The Do’s and Don’ts of Salary Negotiation by Julie Waters (2024)

YAY! You got the job! Congratulations! Suddenly the joy turns to fear. Here it comes, you are at that scary moment in the process - time to talk money. Cue the anxiety and questions that start scrolling in your mind:

• Do I ask a lot so they think I am worth it?
• Are they going to low-ball me?
• If I say a number that is too low I am shooting myself in the foot?
• If I say something too high they may change their minds and ask me to leave.

Don't stress. As we do for all other aspects of our lives, a little research and some preparation will make for a smooth conversation.

DO - Research, research, research! You can find many tools on line to help you figure out a general salary range for your profession and location. Sites like Salary.com or Indeed.com provide calculators for various cities and different professions. They may not always be right on, but you will at least have some idea on where you should be when the time comes to start a salary negotiation.

DO - Use your professional networks. You may have used some of these same networks to help you find the job that you have just been offered. Make a salary range question part of your initial conversation with others in your profession. Asking for a range or budget amount allows people to be a little more open with information.

DO - Use your own experience. Only you know what you were making before. You can gauge your value based on your new city compared to the old city, your old position compared to the new position. Of course if you have been in your profession for awhile, you will already have an idea of what you are worth. You may also be able to find more specialized information about salaries by searching for local surveys on-line. Your own job search might provide you with good information too. Some companies advertise the range to be offered for the open position.

DO - Establish your floor number. You need to know how low you can go. Unless the job is your life's passion, it is still just a job, and another one will come along soon. If you take a job that you know will be frustrating if you aren't getting paid what you deserve, you may come to regret that decision and perhaps resent the people at the organization.

DO - Evaluate the offer as a whole. Keep in mind that as a military spouse, you may not have a need for the health plan that is offered. Some organizations may offer a cash-in-lieu of health insurance option, but if they do not you may be able to negotiate more salary because you won't be taking the insurance. You are not likely to make the equivalent dollar amount translate to salary, but one to two hundred dollars a month would not be out of the range of most cash in lieu programs. There are also other considerations like: your commute, cost of child care, lunches out and dry cleaning.

DON'T - Have unrealistic expectations. Maybe you were making six figures at your fancy office in Washington DC, but Fallon, Nevada is not going to offer you the same opportunities. It may be time to focus on expanding your knowledge base and experiences.

DON'T - Assume just because your rent tripled, your salary will too. While cost of living does have some bearing on salaries, there is not a direct correlation. BUT, you have two or three more years of experience since the last time you changed jobs, so that should help.

DON'T - Be afraid to ask. Everything is negotiable, salary is not the only thing on the table. If the vacation accrual schedule isn't what you had hoped for, it doesn't hurt to ask for some additional days off. Since it doesn't directly compute to a dollar figure, the company may be more likely to say yes to that request before they would say yes to an increase in salary. But,

DON'T - Demand. And don't take the negotiations too far. One time back and forth is enough.

In our current economic situation, there were a lot of candidates for this job and YOU are the one they picked. They want you and respect you enough to listen to a reasonable counter offer.

Julie graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in English and earned an MS in Human Resources from Troy University. She is also a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR). Over the last twelve years, Julie has held various Human Resources positions since getting her start at FHC Health Systems in Norfolk, Virginia, to include serving as the Director of Human Resources at the Military Officers Association of America in Alexandria, Virginia. Julie currently resides in Spokane, Washington where she is the Human Resources and Operations Manager at a law firm. She was lucky enough to choose a career that easily transfers between employers as each military assignment introduced her to a new city and even a new part of the country. Julie holds a special interest in career building for military spouses as she feels it is important to have something personal outside of the military lifestyle.

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