I recently had dinner with an observant Jewish professional in his mid 30’s. He felt that to send one’s children to private day school, buy a house in the New York metro area and live comfortably, one needs a family income of at least $200,000 per year. Whether this is necessarily true or not, it speaks of the importance of negotiating the highest possible salary for the work that you do.
The key to the highest job offer is not to reveal how much you are looking for until you receive an offer.
Larger companies have organizational charts including salary ranges they can offer for each position.
If you reveal how much you are looking for early on, you may be eliminated based on price or receive a lower offer than the company was willing to pay.
When questioned, or asked to put a salary demand on paper, write ‘open to negotiation’ or give a wide range depending on the industry/job type and experience required (example: $70,000-$85,000).
After a company has placed an advertisement in the newspaper, vetted through hundreds of resumes, called you in for multiple interviews, checked your references and decided you are the best candidate, then you are in the best place to negotiate.
Do your research. Understand what your skills are worth in that sector of the market. Do not agree to the first offer but express a strong interest in the position. Come back with a reasonable offer and give the company time to meet you somewhere in the middle.
Please post your experiences related to salary negotiation.
To read more of Lavie’s advice regarding the job search, you can go to Lioncubjobsearch.blogspot.com.
