Salary Negotiation
Two Most important Principles in Salary Negotiation
1. Delay any discussion of salary as long as possible.
2. Know what you are worth in the marketplace.

Three Stages of Employers' Thinking About Salary
Budget
Fudgit
Judgit

The Budget Stage of Salary Negotiation Occurs when employers first talk to you.
They are looking to spend as little as possible.
They start screening out people who are not in that range.
The BUDGET stage is the most rigid and refers to living within one's means
(or a company living within its means).

The Fudgit Stage of Salary Negotiation
Employer still sees income as constant but is willing to shuffle the outgo to make room for new things.
He or she is thinking in the FUDGIT stage that maybe he or she can meet your salary request by juggling

some things around.
The key word is maybe. Purchases (and hires) are very rarely completed in the FUDGIT stage.

The Judgit Stage of Salary Negotiation
The employer takes an objective but creative look at the desired employee and sees the person not as a

liability but as a money-saving asset and makes an offer in line with the prospective employee's

expectations.

When to Negotiate Salary ?
You are really not in a position to negotiate until the employer is ready to make an offer or actually

makes an offer.
If you reveal your salary history or salary requirements while they are in the BUDGET stage, you can be

screened out and never get a chance to interview and move them to the JUDGIT stage.

Your Competitive Market Value
Base your salary negotiations on your competitive market value.
Compensation should be arrived at by first determining your value to the prospective employer.
This analysis must be based on how you will contribute to the profitability of the employer's company.

Determining Your Competitive Market Value
How to determine your competitive market value: ?
Look up salary surveys in your field or even popular magazines (e.g. Working Woman puts out an annual

salary survey).
Ask other people in your field; do an informal survey of people in your profession. Use your network! Best

choices: college students -- last year's grads from your major; experienced job-seekers -- people in your

professional or industry association.
Check the Internet for salary-survey information. (More on these Web sites later in this tutorial.)

What if an employer asks for your salary requirement or history in a want ad or job posting?
If salary is the most important issue to you . . .
. . . you have less of a problem.
If you are flexible about salary . . .
. . . responding about salary to a want ad is trickier.

Options When Responding to a Want Ad
Avoid the salary issue altogether. Ignore the request for salary requirement/history.
Say your salary requirement is negotiable.
State your current salary and say your requirement is negotiable.
Say you are earning market value for someone in your field. Or you expect to earn market value for someone

with your educational background.
Give a range in which the low-end figure is 10 percent above your current salary.

If you don't give a salary requirement, you may receive a salary-screening phone call:
Politely ask what salary range they're considering for the position:
"I know we don't want to waste each other's time if we're way far apart on salary. May I ask you, though,

what is the range you're considering at this time for the position?"

Working Around the Salary Issue
If they won't give you a range and won't schedule the interview unless you give your salary range, respond

this way:
"Depending on the management philosophy of the company, overtime hours required, training and support

available, medical and dental benefits, commuting and travel time, how well it fits with my long term

career goals and opportunity for advancement, bonuses, commissions, and other profit-sharing type

compensation, my salary expectations range from $XX to $YY. [Give a VERY WIDE range.]
"I'm free [X day and time] for an interview. Which time would work for you?"