How to Negotiate Your Salary and Perks

Major congrats on landing a job! In order to fully secure the bag, you should follow through with a compensation negotiation to get every single penny that you’re worth as an employee. Money doesn’t mean everything, but I do believe that it is a proxy for how much an employer values you and how you’re progressing. You have to collect what you deserve, especially when we know that intersectional paygaps exist. I hope this helps you out!

To backtrack a bit, try not to reveal your current salary in the interview process. At least in California, employers are not allowed to ask for your pay history (Paycor). Do some research on your specific location and what employers can or can’t ask you. LA-based companies that I’ve interviewed with have not asked me for my salary information, but they sometimes ask for salary expectations to make sure we don’t get too far in the process with completely misaligned assumptions. I provide a salary range (and shoot high) and list very general benefits that I expect. You can also ask them for their expected payscale for the role.

Okay, so once I’ve gotten my offer and compensation package, here’s what I usually do if I think it’s a cool job worth negotiating for.

Break out the calculator for some math

• Calculate 1 final number for how much the total compensation package is worth. Add up the base salary, bonus potential, health insurance value, meal stipends, stock options, and any other perks. If you’re at a startup, equity (a piece of ownership in the company) may be offered and can potentially be worth a lot.
• One of my former employers offered a heavily-subsidized gym pass, which was worth $80 monthly and meant I could cancel my personal fitness spending. Every dollar counts! You want to get a sense for how much the company is investing in you.
• Research salaries for comparable roles in a few similar cities. For example, when I benchmark my offers in LA, I’ll also take a look at the same roles in New York and San Francisco because the cost of living is comparable.
  • Here are a few good platforms for finding salary information: Comparably, PayScale, Glassdoor

Set up a phone conversation

• You want to set the stage here that you’re very grateful for this opportunity, but would like to see if there’s room to negotiate.
• Reiterate that this is your dream job and/or dream company and that you’ve really enjoyed meeting the team through the interviews. Being kind and appreciative will go a long way.

Strategize the plays

• You’ll have to come in with a few different cards to play – an arsenal of different tactics. You can’t expect that they’ll give you exactly what you ask for. They might not give you a higher salary because of protocol or some rule we know nothing about, but they might be willing to give you more PTO or pay for an online course you wanted to take.
• Ask yourself a few questions:
  • Is this offer still worth it even if I can’t negotiate for anything else?
  • What am I willing to negotiate with? (Higher salary, more vacation hours/PTO, continuing education stipend?)
• Know that this should feel like a conversation, not a war interrogation. The team won’t be willing to make concessions to bring you on if they feel attacked. Try to understand their perspective and keep reminding them how valuable you’d be.
• There are all sorts of ways you can highlight your value. Here are a couple of points you can bring up:
  • If a job description asks for familiarity in an area, but you already have expertise and/or certifications:
    • I’ve negotiated with the fact that the job description requires beginner-level familiarity with Facebook ads or Google ads, but I’m certified in both and can get up to speed much more quickly and create really cost-effective campaigns.
  • If the team mentioned that they were thinking about exploring an area but haven’t really looked into it yet:
    • The hiring manager had casually mentioned that the team was interested in podcast advertising but hadn’t really explored it yet. I explained that I had previously worked on a couple of successful podcast ad placements, and would be happy to help design a plan. Key point being that, as a Swiss army knife, it’d be worth it to pay me a bit more.

Wait to hear back

• The toughest part is over! The waiting game sucks, but as you bide your time, figure out what your answer will be.
  • If they came back and told you that they really would love to have you onboard but can’t add anything to your compensation package, what will you say?
  • If they sweeten the deal, what kind of boost is acceptable?
• Start thinking about gracious, calm, and emotionally intelligent ways to respond to whatever happens.
  • A great place to start no matter what happens is: “Thank you so much for taking the time to have that conversation with me. I really appreciated being able to discuss this.”
  • If you decide to take the job, awesome! Something like “I’ve had a great experience meeting the team and hearing about the company’s vision. I’d love to accept the offer.”
  • If you decide right away that it’s not a good fit, language such as “I’ve really enjoyed interviewing with XYZ Company. Unfortunately, this isn’t the right step for me at the moment, but I would love to stay in touch” can work. Or you might need another day to decide – you can say that you’ll think about everything that’s been discussed and will follow up.
• Whatever you say on the phone, reiterate it in an email. You want a paper trail and confirmation of what happened.

—

Other Resources:

• Why you should keep a work diary
• How to sound more confident in emails, phone, Slack
• Free marketing certifications you can get
• Career planning