The art of negotiating your salary

An astonishing number of people never negotiate their pay. We get it, talking about money makes you feel pretty uncomfortable. And if it doesn’t feel embarrassing, the case may be that the prospect of negotiation downright terrifies you.

Either way, there are many young adults out there who don’t go for it. But obviously, you can also see how this is a big mistake.

Whether you are being interviewed for a new job or gunning for a promotion at your current one, salary negotiation isn’t something you can afford to avoid. So how do you prep yourself for it? The Week talked to two of our country’s prominent job recruiters, meroJob and Ramrojob, for their expertise and advices.

Analyze your worth

Rajan Koirala, from meroJob.com, feels that there are two kinds of people. There are those who demand certain amount of pay and sit for an interview with the ‘company must think about me’ attitude and then there are those who only concern themselves with the work at hand and not question how working for a certain company can benefit their career. “Neither of the outlook will work,” he says.

Anup Archarya from Ramrojob also shares that he consistently senses this problem among their job applicants as well. He notes that their most common mistake happens to be over expectation. But it’s no good the other way around as well.

So from the start itself, we can see that acquiring the right attitude for job interviews and ultimately salary negotiation is a delicate balance. Tip no one could very well be: Get a good grip of your position

“Your capability dictates your worth,” says Acharya.

Similarly, Koirala explains, “You need to be aware of your skill set. It’s equally important to be able to summarize and explain it to your interviewer.”

Have a number in mind

Unlike countries abroad, we don’t have salary surveys in Nepal. Job seekers in western countries can easily learn about the going rate for their desired position in their specific industry and even in their geographical area on online research or job sites.

They tend to have a list of it all. But the trend of analyzing our industries in that manner hasn’t caught on here. Even when meroJob is trying to compile a survey of similar sorts, Koirala says they can’t exactly guarantee them a definite quote because employers in our country are apparently reluctant to share this kind of information.

So if a job vacancy here doesn’t specifically quote the salary rate in their advertisement, finding out about the pay system can be a little tricky. Nevertheless, both Koirala and Acharya stress on the importance of research.

Ask around with people who work in the field, seek out experts or speak to job recruiters themselves and get an idea of pay employees in the position you are aiming for are getting. It’s always a bad idea to go into an interview with no clue about this matter.

Along with studying the market, both Koirala and Acharya also agree that you have to do a little research about the company you are applying to. The nature and the scale of the company also matter here because different offices have different pay policies. “It’s best you find out about these things beforehand,” says Acharya.

The challenge of convincing recruiters

If you quote a high price for yourself, will your potential new boss consider you as ambitious or will he/she label you as overconfident? Archarya says the truth is it could go both ways. It will depend on your recruiter’s temperament.

An entrepreneur recently shared that he dismissed an applicant because his expected salary was too low. “I was so disappointed. It made me feel that he lacked ambition. It also made me doubt his work ethic, maybe he was just lazy,” he said.

But the situation of a high price quote backfiring is just as real as well says Koirala. “Some companies can’t pay their job seeker more because of their policies. It might cause a rift among his other employees,” he explains. Sometimes the prospect can be confusing indeed.

But in case you want to go ahead and put a case forth for more pay, Koirala insists that you better be able to back it up with your skill set. What you can bring to the table is very important. For example, if you are applying for the post of a digital marketer but you also have the ability to video and photo edit i.e. do more than the mere job description, then that might be able to help you convince them.

Along with experience, Acharya also notes that assuring your commitment to the company can help. “Employers are looking for job seekers who will be working for them in the long run. It’s best if you can demonstrate how your skill set and experience can help the company over the years,” says Archarya.

Since many companies tend to increase their employee’s pay by a certain percentage over a certain period of time, you can also propose an arrangement. They can evaluate your work for the first couple of months and increase your salary accordingly. It’s a fair deal for both parties.

But all this depends on the nature of the company and its policies. So again both Koirala and Acharya go back to advice number two and ask you to research your recruiters first.

Both also agree that, along with the salary, it’s a must to analyze how the company or organization you are applying to is going to help you advance in your career. Understanding how a job opportunity can help you grow professionally is very important.