How to negotiate a better salary during a job search

At College Recruiter, we recommend that candidates first get the job offer and then negotiate their compensation. To reverse that upsets many employers who forget that the primary reason that people work is to get money so they can live. Once you have the job offer, ask the recruiter what they are offering. The recruiter will likely want the candidate to first talk about their salary expectations but, when negotiating, it is almost always better for the other party to make the first offer.

If the candidate says they want $20 per hour, the employer will then know that they can hire the candidate for that amount or less. The employer may have been willing to pay $22, but few will tell the candidate that $20 isn’t enough and the employer instead will take the $20. That’s a form of wage theft, because the employer knows that the fair value for the candidate is $22 as that’s what the employer was prepared to pay, and yet the employer is going to pay them less than the fair value. 

Whether the candidate or employer makes the initial offer, College Recruiter recommends that the candidate finalize the hard compensation discussions, so they know what they will be paid on an hourly or salary basis, 401k matching, medical insurance, etc. At that point, then start to negotiate what we call soft benefits such as the ability to work at home one day a week; work four, 10-hour days during the summer;  a week of unpaid time-off between your current job and the new job; an extra week of vacation; etc.

To many employees, the idea of getting any of these soft benefits is worth a lot to them, and the employer can provide a lot of extra value to you by agreeing to these soft benefits, but you don’t want to give up your hard benefits like wages in order to get the soft benefits like extra vacation days. You want both.