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Building Confidence for a Salary Negotiation

Salary negotiations can be difficult for anyone. I just saw a recent Career Solvers blog post that suggests there are differences in how women and men negotiate for increases in salary. It includes information from a Washington Post article and recent research by Carnegie Mellon on the topic. It also offers advice including how to develop relationships with the HR department, and tips for establishing a comfort level for future salary discussions.

Regardless of gender, salary negotiation can be a difficult conversation. The key is to make sure that you can reasonably show HR why you deserve a pay increase. Here are my suggestions:

• Keep a running log of all of the projects that you have worked on throughout the year, outlining your involvement and the outcomes.
• Conduct industry research for your local market and determine if you are fairly compensated for your experience and position.
• Check your job description to see if you have exceeded the responsibilities or have added to them.
• Determine a list of career goals and objectives that you would like to accomplish. This will show HR that you are planning ahead and looking forward to a future with your company.

Preparing for salary negotiation will make you feel more comfortable about setting a meeting with HR, and give you the confidence to speak about what you believe you deserve. Of course, this is a negotiation, so you will also need to be on a look out for HR to counter with their offer.  Here are a couple of tips to handle the counter:

• Know what you are willing to settle for in regards to negotiation.
• Think about alternatives to salary. Maybe more vacation or a flexible schedule would be another area to negotiate for compensation.
• Have questions prepared for the end of the conversation. Some may include: What do I need to do to reach this desired salary bracket? Can I renegotiate in 6, 8 or 10 months?

Also, for more tips on negotiating total compensation packages, check out two other posts on the topic. Remember, hard work and dedication deserve a fair salary. You've earned it. Now all you have to do is ask for it!