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  • Negotiating your salary.

  • There’s a lot at stake here, it’s not just about this job and this year:

  • your pay for the rest of the time at this organization will be based on how you negotiate your salary

  • as you take your first position.

  • But negotiating your salary can be awkward and uncomfortable.

  • Today were going to discuss how to talk about salary in a job interview,

  • and how to negotiate your salary once an offer is made.

  • This is something youll want to think about and plan ahead of time

  • to ensure the conversation goes the way you want it to.

  • I recently sat down with Cindy who has served as Executive Director at a New York City non-profit

  • and she now works as a recruiter.

  • She’s hired hundreds of people and can help you think through your requirements,

  • and the right way to talk about them.

  • So cindy, let's talk about salary.

  • How do you suggest people talk about that in an interview?

  • It is complicated and it's one of the things that scares people.

  • So one is as with everything else that I've said, prepare for it ahead of time.

  • The ways that you can prepare for it, one, there may be...You should make sure,

  • you know, if there's a salary band or a hourly rate listed, because that makes it really simple.

  • Some places will do that so make sure you're aware of that.

  • Lots of places small, and they'll say based on experience, etcetera.

  • Something that's good to know is that there are states now in new york and california, maybe some others,

  • where it is no longer legal for them to ask you what you currently make, or what you made in your previous job.

  • Actually, it's helpful to know.

  • So be prepared with your previous salaries, if you're in a state where that's legal, and they may say,

  • what was your last salary and they base, you know, they'll base what you, what they may

  • give you based on what you made previously.

  • Okay, let's say you live in a state where it's not legal to do that,

  • yet they've asked you that?

  • Maybe the person interviewing you doesn't know, or maybe they don't care,

  • what, how do you think that should be handled by the person who's being interviewed?

  • I mean, I would say you can handle it two ways.

  • Um, you could...Here, would be my suggestion, would be to say: in my last role, I made about X

  • and I anticipate or expect or want to make x in this role.

  • And that way you're answering both sides of the question.

  • It's super complicated if that happens.

  • Um and with all of the things that are not legal to be asked about in an interview.

  • Cindy has given you a good,

  • general way to talk about your salary if youre asked directly what you currently make,

  • and how to, in the same sentence, mention a ballpark for what you want to make in your new position.

  • Ballpark.

  • I go over what this idiom means at the end of the video.

  • She also mentions a salary band or grade.

  • In some organizations, positions are assigned a salary band

  • which simply means the pay for that position must fall within a set range.

  • If you know the top of the range is too little for you to accept the job,

  • you should drop out of the process as soon as you know that since they won't be able to offer you more.

  • If you are asked: Then what are your salary expectations?

  • Which is often the question that's asked,

  • so the research you should do ahead of time is what are the salaries or comparable salaries at organizations?

  • You can go on to Glassdoor, um, you can go on, you know, do a search of

  • just 'what are the salaries of this place' and it'll pull up wherever that salary information might be,

  • and so if you can't find it for the company you're applying for, look for others.

  • If you're applying in the nonprofit space, you can go on to Guidestar.

  • That shows at least top salaries at an organization,

  • that is not always helpful, but it can at least help you have a gauge.

  • So do as much research as you can about what the role is and what

  • standard salaries are in a place of which you are applying so that you know where that basis is.

  • Cindy mentions two websites, Glassdoor and Guidestar.

  • Glassdoor is a website where you can enter a company or organization and see all sorts of information about it.

  • You can read reviews from people who work there or have worked there, on their experience as an employee,

  • but you can also see the salaries for various positions.

  • You can also do a search on the job title for the job for which youre applying,

  • and see all salaries at different companies in the same city or region that youll be working in.

  • This can give you a great idea of what to ask for.

  • And then figure out, you know,

  • if you're flexible, then say that, and say "You know, I'm looking for a salary of $60,000 a year but I'm flexible, like

  • I'm willing to go down to 50,000, but I really like to be closer to 60. If you're not flexible,

  • if you have a bottom line, then say what that is.

  • If truly, you're like, I cannot make less than 75 thousand, like, I just can't, then then communicate that.

  • Because it doesn't.... It'll-- you don't want to waste your time or their time.

  • If you really are flexible and you can say "Look, I'm really flexible I'm excited about this role,

  • like the salary isn't the thing that's most important to me, could you share with me what the range is?

  • And they'll, you know, I, we are very flexible, I've always been very flexible with range, and say the range is x,

  • is that comfortable for you?

  • And they'll say yes or no. Right?

  • So you know, I think you need to know going in where your requirements are and are they flexible?

  • Not only do you need to research current salaries at the organization

  • and the same position at other local organizations, but you also need to ask yourself what your range is.

  • Know how low you’d be willing to go, and what your preferred salary is.

  • You can use phrases like these:

  • “I’d like to see myself making between $50,000 and $60,000.”

  • “I’d like to be at or close to $75,000.”

  • “I can’t take this position for less than $70,000.”

  • In an interview, how much should you be justifying what your salary requirements are?

  • So let's say they give you a range and you feel like you really need to be at the top of that range to take the job.

  • When you say that, should you, or is it a turn-off to say: and I think that my skills and XYZ justify that?

  • Or just leave leave all of that alone, just do numbers?

  • You just, well, actually at the at the point of your interview process,

  • if they say the range is 50 to 60 and you think you need to be at the top of that range,

  • I wouldn't mention that at that point.

  • You wait till you have an offer to do negotiating.

  • You don't negotiate on salary until then, in my opinion.

  • Great advice.

  • Yeah, so you, so that put, as long as it's within range, then you say "Great! That's comfortable for me."

  • I mean me, I mean, it's possible they may ask you more, like, you know, it depends on the situation, as a recruiter,

  • I can have a much more frank conversation with somebody, right,

  • to figure out really what the situation is around salary,

  • and and people feel more comfortable talking to a recruiter about that.

  • But you know, I would say you don't, you don't want to start negotiating until there's--

  • until you have something to negotiate about.

  • >> Right, until there's been an offer. >> Which is an offer.

  • So basically, be prepared, do your research to know what to expect, and then

  • also be prepared to say what you want, and not,

  • you know, shy away from being direct about that, if it is indeed what you need to have.

  • Yes. Yes.

  • And if you've done your research, and if you really don't know,

  • I do think it's okay to say: "You know, I really don't know what the salary range would be for a role like this.

  • Would love to have some understanding of that before I say what I need."

  • That's also okay.

  • Like, especially if you're moving into a new field, like, and you can say, you know, I was making around this,

  • you know, before, but it was a very different field, and so I expect that the salary ranges are different here,

  • and I haven't been able to find very good information, would love if you could help me figure that out.

  • Like, so I think, there are a lot of different answers,

  • but you just want to know it ahead-- you want to prepare ahead of time.

  • >>Yeah. >>What those answers are.

  • >> Always be prepared. >> Yeah.

  • So let’s say you do get an offer.

  • Now what?

  • Youre no longer in the interview process, youre in the negotiation process.

  • First of all, as Steve mentioned in an early video in this course,

  • if youre waiting for another offer from another company,

  • or you already have one and youre deciding between two, go ahead and let the companies know.

  • You could say something like, I also have an offer from another company,

  • could I have a few days to consider my options?

  • You may find that a company is willing to match a higher offer from another company if they really want you.

  • But also, never lie about having another offer from another company.

  • Your job offer will likely come in as a phone call.

  • It’s very normal to ask for a couple of days to think about it.

  • The person who’s offering you the position will probably want you to let them know the specific day

  • that youll give them your answer.

  • It is okay to respond with an email rather than a phone call, and it is also definitely okay to negotiate your salary.

  • In fact, the person offering you the job is probably expecting it.

  • I talked to several people who do hiring for their companies and they said in some cases,

  • they do make a last/best offer right from the beginning.

  • That is, when they give you the offer, they say something like, this is the most we could offer you for this position,

  • or, this is our last and best offer.

  • In that case, there is no negotiating.

  • You can decide if you'll take it or not.

  • But if they don’t say that, it’s fair to ask for more.

  • You could say something like, I’d be so happy to take this position, but I would like to be making ___.

  • Name your number.

  • If they can offer you that, or something close to it, then great.

  • If what youve asked for is beyond the budget, then they'll let you know.

  • It doesn’t mean you can’t take the job.

  • When you counter, when you ask for more money, how much is it appropriate to ask for?

  • There’s no one perfect answer here, but from the people I’ve talked to,

  • it sounds like something around 8 percent or so would be reasonable.

  • If youre offered 60,000, it would be okay to ask for 65,000.

  • You could push that up a little bit more if it’s very important for you to make more,

  • but you wouldn’t want to counter with something like 80,000 if you were offered 60,000.

  • Do your research,

  • know what expectations are, and know your bottom line.

  • All this will help negotiating a salary go smoothly.

  • Good luck in your new position.

  • And this concludes the course on getting a job in the US.

  • I’ve had so much fun learning with you along the way.

  • What jobs are you applying for, or, what job were you offered?

  • Let me know in the comments below.