be higher then their salary ...

Most employers ask directly what your current salary is ... even if it is much lower then what the new company is offering ... dont play into their hands .. tell them firmly that you are aware of the market value and salary is one of the reasons for seeking a change ... Its becoming such a competitive market out there STA , if you dont become stern they will trample all over you !! so you gotta show enough concern about getting the right salary .. but at the same time be careful that you dont scare them into thinking "oh , he's all about the money only"

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Re: salary negotiation

Thank you. Range idea sounds good to me.

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Re: salary negotiation

Oh and one more thing, personally tested trick that always works for me .. I always keep bringing up with examples how good I am with achieving my targets, while discussing the salary .. I want them to see the whole picture and sometiems repeating the good stuff helps .. I do it humbly , not aggressively ... and tell them openly that I am only demanding what I know will be equivalent to the value I can add to the firm ...

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thank you once again.

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Re: salary negotiation

Regardless of the place you are applying to, most of the people who do the actual hiring in Pakistan are quite nasty. Their main aim is to get the person on as little salary as possible. Trust me, if they could, they would literally pay peanuts to PhDs. Most of the time, they are exploiting the new comer and sometimes don't even follow through on what they promise during the hiring. For example, I was informed by the person hiring me that an imminent pay increase was coming in 1-2 months with 15% salary increment for all. Eight months later, I find out that the actual increment which came eight months late is only around 9%. Sometimes they don't inform you about nasty clauses they keep in the contract. Can you imagine, they showed me the leave policy after I had joined while they had previously assured me that it would be generous.

In short, sorry to say this, but pakistani employers are in general jerks.

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Re: salary negotiation

Snowy, I know due to lack of employment law in Pakistan , the employers do exploit the workers .. unfortunately to survive in that country you gotta be a hard nut to crack … and know all the tricks of the place :hinna:

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That is very true for run of the mill jobs. But for the jobs which require some kind of talent , special education , skills , appropriate experience you can still twist the arm of an employer to get what you deserve.

One tip of STA : Do your research as to what would be the right kind of salary for the postion.

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Re: salary negotiation

While negotiating keep in mind the other non cash benefit that your previous employer or the market is offering for the post. Every thing counts in order to arrive at final cash package.

Be smart enough to properly present the current package you are taking while justifying your need to move to new organisation.

EDIT: Dont compromise on grade, pakistani employers tend to get staff at reasonable packages but at lower grades.

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Re: salary negotiation

If you have some time, I’d really recommend reading the book called “Getting to Yes” which outlines several tactics for what the author calls “Principled Negotiation” in a variety of business scenarios.

It really helped me in the salary negotiation phase of my current job. I talked about it here - way back when! :slight_smile: …
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/career-and-academics/250618-principled-negotiation-getting-to-yes.html

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Re: salary negotiation

You can download it from here for free:
http://6thfloor.pp.fi/fgv/gettingtoyes.pdf

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Re: salary negotiation

hmm What about new grads position?

How would you go on about it? or you wouldn't at all?

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Re: salary negotiation

Depending on which country you are in , my advise would be to first do some research about what Grad salaries are your target companies paying... having a rough idea always helps ..

Now the important thing is that in your first job, you will never be in a negotiating position but you unless you have more then one job offer on the table !
But that doesnt mean at all that you should just sell your skill for free ...

If the company is about to give you a career break which will become a stepstone to bigger and better opportunities in the future , then dont be too heavy on the salary bit , focus on getting in and obtaining the right kind of experience .

If the company is an average company, ensure that the work experience is key but also dont fear asking for a decent salary .. for example, in England most grads starts at 18K and above ... if someone offers a grad 16K plus loads of training.. they should take it up immediately... but if someone offers a grad 12K just because the grad doesnt have any previous experience, try to bring them up to at least 16K by demonstrating and giving examples of your skills and showing your enthusiasm, knowledge and will to learn quickly .