I got a job offer (Yeah!) and next week I have a meeting to discuss details, i.e., salary, benefits, schedule.

4 Comments

1. AnonymousJanuary 1,2023 at 12:23PM UTC

   Yay!!!!! You go in with your researched range of salary as the MARKET VALUE of the position. You let the company take the range down and explain why. Then you propose whatever compromise ranged you are comfortable, keeping the range maybe 10% lower than market with a review in 6 months along with a bump to close the gap. You can also increase the PTO a week or 2 to help further close the gap and get you closer to the mid to high end of the gap. .

   The trick is to show your willingness to negotiate but still get you within your market range.

   Good luck and congratulations! This is a great way to start the new year.

2. AnonymousJanuary 2,2023 at 4:03PM UTC

   I think this is great advice!! Give them your target and let them tell you why they can’t meet it, if they can’t. I personally wouldn’t lump in PTO as a “bump” in salary because it isn’t an increase and no matter how much PTO they give you it won’t feel like you’re making more. When it comes times for raises or bonuses it’s going to be based on your base salary and not PTO. And if your company increases PTO with seniority you’ll likely not see any increase if you got it during negotiations. I would absolutely negotiate for the amount of PTO you want if you’re unsatisfied, just not as a salary issue, but as part of general benefits. Your salary should be about your base, bonus, and any other long term/deferred comp.

3. Gisele CloutierJanuary 1,2023 at 2:49PM UTC

   That's great, congrats! I agree with other commenters here, to do your homework first. The essence of your case is "This is the market rate for people in this role with my education, skills, experience, etc." Use more than one salary site. Also, you could look up which states require employers to include salary ranges on their job postings, find postings for similar jobs there and see how current those salary sites' data is.

   I would caution you about making negotiated benefits a big part of your strategy, though. Most companies structure their benefit programs for classes or groups of positions, and that's typically not negotiable. Think of non-benefit perks you might value. For example, is there an industry conference you'd like to attend or a certification you'd like to acquire? Publication subscriptions, flexible schedules, gym memberships, etc. are easier for HR to agree to.

4. Joann S. LublinJanuary 2,2023 at 7:08PM UTC

   Just in case my comment failed to post:

   I heartily endorse the other commentators' suggestions. Here's one more, gleaned from the "Pain of the Pain Pitch" chapter of #EarningIt, my first leadership book:

   *Defuse negotiation tensions by taking a "velvet glove" approach in which you ask smart questions while exhibiting empathy for the other side.

   Best of luck and let us know how things turn out!

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