The salary negotiation example below will give you a better idea of how to negotiate your starting salary package for a new job offer. Salary negotiation is not an easy task, as there is no standard method. Be prepared for starting salary negotiation by having a figure in mind and by practicing several negotiation scenarios. 

• Delay starting salary negotiation until the company makes you a job offer. 

• Whether you are an engineer, business consultant, project manager, sales consultant, accountant, computer programmer or business analyst, you can use the starting salary negotiation example below as a guide.

• It is best to negotiate a higher starting salary before accepting a new job offer, as your chances of achieving a higher starting salary are much better at this stage than after accepting the offer or after starting the new job. 

• If you know that you will not be accepting a company's offer regardless, there is no point in making a counter offer or negotiating. 

Keep in mind that most employers are happy to negotiate your starting salary package as a whole. It is not uncommon for an employer to negotiate a few extra paid holidays or annual leave in the first year due to a pre-planned commitment that you may have... etc. This should be done at the final stage of your starting salary negotiation, after you have covered your base salary & benefits negotiations.

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Within this starting salary negotiation example there are two sample negotiation scenarios, 

• The hiring manager calls you and offers you a job at $60,000 yearly base salary plus benefits. Whether the offer is verbal or is in writing, it is best to conduct the starting salary negotiations verbally ( via phone or in person) and once you finalize, it is recommend getting an offer letter confirming all the job offer details.

• When a Company offers you a base salary of $60,000, they usually expect that you will ask for more and in most cases there is room to negotiate and move the salary higher. The exception to this is if a pre-determined salary has already been advertised.

• Let's say you would be happy with $68,000 plus benefits.

• To best negotiate this, you would say something like "Thank you for your offer and I am certainly interested in the position and Company. Can I get back to you later this afternoon or first thing in the morning" (if it is already late afternoon). This gives you a chance to evaluate the salary offered and compare it to any other offer you may have.

• Most likely the hiring manager will appreciate that you need some time to evaluate the situation. 

• So this time will allow you to evaluate the job offer, the whole starting salary package and most important, it allows you to plan your starting salary negotiation strategy. You may want to write down the steps.

• Do not try to negotiate the base salary and the benefits at the same time, as you will probably miss out on one of them.. We suggest you start with the starting base salary negotiations. Once you agree on a starting base salary, negotiate additional salary benefits.

• Depending on if you have another job offer, if you are currently working, job market conditions, how confident you are and a few other specific factors that vary with each situation and individual, you need to determine how much to ask for. 

• Per the above and depending on your individual circumstances you can ask for a specific figure roughly somewhere between $70,000 and $78,000 plus additional benefits. (you may decide to go higher or lower, depending on your personal circumstances)

To get you to accept the job being offered, some employers will say that they will review your salary in six months. Be aware that while they probably will review your salary, they usually will only give you a pay rise if your performance is above their expectations & not based on how you would evaluate yourself. So once you start working for a company the normal pay rise criteria will apply to you, including budget restraints & strict approval procedures for high pay rises. Therefore, it is best to agree on a starting salary that you are happy with before you accept the offer.

To follow are two sample scenarios:

• Scenario 1: You call back the manager and say you would accept $71,000 and the manager says he/ she can go up to $64,000. You can pause and give a figure in between. He/ she will either accept that figure, give you another figure or say they can't go higher than the $64,000. You can either accept, negotiate further including additional benefits, ask for more time or give them the least you would accept. Keep in mind that once you get to this stage, you need to be decisive and very serious in your moves. For example don't say something like I won't accept anything under $68,000, unless you really mean it.

• Scenario 2: You call back the manager and say you would accept $71,000 and the manager says he/ she can not go higher than the initial figure of  $60,000. You can either accept, try to negotiate some additional benefits in your salary package, ask for more time or give them the least you would accept. Again, you need to be decisive and very serious in your moves. For example don't say something like I won't accept anything under $68,000, unless you really mean it.

Instead of writing a starting salary negotiation request letter or sending an email, it is best to have a meeting or discuss over the phone. Through the hidden job market, if a company is contacted by the right candidate, without having to advertise or having to go through the extra  trouble of searching,  they will hire that candidate. As this candidate would be the only candidate, he/ she will be in an excellent position to be able to negotiate a higher starting salary.  To read the starting salary negotiation scenarios again.

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Use the above starting salary negotiation sample as a reference, taking into consideration your own personal circumstances. Soon, we will be adding more starting salary negotiation examples & sample scenarios, starting salary negotiation techniques & starting salary negotiation tips. Also, we'll be offering online salary negotiation coaching.

ASK US if you have questions about the above starting salary negotiation example or if you need assistance/ advice to help negotiate your starting salary. We are based in Sydney, Australia.

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