Find below some negotiation tips for the job salary during your interview:
1. Maintain a professional approach: Always be professional throughout the interview. This will show you as someone who is serious for keeping the job, therefore assisting with your overall aim to get the job, and means that the salary offer is also likely to be reasonable and serious.
2. Only discuss salaries during an interview if the interviewer raises the subject: Raising the subject of salary yourself may give the appearance that you are only interested in money and not in the job role itself, and you might ‘jump ship’ if you are offered the job and another offer comes along which you are more interested in or with a higher salary. The best approach is to only discuss the salary in an interview if your prospective employer speaks about it. If you have got to the end of the interview and no reference has been made to wages, it would not be inappropriate to ask other questions about the role, and follow it up with a question about salary.
3. Do some research and have some figures in mind: It is always wise to do some research into the market and the job role you are applying to get an idea of what to expect in terms of responsibilities and salaries. You should also make sure you have calculated the minimum figure that you can live with for your own reference. However it is best not to disclose these figures to your prospective employers.
4. Quote a range of salaries you would expect: Rather than quoting a specific figure in any interview it is wise to offer a range of salaries which might be acceptable to you both. You will have given the interviewer an idea of your salary expectations whilst leaving the door open for negotiating your salary offer if required at a later stage.
5. Remain calm in the face of delight: The interviewer may quote a salary which is considerably higher than you expected. If this is the case, try not to be too enthusiastic and remain calm as this may be viewed negatively and make you look inexperienced.
6. The last shot: If you’ve finished the interview feeling confident that you may well be successful, but the proposed salary was a little lower than you thought you could achieve, it is worth making a final reiteration that you are very keen about the job role and challenges involved, and the salary is a detail which just needs to be agreed. If you can’t leave the interviewer with a positive feeling about you, you may lose out on a job offer for just a few hundred pounds.
