How to Eloquently Communicate Salary Requirements
- 1). Take a conciliatory tone during salary negotiations. Keep in mind that confrontation will get you nowhere during salary talks. Sometimes companies simply can't afford your rates or think they can spend money more efficiently. Avoid making these negotiations personal. You can be a firm negotiator while remaining polite.
- 2). Outline your skills and experience with confidence, not arrogance. It's not a crime to tell employers exactly why you think you're worth a higher salary. Lay out your concrete achievements in your past jobs by showing how you added value at a previous company and present statistics showing your contribution, including increased sales numbers or client retention rates. These facts will speak for themselves; there's no need for you to point to your sales record and say, "That's why I deserve to be paid more."
- 3). Know that you can walk away from the negotiations. Companies understand that a reasonable, self-interested assessment of money and benefits at a new job is acceptable. Set a minimum salary in your head that you will accept. If negotiations dip below this number, politely thank the employer for the opportunity and indicate that you simply can't afford to take the job.
- 4). Be honest about past salary requirements. Avoid trying to obfuscate what you made at a previous job. Instead, if you made far less at a previous job and want more now, eloquently outline what skills and experience you've had since that job that justify a salary increase. According to "The Washington Post," this can benefit both parties: Your prospective employer receives an honest answer, while you get to talk about exactly why a higher salary is justified.
- 5). Avoid bringing up the issue of compensation first. Not only is this a good negotiating tactic, but it is also a way to tastefully conduct salary negotiations. Let the employer start a conversation about salary, and build upon what she says. If you're about to seal the deal for a job, but no one has raised the issue of compensation, bring it up politely.