Back To Career News

How to Negotiate Salary When There’s No More Money

Topics: Negotiation

You know that you should negotiate salary before taking a new position, lest you leave money on the table and cost yourself hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary over the course of your career. But what about when there’s honestly no more room in the budget?

money whirlpool 

(Photo Credit: Patrick Hoesley/Flickr)

“Companies often have strict guidelines in terms of base salary ranges that they can offer for particular positions,” writes Jane Turkewitz at iMedia Connection. “For example, a Director–level position might offer a range of $125K-$140K on the base, based on one’s experience. Well, what if you were most recently earning a $155K base and are excited about this new opportunity put forth, but do not want to take a cut in salary and $140K is the final offer?”

Do You Know What You're Worth?

After you do your research and find out whether the company’s salary range is reasonable for the position, and then determine that yes, even at a reduced rate, you really do want the job — what then? Well, then you concentrate on laying the groundwork for more money down the line.

1. Ask for a review in six months.

This is Turkewitz’s first piece of advice, and it’s a good one. If you can’t get every dollar you want right now, asking for a review sooner will put you in a better position to get more money at an earlier date, potentially helping you catch up. It will also start a valuable conversation about raises, which might give you insight into whether your prospective employer is generous with merit increases, without the awkwardness of having to outright ask that question.

2. Ask for better benefits.

What’s worth money to you? For some of us, it’s more time off. Others would prefer a flexible schedule, paid cellphone service, or a free gym membership. If the hiring manager can’t budge on the salary, maybe they can make the money up to you in other ways.

3. Look for ways to increase your worth.

Will you learn something at this new job? Certain skills and types of experience are worth cash down the line. If this job will help you build a better resume, it might be worth it to take (a little) less right now, in exchange for more bargaining power the next time you’re on the job hunt.

Tell Us What You Think

What are your best salary negotiation tips? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
Read more from Jen

2
Leave a Reply

avatar
2 Comment threads
0 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
1 Comment authors
salaryBOOSTElizabeth Recent comment authors
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
Elizabeth
Guest
Elizabeth

I’m not a robot and would really like to receive the information you are offering.

Thank you,

Elizabeth

salaryBOOST
Guest
salaryBOOST

This is a great topic to talk about. When people often talk about salary negotiations, the conversation centers around money. But there are many circumstances when you can’t ask for more money, or when it’s wiser to request other non-monetary benefits. In my free ebook “Get the Salary You Deserve: 31 Killer Salary Negotiation Sample Letter Templates”, you can find a variety of letters that address situations where you ask for non-monetary benefits. You can find it here: http://www.gosalaryboost.com/blog/2014/7/30/31-salary-negotiation-letter-sample-templates

What Am I Worth?

What your skills are worth in the job market is constantly changing.