This week, I want to share with you the #1 salary negotiations mistake that’s costing you more than $20k!
You have the recruiter call for your dream company. The recruiter is warm and bubbly, and within 10 minutes, you have a “good feeling about the interview!”
Right when your nerves have calmed down comes this seemingly naive question:
“What are your salary expectations?”
You know this question is coming, but as soon as you hear it, your heart starts to pound again, your palms sweat up, and your throat suddenly dries up.
You want to make sure you make no less than what you did in your last role, so you choke up, “I would like the salary to be around $130k, please.”
You just made one of these two mistakes:
You shared your minimum acceptable compensation or your floor with the recruiter.
Though it is ok to have an internal yardstick, what the market pays for a role has no relevance to what you currently make. By sharing your minimum acceptable compensation, you leave little to no room for yourself in the negotiation.
You gave an exact number to the recruiter.
Since you are not privy to the exact budget for the role, by giving an exact number, you either anchored yourself too low or pushed yourself out of the game (both will work against you).
As uncomfortable as this question might sound, it is an excellent opportunity to reiterate your professionalism, communication skills, and experience.
Here’s how to answer this question in 3 steps:
The first step is to understand recruiter incentives. They want to hire the best candidate who would stay with the company for at least 3 months at the lowest possible compensation. “What are your salary expectations” is a blatant attempt by the recruiter to understand your BATNA - or your lowest acceptable compensation.
The second step is to ditch the fear of asking for too much. Remember that the recruiter is on the call with you, not because it is fun to chat with you but because they want to hire you. Remember this and avoid the temptation to discount yourself from the start. Instead, give a salary range that’s - 5% to + 25% of the market average for the role.
This is not the time for winging it. Practice having the conversation with a trusted friend or, better, a coach. Anticipate and practice any and all pushbacks from the recruiter.
When you prepare for the salary negotiations using my proven scripts, you can expect results like my clients:
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💪 Bhagyashree, who negotiated a 12% salary increase for the offer she was originally ready to accept
💪 Renuka, who negotiated a combined $35k salary increase pitching two offers against each other
💪 Josiane who negotiated a $20k salary increase for her verbal offer and will pull it up further during formal offer negotiations
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Ready to use proven strategies to ditch playing safe, position yourself as the go to leader, and command the career and compensation you deserve?
