1. 7 Steps for Salary Negotiation
1. Researchyourself. Before you start negotiating, you have some homework to do
- on you. Euler suggests finding the fair market salary range for your position,
education, experience and location as a first step. "Use a tool like Salary.com's
free Salary Wizard, which compiles 100% HR-reported salary data to find out
what you're worth," Euler says. "Then, outline how your contributions and
performance have helped improve your company's bottom line."
2. Discover your financial impact. Whether you work for a for-profit company, a
non-profit organization or a civic entity, you're either a revenue generator or a
cost centre for your company, according to Katie Donovan, founder of Equal Pay
Negotiations, LLC. Donovan recommends asking yourself the following
questions:
3. --Have you produced more revenue than expected or than your colleagues?
4. --Have you lowered cost by processing more than your colleagues?
5. --Have you saved money by changing vendors or renegotiating a vendor contract?
6. --Have you saved money by shortening processes without lowering quality?
7. "Those are just some of the examples of how each of us impact the finances of
our company," Donovan explains. "Drill any of these examples down to the
dollar, and discuss that dollar amount when you discuss your impact on the
company."
8. Euler additionally suggests considering details like specifically where you
increased revenue, saved your company money, delivered exceptional service,
took on responsibilities outside your job role or exceeded your goals. "Remember:
Your manager will have to take this request to his or her manager, so use all the
data and examples you can to make it clear that your job performance is raise-
worthy," she says.
9. 3. Use multiple avenues. There are numerous online websites you can use to
check the going rates for your position and in your industry, including
Salary.com, Payscale.com and Glassdoor.com. Donovan also notes that trade
associations for many job functions or industries can provide this information, as

2. well as provide details about employment packages. Another suggestion from
Donovan is to call a head-hunter, who can give you another perspective on the
market value of the job - as well as create another option for getting paid more.
"Tell the head-hunter what you do and what you get paid," she advises. "Then ask
if they could get you the same type of job for higher pay. You become a much
better negotiator when you know you have options."
10. Researchyour company. This is a step that's often forgotten, but being aware of
the financial position of your company is crucial for your negotiation, according
to Euler. She recommends finding out what the current fiscal year looked like
from a company perspective, including quarterly performance. "If the company is
not meeting revenue goals, your salary request will most likely fall on deaf ears,"
she says. "Also, ask your manager or HR about when salary reviews happen, so
that you can set a meeting at least a month prior to ask for a raise."
11. Leave emotion at the door. Trying to buy a house? About to send a child to
college? While these are milestones in your life, they do not factor into whether or
not you deserve a raise, Euler says. "When you enter a negotiation you should
only come armed with data, facts, and honesty around your job and company
performance. Lay out your case rationally, ask for what you think you deserve,
and be prepared to answer questions and provide further support for your
request."
12. Remain professional. Even if you're a strong negotiator, you will rarely get
everything you want. If you get an outright "no," Euler suggests using that as an
opportunity to ask how you can improve your performance. "Rejection is always
difficult, but try not to take an unsuccessful negotiation personally - and definitely
don't let it deter you in the future," she says. "If you're denied the raise percentage
that you request, don't forget the list of non-salary related items you can
negotiate."
13. Widen the package. If you work for a start-up, small- to mid-sized company or
are new to the workforce, Euler notes that your company may not be able to offer
you more in base salary. But she reminds prospective negotiators that extra
vacation days, equity, working from home or performance-based bonuses are all

3. up for negotiation as well. Therefore, when negotiating salary, be sure to include
all aspects of your employee package in your discussion. Donovan notes that the
area’s most open for negotiation are salary and flex schedules - but adds that any
aspect of your package is good to include in this discussion. "It gives you items to
compromise and trade for the salary you truly want," Donovan says. "Without
opening with more than you want, you will never end up with what you want in
the negotiation."
"Tell me about yourself" can be an overwhelming question to answer. "So, tell me about
yourself."
It's one of the most ubiquitous interview questions, and often one of the most difficult.
With such a wide breadth of possible answers, it can be overwhelming to know where to
start.
Hint: If your go-to response includes a run-down of where you grew up or what you
studied in college, you've probably already lost your interviewer.
While the hiring manager does want to get to know you, at this point they are only
focused on figuring out if you're the right person for the job — and your most critical task
is showing them that you are, writes Skip Freeman, the CEO of executive search group
Hire to Win, in a recent LinkedIn post.
To prevent hurting your chances before the interview even warms up, Freeman breaks
down this question into a simple three-part response that will hook the interviewer
without inundating them with unnecessary details. Here's his technique:
 Part 1: Start with a condensed version of your career history. Try and keep it as
concise as possible, Freeman suggests.
 Part 2: Next, give a brief summary of a specific achievement to capture the
interviewer's interest. "It must be an accomplishment that can easily be explained
and/or illustrated," Freeman says. "Plus, it must also highlight a 'bottom-line'
impact for the potential employer."

4.  Part 3: Conclude with a few definitive sentences about what you hope to
accomplish next in your career — but make sure it's relevant to the position you're
interviewing for, Freeman warns.
Here's an example from Freeman of a good one-minute response:
"I am a five-year veteran of LAN/WAN administration and systems engineering, with
substantial experience using a variety of contemporary business software systems.
"Recently, as a long-term contract employee at a local regional bank, I learned that the
bank was about to install a particular software system and was planning to use an outside
firm for the project. I let them know that I had done a similar installation at my last
assignment, outlined how we could get the job done with in-house staff, and successfully
completed the installation for $55,000 to $65,000 less than it would have cost with
outside consultants.
"For the next step in my career, I would like to move away from contract work and find
myself as a direct employee of a large firm where I can join a substantial IT team and be
involved with a group that focuses on email and network security applications, while
having access to the knowledge base that would come with a large, diverse IT group."
Instead of giving the hiring manager a broad overview of who you are, show why you'd
be a great fit for the position. "You will clearly and quickly brand yourself as a true
professional, someone who knows the value of what you have to offer a potential
employer," Freeman says.