Career Services Events
Contact
University of Tampa听
Office of Career Services听
Location: SFB 117听
Email: hireut@ut.edu听
Phone: (813) 253-6236听
ut.edu/career
The Pillars of Spartan Ready庐 equip students with life, career and digital skills that drive success in academics, the workplace and beyond.
Things to Consider
- Effective salary negotiation involves preparation, deliberate communication, and confidence. Do your research. Equip yourself with facts (leave emotions at the door) based on market value and know your value as a candidate.听
- Timing is important. Whether negotiating during a job offer, or requesting a promotion in your role, timing is critical.
- Let the interviewer initiate the salary discussion.听
- Be professional and straightforward, upfront with your expectations with relevant salary data and examples and remain open to further negotiation. Though salary is important, consider the entire benefits package.
- Meet with a career coach to practice your salary negotiation strategy. www.ut.edu/career/appointment.
- It鈥檚 appropriate to ask for time when presented with an offer. Don鈥檛 feel pressured to accept the initial offer immediately (even if you鈥檙e a recent grad!). Request time to consider the offer and prepare your response.
鈥淩egardless of the state of the job market, you should always negotiate.鈥�
Katherine McGinn, professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School听
Assess Your Value听
- Prepare to explain the value you would bring to the organization. Knowing your value can help you define a salary that best compensates you.
- Identify your accomplishments, skills, aptitude, and what differentiates you from other candidates.
- Knowing your value can help you define a salary that best compensates you.听
- Reflect on your education, relevant experience, overall experience (transferable skills), certifications, leadership potential, languages, technical training, anything unique about your candidacy, etc.
Salary Research Strategies
Salary negotiation requires thorough preparation and an understanding of market rates and your value proposition. Consider your level of relevant experience and education. The best way to prepare is to do as much research as possible. Look for consistent salary patterns in your industry to generate a salary range that you can confidently negotiate.
Online Market Research
- Salary websites can be a good place to start your research, but don鈥檛 strictly depend on this strategy. Job titles commonly represent widely different latitudes of responsibility and salary websites don鈥檛 always reflect this.听
- Use websites like , , , and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to research salary ranges for similar roles in your geographic location.听
- Search and other industry-specific publications to evaluate comparable rates.
Word of Mouth
- Ask professionals in your target industry. Don鈥檛 ask them what they make. Rather, something like this would be appropriate, 鈥淏ased on my research, I have found $ -$ to be a fair range for this position. Given my experience and level of education, would you agree?鈥� Informational interviews are great for this strategy.
Online Job Boards
- Check out similar positions on online job boards. Target comparable roles at similarly sized companies in your desired geographic location.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to get the pay you deserve, it鈥檚 crucial to know the going rate for your position in your specific industry and in your geographic area. If you walk into a salary negotiation without a number, you鈥檙e at the mercy of an experienced hiring manager who will simply control the conversation.鈥� 鈥� Lindsey Pollak, Millennial Workplace Expert
Compensation Package
Total compensation can include much more than what you bring home in your paycheck. Consider the full benefits package beyond salary, which may include:
- Health insurance
- Retirement/401k
- Training/ Certifications
- Signing bonus听
- Stock options
- Paid Time Off (vacation, holiday, sick)
- Relocation Assistance听
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Promotion opportunities听
- Parking
- Gym membership
- Flexible schedule and work modality (remote/hybrid)
Salary Negotiation Sample Scripts
What are your salary expectations for this position?
鈥淚鈥檓 more interested in finding a position that鈥檚 a good fit for my skills and interests. I鈥檓 confident that you鈥檙e offering a salary that鈥檚 competitive in the current market.鈥�
* When asked about salary in an interview.
If the pay is less than what you were expecting鈥�
鈥淭hank you so much for this offer! I am really excited about the role and the work that [Company Name] is doing and would love to join the team. However, according to my research, the typical salary range for someone with my qualifications in this role is [$$$]. Would you be able to match that figure?鈥�
鈥淚 appreciate the offer, thank you. I'm glad you think I might be the right fit for the team and I can't wait to get started. I'm curious if we could address the compensation, though, and agree on a higher starting salary. I've looked at other job postings and I saw that the higher end of the starting salary for this position for a candidate with my background and skill set is $70,000. That's the number with which I feel more comfortable.鈥�
鈥�
If you have a competing offer with a higher salary鈥�
鈥淭hank you so much for the offer! I am really excited about the company and position. As you know, I have been talking to over companies and do have another offer. If you鈥檙e able to move the salary to [insert your number], I鈥檇 be eager to accept.鈥�
* Note: You do not have to disclose the name of the company that has given you an offer, nor do you have to share the exact offer that you received. Keep in mind, never lie about a competing offer.
If the salary they鈥檝e offered matches or slightly exceeds the salary you researched, there may still be room to negotiate.
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about the offer and would love to join your team. I would like to talk about compensation. Since I not only fill the desired qualifications, like [insert some of your most marketable qualifications], but I also have [anything that sets you above the minimum qualifications], I鈥檇 like to see the base salary closer to [insert your researched salary].
If you want to negotiate benefits鈥�
鈥淭hank you so much! This role is really exciting, and the salary looks great. I would like to follow up on a couple of details. How flexible are you with [insert name of benefit]? The written job offer included [details about the benefit], but I would like to request [the level of benefits you want].
* Note: If you are negotiating a benefit to match a current benefit level or one that a competing employer offers, feel free to share that data.
Script Source:
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