How to Negotiate Your Start Salary

Before your interview, research salaries in your field. Knowing salary ranges, particularly for your specific field and location, helps you know what your value is on the job market. It can even help you avoid applying for jobs at companies that offer significantly below-average wages.

Where should you research salaries? Start with salary websites like Glassdoor, PayScale, and LinkedIn, which provide salary data broken down by job title, experience, degree, location, and even individual company. However, these sites rely on salary data from users, so they might not provide the full picture.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a federal agency, offers salary data broken down by field and location. It draws on payroll records filed by businesses, so BLS data offers a more reliable picture of median salaries.

Finally, reaching out to your local network is one of the best ways to research salaries. A mentor at your school, friends working in the industry, or even job recruiters can all offer advice on standard starting salaries in your field and city.

Researching salaries helps new hires avoid the wage gap and make sure they’re earning what they’re worth.

Along with preparing a resume, doing mock interviews, and reaching out to your network, add practicing your negotiation skills to your job hunt to-do list. When you receive a job offer, you’ll be glad you sharpened your negotiation skills.

Here’s the good news: Once an employer makes a job offer, you’re negotiating from a position of strength. Remember that the vast majority of employers expect salary negotiations after making a job offer. The employer already wants to hire you and they expect you to negotiate.

When negotiating salary, be as clear as possible. Instead of a vague request to increase the base salary, use specific numbers and back up your request with evidence. For example, bring in your experience or salary research to justify the higher number.

During the negotiation process, express your enthusiasm for the position and company. If you have multiple offers, you can use that, too: Ask other employers to match your highest salary offer.

Practicing your negotiation strategies will also increase your confidence. Negotiating can be uncomfortable and your instincts might tell you to simply accept the initial offer. Have a friend role play the hiring manager for you, then practice asking for a higher salary. This will help you feel more comfortable and overcome anxiety about negotiating.

When should you negotiate your starting salary? Consider the Goldilocks approach.

Asking too early — during the interview process, for example — can be off-putting to hiring managers. On the other hand, asking too late — after you accept the offer or sign the paperwork — risks missing the negotiating window.

Instead, plan to negotiate your salary after receiving an offer but before accepting it. If you receive an offer in person or by phone, you don’t have to jump directly into the negotiations. In fact, it’s a good idea to ask for a few days to review the offer.

If you prefer to plan out your responses, send a salary negotiation email. Be as specific as possible in the email. Ask for the salary you’d like and any additional benefits, like a flexible schedule or more paid time off.

Salaries vary by industry — and so does the ability to negotiate starting salaries. If a nonprofit organization offers you a position with a starting salary of $35,000 per year, for example, you probably can’t negotiate for $70,000 per year. The company doesn’t have enough funding for that.

How to negotiate salary depends on the job. In certain fields, starting salaries depend on your experience, degree, and title, with little wiggle room to increase the salary. For instance, federal jobs use pay tables to calculate salaries, as do many public school districts.

However, even in industries with salary tables or limited funding, you should still negotiate. Make an argument for why the employer should move you up a pay grade or offer you a salary at the top of the available range. You can also negotiate paid time off, benefits, and other perks.

How much should you ask for during a salary negotiation? The general advice is to choose a number 10-20% higher than the salary offer.

You should aim high with your counteroffer because it’s likely that during the negotiation, you’ll probably land on a number between the original offer and your counteroffer. Draw on your salary research to justify why you should receive a higher amount. Bring in specific evidence from your work history, internship experience, or background that makes you an exceptional candidate.

When should you ask for more than 20%? When the initial offer is much lower than the typical salaries for your field. However, keep in mind that an employer who lowballs the starting salary that much might not be willing to increase it — or to offer good raises down the line. In some cases, it’s better to walk away than accept a very low salary.

Salary is only one part of negotiating a job offer. In addition to asking for a higher starting salary, you can also negotiate paid time off, benefits, and a work-from-home schedule. In some industries, a job offer might even include moving funds, a signing bonus, or a start-up fund for buying necessary equipment.

These factors can significantly impact your quality of life on the job. Especially if you’re in an industry with less wiggle room on salary, you should negotiate for additional PTO, a flexible schedule, and other changes that will improve your work life.

You have the right to walk away from an unsuccessful salary negotiation — and so does the employer. But you knew that already. What other rights do you have during a negotiation?

First, hiring managers should not ask certain questions during the interview or negotiation process. This includes questions about your age, disability status, or parental status — they all violate federal discrimination laws. If an illegal question comes up in the interview, you can choose to disclose that information about yourself, but you can also choose not to answer.

A number of states also have salary history bans. These laws bar employers from asking about your previous salary, and some also ban using salary history to determine a salary offer. Salary history bans help limit compensation discrimination.

It’s also important to consider the employer’s perspective, as there are things they may be legally prohibited from offering you. For example, they might not be able to offer a 401(k) match without violating IRS nondiscrimination rules. Similarly, it might be impossible for an employer to subsidize your health insurance premiums unless they offer that benefit company-wide.