How to Negotiate a Salary Counteroffer? – As a new hire or recent graduate, you may feel lucky to get an offer from your dream company.
You’re thrilled until you find out that it’s not the final offer. Instead, it’s a counteroffer—and with good reason.
Your new employer sees potential in you and wants to bring you on board with some benefits and concessions before finalizing the deal.
However, this is not a token of appreciation or encouragement as most people think.
A counteroffer can be a red flag for job seekers who are interviewees first and foremost.
It means they think you’re not just qualified but also worth their time, effort, and money as an employee.
When you receive an offer for another job, the hiring manager hopes you’ll see their offer as a bargaining chip.
The company will likely have made a cost-benefit analysis before extending the offer and decided that they could afford to sweeten their salary offer to persuade you to leave your current role.
This article will explain how to effectively negotiate a salary counteroffer.
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Negotiating A Salary Counter Offer
Only one in three people accept a counteroffer when they receive one, meaning that two out of every three potential employees leave money on the table.
Here are effective ways to negotiate a salary counter offer:
1. Research What Others In Your Field Earn.
When negotiating a counteroffer, knowing what other employees in your field are being paid is important.
Researching this information can help you understand the market value of your skills and the company’s willingness to pay that value.
For example, if you’re looking at an opportunity with a large medical center, they may be willing to pay more than if they were working at a smaller hospital or clinic.
You should also consider how much others with similar skills are making at other companies.
This will give you an idea of whether or not this new position is worth more than what was offered initially.
Once all these factors have been considered and weighed against one another, then come up with an offer based on those numbers.
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2. Look For A Range Of Salaries That You’ll Settle On, Including The Lowest Figure.
You should have a range of salaries that you’ll settle on, including the lowest figure.
This will help you prepare for negotiations and ensure that your counteroffer is reasonable.
If things are beyond your control, such as experience or education level, use them to justify higher salary demands.
If you can do so, try negotiating with multiple people at once until one person reaches an agreement with you.
This way, if anyone tries to back out of their part of the deal (and this sometimes happens), then at least two parties remain involved in negotiations which means everyone keeps trying until they reach an agreement.
3. Remember What You’ve Accomplished At The Company And Why You’re Worth More.
A counteroffer is a chance to negotiate your salary.
It’s a way for you and the employer to speak on things that makes sense for both parties.
The first thing you’ll want to do is figure out what your company pays, then compare it with what other people in similar roles are earning at other companies.
Once you’ve figured out how much they’re paying other employees like yourself, write down their perks and benefits (i.e., free food).
You can use this list as an example of why you deserve more than what they’re offering.
Do not mention this information anywhere else except during negotiations; otherwise, they may think they can get away with paying less than usual just because everyone else has been working hard lately.
4. Make A List Of The Benefits You Have Negotiated.
As you’re negotiating, make sure to list the benefits you have negotiated. These may include:
- Medical insurance,
- Paid vacation time,
- Company-sponsored gym membership or other fitness programs,
- A company-paid cell phone or personal laptop computer (if you have one).
5. Check Your Company’s Policies, And If They’re Unfair, Point Them Out.
There’s a lot of information about negotiating a counteroffer, but you can also check your company’s policies.
If they are unfair, point it out.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate with your boss and voice what you want in exchange for the salary increase.
And don’t forget that not every negotiation needs to result in an agreement with everyone involved.
Sometimes just knowing what someone else is willing or able to do will help you find common ground faster than trying to argue against them from starting points where neither side has leverage over their negotiating partner (or vice versa).
6. Figure Out How Much You Want To Make On An Annual, Monthly, And Hourly Basis.
Don’t aim low just to get an agreement quickly.
Know what you’re worth, and don’t sell yourself short by accepting less than your true worth, even if it means taking longer than expected to negotiate a counteroffer or even waiting until after the holidays before speaking with your manager about salary increases (or asking for more money).
If someone offers you $100k but says, they can only pay half because they have budgetary concerns during the year and need some time for planning purposes.
Don’t agree without knowing exactly why those budget cuts are being implemented.
If there’s no way in the budget for more money now, but there may be down the road (e g “next year”), then consider asking what they plan on doing differently next year so that we’ll all know where we stand financially as far as our compensation goes.
7. Decide When Is A Good Time To Approach Your Boss, Not Just When Is The Most Convenient Time For You To Meet.
Consider whether the boss is trying to patch up a problem with you or is under pressure because of other circumstances at work.
Sometimes, asking for a raise is a good idea, but it’s not the best course of action if you want to stay employed.
If your boss has been friendly and supportive in your career, don’t ask him for a raise immediately.
You may want to wait until things have cooled off at work before approaching them again about money matters.
That way, there won’t be any awkwardness, and everyone will feel comfortable talking about it without feeling pressured into making decisions that aren’t theirs to make first (like deciding whether or not they’ll accept their counteroffer).
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8. Talk About What Makes You Value Rather Than How Bad Things Are For You.
You must focus on what you have done for the company to get the best deal.
This means that when negotiating, don’t just ask for more money—ask for something else.
For example, if your offer is $100k/year and they only want $80k/year, ask them why they are so low on your value compared with other people in similar roles.
Are there any special skills that make up this difference?
Can you help with some projects or initiatives on their end that would improve your value even more?
When you negotiate a salary counteroffer (or any negotiation), it’s important not to focus on how bad things are for you or how much you deserve based on your experience level alone.
Negotiations happen all the time between two parties who have different interests at stake.
Both sides need each other to reach a win-win outcome.
Conclusion
When you start a job, you have to negotiate your salary.
Most new employees won’t get the top offer right away.
It may take some time, but before you sign on the dotted line and begin work, there will probably be a counteroffer from your potential employer.
Remember that negotiating a counteroffer is a process of negotiation.
You want to get the best possible offer, but you also need to be realistic about what’s fair and reasonable in your situation.
If you’re unsure how much more you should be making or where those numbers come from, talk with others who might have better answers than you.
The key here is always to be honest with yourself first.