How do I get the salary I want?
Don’t talk about salary until you've been offered the job. You should try to convince your prospective boss you're the only person he wants. Then, when you talk salary, you have a much better chance of getting what you want. Sooner or later, however, in every job search you'll have to talk salary. It is, after all, the cement that binds. The real question, then, is this: Will the company that wants you pay what you want to make? In most job situations, you should have a pretty good idea of what the job pays before you arrive on the scene. Executive recruiters and employment agencies are frank about the salary range. Similarly, many ads include salary "up to" statements, although some do not. What you really want to know is how to get paid at the top of the range. There are several things that you can do to help maximize your compensation.
- You have already done the first thing by holding off your discussion of specific salaries until the very end. Your prospective boss has resolved to hire you rather than your competition. He has already decided in his mind you are the top person and probably worth the top dollar.
- Second, let your prospective boss talk salary specifics before you do. If, after offering you the job, he asks you what you want to make, why not turn the situation around? Why not ask your prospective boss what he has in mind? Put him in a position of trying to make the sale. By the time your prospective boss has offered you a job, he wants you. Put him in the psychological position of trying to get you. Chances are that he'll offer you the maximum dollars in the job's salary range.
- If the salary offer doesn't match up to your needs, use a comparison to help your prospective boss realize the problem. Obviously, the best comparison is a salary offer from a competitive firm. If you're lucky enough to have one, you might let your prospective boss know at this time in a nice way.
- He can up the offer to get you.
- He can start the search all over again until he gets a candidate as good as you. But that costs him time and effort.
- He can settle for his second-best candidate and psychologically that's something he doesn't want to do.
If you don't have another job in your back pocket, you can still help your boss to see your problem with a comparison to what you're now making. This is the kind of thing you might say:
Thanks very much for your offer. I'm really glad that I turned out to be your first choice, because, as you know, your company is my first choice. But I'll be candid with you and tell you that I do have a problem. When I decided to leave my current firm, I established a goal for myself of securing a job that pays 20 percent more than I now make. Money's really a major reason why I'm leaving. At this point in my job search, I don't think I should move away from this goal. So I have to let you know my problem. I recognize it is really mine. But if perhaps your budget might be adjusted, I hope you will let me know so that we might discuss this further. For now, as much as I appreciate your offer, it's not consistent with my needs. I'll have to think it over during the next few days.
The first half of your strategy is, of course, to make the salary you want seem reasonable. Reasonable by virtue of the competitive situation and also reasonable by virtue of the fact that one normally expects to make more in a move. The second part of your strategy is to give your prospective boss time to think, making it easier for him to rationalize an increase. And chances are greater you'll get what you want.
Mentioning intentions
In order to improve my career opportunities, I plan to begin an MBA program in the fall. Should I include this on my resume?
No. Good intentions don't count in preparing a resume. Good experience is the only thing worth including.
