Negotiation Strategy

When negotiating your new salary with your potential employer, avoid discussing your present salary. As a candidate, you want to be paid what a job is worth, rather than being pigeonholed at a former salary. Many interviewers will ask you about your previous earnings; whilst it is best not to answer, it may be impossible to refuse. However, the following replies may help:

"Mr Bashir, with your permission, I'd like us to concentrate on the position we're talking about with your firm. The salary I had with my other company was based on different work and responsibilities. What is the range for this job?"

Or,

"Ms Thomson, I'd rather not prejudice my position with you by talking about an old salary that really is unrelated to the opportunity at hand. Could you indicate what range you have in mind?"

Or,

"I am currently well paid by my present company, but my work is different. I am enthusiastic about working with your company and feel that if we agree that I the right person for the job, there won't be any problems on salary."

This will show the interviewer that your old salary and job belonged to a different world, whilst at the same time probing for the range they have in mind. Once you know that range, you can try to position yourself toward the higher end using your achievements.

It is always best to find out what the employer is prepared to pay, rather than giving them a figure of what you expect - your expectations may be far less than what they are willing to offer and so you could end up losing out. If an interviewer wants to know how much you want, try to turn the question around to them:

"I feel my salary should be based on the responsibilities of the job and the standards of the industry. What would a person with my background, skills and qualifications typically earn in this position with your company?"

However, if they push you for an actual figure, offer them a broad range - make this as wide as possible:

"From my research, £X -£Y is around the salary range for this type of position. Considering my enthusiasm and the fact that I increased sales by 35% each year in my last position for the same type of products, how much do you think that I would be worth to your company?'

Remember that it will not hurt to use some achievements along the way to support your position on the high end of any stated range.

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