6 Steps Towards A Higher Beginner's Salary Range

by Stephanie Blye

Even if "money isn't everything", the preparation for a discussion and negotiation of the salary is an important step whenever you apply for a certain job. Here are 6 steps to help you ensure you get

a higher beginner's salary

inside a company:

1. Know how much you worth:

Know your value! The key to any

successful negotiation

is information, so find out how much you value on the job market. Do a little research in the field and find out what the range of salary is for the job you want. Once you know the base salary, take into consideration your skills and abilities,your education and experience as well as any other qualities you may possess and are more than useful to the new position, in order for the employer to estimate your beginning range of salary.

2. Postpone salary discussion for as long as possible:

If you ask for a specific amount too early, you either risk to be disqualified - if the amount is too large - or to be consider under qualified for the job - if the salary you ask for is too little. And even if you won't get into such a situation, your chances of negotiating a higher sum will be decreased.

Supposing you are being asked to specify the amount you want the moment when you apply for the job, you can say that you are flexible, or that you want to earn the "right price on the market", or that you want to have a competitive salary with a person working on the same position.

If they refuse to set an

interview

if you don't specify the amount you're asking for in the application, you might as well ask them what the

medium salary

for that position is in their company. Also, tell them that your salary request depends on more than one factors, among which the benefits offered by the company,

commissions, sales profit, promotion opportunities, trainings

. After this, tell them a range of salary you'd like to have. Never mention a specific amount (I want 7 657$/month); make it a range (between 5k-6k/month).

3. Don't lie about your current salary range!

Fearing the range of salary they have at their current work place (or previous) might influence in a negative way the decision of the prospective employer, some job seekers tend to lie about the amount of money they used to earn and place a higher sum. However, they do this in their disadvantage. Nowadays, companies are making researches on the market and they can easily find out what the real amount one got at a moment in time. Thus, it's not a big surprise if a candidate is rejected for declaring false information in their CVs, cover letters or applications.

If you really don't want them to know your previous salary range, you can try to refuse mentioning it until you have the chance to prove you deserve to earn a lot more.

4. Never accept an offer on the spot!

No matter how good an offer might sound (or how desperate your situation is), never sign or accept it until you have analyzed it carefully. The moment you get the offer, kindly thank the interviewer/employer for giving you this opportunity, reassure him of your continuing interest and ask him for a short period of time to analyze his offer.

Find out what the

promotion opportunities

are in the company and the ways in which your performances and salary range would be evaluated. Before accepting the offer, make sure you have analyzed well the entire

salary package

, including benefits, life and health insurance, off days, training opportunities, material advantages (car, personal phone etc) and so on.

5. Don't be afraid of asking for more!

As long as you do it in a polite and diplomatic way, there's nothing wrong with asking for more! You should ask for a salary package which better suits your necessities. In some cases, the manager could raise the offer with almost 10-20%, when the candidate proves to be an exceptional one. If the company shows rigid upon the salary negotiation, there is the possibility that they are more flexible with the other benefits or with the days off. Studies have revealed that the majority of employers are flexible to at least some of the aspects of the salary package. So make the most of their offer!

6. Know your limits as well!

During the job offer and salary negotiation session, most of the times, employers either accept some of the job seeker's terms, or refuse the entire

negotiation process

. If the employer ceased accepting some of your terms or if he refuses making any other concession, it is better if you finished negotiating. Be aware that it is not advisable to lose the employer's good will just by needlessly continuing the salary negotiation!