This isn’t the salary I imagined. Now what?

By: Toni Frana, Career Expert with Zety.com 

As a new career professional, receiving your first job offer is a relief. However, for many, the initial salary offering can be somewhat disappointing, and may not match your initial expectations of what you would be making as you begin your career. 

Your beginning salary in your first role is not indicative of your total earning power, and of course, is not where your compensation will stay. Naturally, with more experience comes the ability to command a higher salary. However, there are also strategies you can use to negotiate a higher salary, as well as build your career in a way that your salary expectations will match the reality of what you earn at your job. 

Let’s explore what you can do to close the gap between your expectations and reality: 

Understanding Your Value

Knowing your value and understanding what you bring to the table is a critical step to negotiating for more money. Performing regular self-assessments where you note your skills, relevant experience, certifications and unique contributions allows you to bring concrete examples to any negotiation discussions. Even early in your career, you should be able to identify key contributions and the value you can provide a company. 

To help quantify your value in a dollar amount, there are various tools on sites like Glassdoor and Payscale. Also, research your specific industry salary surveys to find appropriate compensation ranges for the level of work you are aiming for. This data, along with highlighting your specific value should be the basis for your planning and executing of negotiation discussions. 

Salary Negotiation Strategies

After you’ve researched compensation rates and determined your unique value proposition, the next step is to put together a plan to counter the offer. It’s imperative that you think through and note what specific points you’d like to highlight when you negotiate. 

Timing is key, and salary negotiation should happen after you receive a job offer, not during the initial interviews. In fact, after you receive an offer, don’t say yes right away. Employers will expect you to counter their offer, or at a minimum ask to take some time to think over the offer before accepting. Use this time to your advantage. It’s appropriate to ask for 24-48 hours, and sometimes you could ask for 72 hours. 

As you prepare to give your counter offer, you should confidently and clearly be able to articulate your case, tying your skills to the company’s needs. Practice what you want to say and be sure to include specific examples of results you’ve delivered, even if it is from a part-time role, volunteer experience, or class projects. 

Negotiating Benefits and Perks

In addition to your salary, you will likely receive other benefits. This makes up your total compensation. Other potential benefits include health insurance, 401k matches, remote or flexible work, a signing bonus, paid time off, stipends and others. It is acceptable to negotiate these benefits as well. 

Resume builder platform LiveCareer analyzed user behavior to reveal emerging job search trends and candidate priorities when considering what to negotiate. First, you should determine your personal non-negotiables (like health insurance) and other more negotiable benefits for you (like stipends, or work schedule). Start any negotiation by asking for what is most valuable to you if salary flexibility is limited. Just like you want to be very specific with your salary request, the same is true for additional benefits. Make sure you ask for what you want and provide clear rationale for the request. 

Leverage Early Experience

As mentioned above, when it’s time for you to negotiate, highlighting early experience from projects or internships is helpful. Additionally, it’s best to do this verbally, either in person, over video, or via phone. You can say something like: 

“I am really excited about the opportunity to bring my strong sales skills to help <company name> deliver results to clients. With my experience in customer service, conflict resolution, and a customer satisfaction rate of 98%, I would expect the starting salary would be $65000. As I’ve shared, in my previous experience, I have a keen ability to identify customer needs and then confidently respond with effective solutions that make customers happy and contribute to the company’s goals. I will bring this skill set to <Company Name> and know the value I bring will lead to even more company success.”

This statement highlights previous experience from an earlier position that could have been through volunteering, or an internship. The point to make is not about how the position was classified, rather you want to be focusing on your results and impact then, and what your impact will be in the future for the new company. This is a compelling way to state your value to a potential employer. 

Overcoming Common Challenges

After stating your case, wait for a response. It’s possible they meet you where you are, but it’s also possible they will offer another number that isn’t quite there yet. Ahead of your discussion, know what your bottom line is and what you would feel comfortable accepting as a salary in order to accept the job. If you ultimately want the job opportunity, and the salary is still lower than you anticipated, ask if you could have a performance review around 90 days in to the role to discuss the possibility of a raise after you’ve had the opportunity to prove yourself in the role. 

Remaining professional and collaborative is important, as the overall goal in this discussion is a win for you and for the company. While you feel like you may have little leverage, don’t let imposter syndrome get in the way of your opportunity to negotiate for more. Even though you are a new professional, you do have a skillset that the employer is looking for. Afterall, you did receive a job offer, and employers expect some level of negotiation. 

Without giving a counter offer, it’s possible that you will leave money on the table. Negotiating assertively is key. In fact, studies show most people who negotiate get something extra from the original offer. Even if your first negotiation is unsuccessful, you are giving yourself a strong foundation for better future offers. 

Negotiation Isn’t Possible. What’s Next? 

In the event that you are unable to get to the salary and benefit package you negotiated, it is ultimately up to you if you accept the role. Either way, begin to focus on gaining skills and building a record of success to help you prepare for your next job offer and/or raise. Track your contributions and initiate regular feedback with managers to set the stage for future negotiation discussions. Career growth is a process and each role you have is an opportunity for you to build leverage for your next step. 

While receiving lower than expected salary offers is common, it isn’t the end of your earning power. Throughout your career, as you grow, take on more responsibilities, and learn more skills, compensation growth will come with strategic negotiation and self-advocacy. Knowing your value, preparing to negotiate, and confidently communicating at every stage in your career will set you up for long-term success.