By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Have you ever been in the situation of having to negotiate or renegotiate your salary? Whether you’re starting a new job or asking for a raise at your current company, the process can be daunting and invoke fear. After all, you are asking for a higher salary, and believe that this means that you must be able to justify your request. But what happens if your salary negotiation fails? Here are seven things to do if your salary negotiation fails. From taking time to reflect, to continuing to network and practicing negotiation skills, these tips will help you get back on track and prepare for a successful negotiation next time.
Ask for feedback
Asking for feedback can give you valuable insight into a company’s thought process, budget constraints, or other factors that may have influenced the decision, including financial issues a company is having. Don’t you want to know about a company’s financial problems before joining instead of after? I remember when I was still doing searches, I was negotiating for someone, I was referring a client. I made a strong case for why my client should increase their offer. “He wants to join, but you guys are $15,000 below market for her,” I told them. ‘It’s very hot skills.’ “Jeff, we just received information from the CFO about a hiring freeze that is being implemented due to trading losses. I was allowed to keep this offer active, but they cut it back from what I recommended.” She and I agreed that it was not time to join this company.
Take time to reflect
First, take time to reflect on the situation. In most cases, if your salary negotiation fails, it’s not because you did anything wrong. This is because the hiring manager was unable to offer you more. It doesn’t mean they don’t want you or don’t value your skills or experience. Sometimes decisions like these are out of their control. Most importantly, taking time to reflect will help you stay calm and avoid making rash decisions that will only send you spiraling.
Upon reflection, did you miss cues that signaled you were discussing this at the wrong time or, if it was for a job offer, that you weren’t talking to the right decision maker? Were they mentally present or seemed distracted? Did you lack leverage and seem like you were begging?
There are many variables that can affect whether you can get the salary you think you deserve. The more you can understand the situation, the better prepared you will be to move forward and use your experience to have a successful salary negotiation next time.
Collect data and resources
The next thing to do if your salary negotiation fails is to gather data and find resources that will help you understand why this happened. Was it because you didn’t know how to properly negotiate your salary? Was it because you didn’t have enough data about the company you were interviewing with or working for to understand how they operate? There are many reasons why a salary negotiation can fail. But the first step to becoming a better negotiator is to understand where things broke down that were in your control. It is not unusual to feel that you now have too much information. Still, the collection can help you identify ways to better prepare for future negotiations and help find leverage to use next time. An obvious example is if you gather data that shows the average salary for your job in your industry is $170,000, but you’re currently being offered $145,000, you can use that information in your negotiations.
Try to negotiate non-salary compensation
Try to negotiate other forms of compensation instead of salary because they come from different parts of a company’s budget. Are they willing to give you a sign-on bonus? What about extra vacation time? Can you get stock options or RSUs (restricted stock units)? How about a flexible working arrangement that doesn’t require you to be in the office so much? Can you persuade them to increase the professional development budget for you if you can’t get them to increase the salary? Many of these are negotiable for you as an employee as well as for someone considering accepting a job offer.
Network or Continue to network
Many people think that if their salary negotiation fails, it is time to give up and stop networking. But the truth is that networking is even more important after a salary negotiation fails. Instead of networking to find a new job, focus on networking to find resources that will help you understand why your salary negotiation failed.
Reach out to former colleagues and mentors and ask if they can recommend any books or other resources that can help you better understand salary negotiations and the factors that influence them. Get introduced to a coach with whom you can debrief and do a post-mortem of what happened to see what you could have done differently.
Remember, if you didn’t get what you wanted from your current employer, you can also network with people to find a better job. After all, people you know can introduce you to people they know that you don’t know, who can make introductions to people at another company.
Practice or continue to practice your negotiation skills
Continue to practice negotiating. After all, you will find yourself in negotiation situations in the future. Read books and articles, as well as watch videos on the subject. There are many salary negotiation books and videos that can help you better understand the process and help you succeed next time. There is also participation in seminars, workshops and online courses on salary negotiation. Many local universities and community colleges offer these types of programs. Keep an eye out for opportunities from professional groups and associations you are a member of.
Stay positive. Keep moving forward
No matter what happens, stay positive and move forward. One of the most important things you can do after a salary negotiation fails is to maintain a positive attitude. It is normal to negotiate a salary increase, whether it is in your current company or in a company you are considering joining. You may feel bad that you didn’t get everything you wanted or anything you wanted beyond what you were originally offered. However, you are not the first person to experience this and you will not be the last. If your salary negotiation fails, don’t let your mind run wild with self-criticism. After all, if you’re like most people, you didn’t have much experience negotiating salary, and they did. Look at it as a learning experience and use it to prepare for your next time.
As I have said many times, the skills needed to find a job are different from those needed to do a job. For most people, negotiation is a skill with which they have little experience. You often come across people who do it often and have heard every imaginable story why they should increase the offer
Like conversations, salary and total compensation negotiations are things you rarely do. Don’t hesitate to try to re-enter the negotiations even after they have said “No” to you. Sometimes they will admit something to you because they just want this to end. Sometimes they still won’t budge.
And if all else fails, try saying, “I’d really like to join. It’s a great opportunity. I like the manager and the team a lot, and the team seems great. (Pause. Look them in the eye and say) Can you make a touch better?”
I don’t know what a touch better means specifically, but often it sounds so trivial that a company concedes and increases its salary offer. That’s what you want.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2022
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