What Not to Say When Negotiating Salary

Introduction

When it comes to salary negotiation, what you don’t say can be just as important as what you do say. If you’re a poker enthusiast, you’re already familiar with the phenomenon: the person who fidgets, sweats, or loses their composure will lose the round. The same can be said for negotiating your salary.

To maintain your poker face and get the salary you deserve, you need to practice the art of being calm unless you have something important to say. Your goal is to speak only when it’s time to build your case and not a second before. This is true whether you’re negotiating a new job offer, trying to get a raise in your current job, or making a counter-offer.

Have a plan and practice your words so that you feel at ease when it’s time to sit down with the person holding the money. There are also some phrases you should avoid. We will summarize them here and then elaborate on them below.

Don’t Say

“I need more money.”

Salary negotiation isn’t about whether you need more money, or even whether you deserve more money. It’s about whether you can get more money. This means understanding the market and your place in it, and leveraging that information to your advantage.

PayScale’s salary report generates a free salary report based on your skills, education, job title, and location. Get the data and you can make a case for why you deserve a raise. (The short version: You can solve problems X, and people who can do that are worth Y in the market.)

“I can’t afford my expenses.”

Your expenses, like the rest of your personal life, are your own business — at least, not the business of your boss or the hiring manager. Oversharing won’t get you more money; it may cost you the respect of your peers, which has a far greater price tag over time than any missed opportunity for a pay raise.

Bringing personal details into a negotiation tells the other person some things about you, and none of them are good. For instance, you might reveal yourself as someone who can’t manage their personal finances, which will make the manager think twice about putting you in a position that handles company funds. Even if your personal situation isn’t your fault, sharing excessive information during a salary negotiation shows that you don’t have a good grasp of professional boundaries, which may make the manager uncomfortable working with you.

“This is what I got at my last job.”

This is tricky because employers often try to convince prospective candidates to share their salary history. (At least in places where it’s legal to do so. Several cities and states, including Philadelphia and Massachusetts, have passed or are considering legislation that makes it illegal to ask candidates for their previous salary information.)

Your salary history is irrelevant. Employers should determine compensation for the role based on the tasks involved in the job, as well as the qualifications required to perform the job. They may also look at factors like market competition, pay performance, and other things that give them the best return on investment in compensation. But your previous employer’s compensation plan (or lack thereof) should have no bearing.

Moreover, if you’re a woman or just starting your career or both, you have very good reasons not to share your salary history. It’s quite possible that you were underpaid by your previous employers, and felt pressured to accept low offers because you didn’t feel comfortable negotiating.

If

The hiring manager may try to get your salary history, you can change the question by asking about the budget allocated for the role. If that is not available, you can delay by saying you need to know more about the job and its responsibilities before you have a good idea of what is appropriate. But whatever you do, avoid stating your own price.

Final Note on Negotiation

Body language speaks louder than words when it comes to professional interactions, so in addition to making sure you’re saying the right things, you want to convey the right message through your posture, expressions, and gestures. You might consider asking a friend to help you conduct a mock interview – and record it, so you can see how you will present yourself to hiring managers during the interview and negotiation stages.

Avoid bad eye contact (or very fixed looks), slouched positions, and nervous gestures like fiddling with your clothes, hair, or timing your feet, or anything that makes it seem like you’re anxious. Remember that you have the right to receive fair compensation for your work and that it is in your boss’s and employer’s best interests to do so. If you can enter the interview considering the other person as a partner in negotiation, rather than an adversary, it will be much easier to relax, smile, and make your case.

Conclusion

When negotiating salary, there are certain phrases to avoid. When negotiating salary, make sure not to say “I need more money,” or “I can’t afford my expenses,” or “This is what I got in my last job.” Instead, provide information about the salary range for your position in the market, your ability to solve problems, and reject an offer that is too low.

Remember that body language is important too, so be sure to convey the right message through your posture, expressions, and gestures. Conduct a mock interview and ask a friend to help you record it so you can assess your performance.

Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-not-to-say-when-negotiating-salary-4145307