By Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, PMP
Founding Lead, Project Management Life (PML)
Did you negotiate your salary after your last job offer?
If not, you likely left a lot of money on the table.
One of the best opportunities to negotiate your income is when a new position or title change is presented. We’re going to cover why, when and how to negotiate your salary to get the best package you deserve.
Why Should You Negotiate Your Salary?
Did you know that by not negotiating, you can limit your income for the rest of your working career? Each future raise will be based on a percentage of a lower amount if you didn’t maximize your base starting amount.
Let’s say you’re given a 5% increase in your pay annually. Now, let’s say you accepted an initial offer of $75,000 instead of negotiating for $80,000. After just one year, your first raise would be $3,750 ($78,750) instead of $4,000 ($84,000). The difference will then increase exponentially each year since your raise will always be based on a smaller amount. After 10 years, you could have made an additional $62,889 just by originally negotiating $80K as your base salary.
Negotiation is expected. But if you don’t, they will gladly pay you the lower rate.
When Should You Negotiate?
If you already accepted a position, then you’re already too late.
Salary negotiation happens between when an offer is extended and the moment you accept the offer. There is a small window where you can take steps to maximize your earning potential.
First, you need to know this: If you receive an offer, it means YOU are the preferred candidate. They want you over everyone else. This is important for you to know because it means the “ball is in your court”.
Once an offer is initiated, don’t immediately accept. Say something like, “Thank you so much for the offer. I’m so glad to hear that I’m a good fit and I’m excited about this opportunity. I’d like to take the rest of the day to consider all the details of your offer. Can I get back to you shortly?”
How Can You Negotiate Your Salary?
- Determine Your Ideal Outcome. Define what amount you’re hoping for and what amount you’re willing to accept. Remember, negotiation is about coming to a win-win scenario and some level of compromise is expected.
- Collect Salary Data. Ask what the salary range is for the position or research it online. You can estimate it based on similar postings that disclose the range and make some assumptions based on your years of experience.
- Know How to Articulate Your Value. Remember, simply wanting more money is not a good enough reason for a company to offer you more. You need to understand what you’re worth based on your industry, your years of experience, and the value you will directly bring to the company. Be able to articulate how you will contribute to the growth of the organization and how your expertise and experience will support that growth. Be able to explain your value and provide examples of how you will demonstrate that impact.
- Remember It’s More Than Just Salary. Consider other things like benefits, commute time, learning opportunities, vacation time, future growth, sign-on bonuses, moving costs, flexibility like working remotely a few days a week, etc.
- Ask for What You Want (But Leave Room for Growth). Leave some room within the salary range for future growth. Say something like, “I greatly appreciate the work that went into developing this offer. I’ve had a chance to review it and would like to explore if there is some wiggle room on the salary amount and would like to counter at $(X amount). This leaves some room for future growth in the salary range while still recognizing (add your experience, value, examples, etc.) that I would bring to this position. I would love to be a member of your team.”
Shared by Project Management Life (PML)
“Salary Negotiation for Project Managers: How to Not Leave Money on the Table” is written by PML Founding Lead, Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, PMP.
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Founding Lead, Project Management Life (PML)
Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, PMP is the founding lead behind Project Management Life (PML) – an inspiring online community of passionate project managers and dedicated volunteers. PML is committed to celebrating the profession of project management and actively sharing knowledge, wisdom, and practical insights on how project managers can thrive and live their best life.
With well over 20 exciting years of project management experience, Natalie Berkiw-Scenna brings her passion and guidance to support other project managers to grow their careers through mentorship, coaching and education.
She brings her wealth of knowledge and expertise from her PMP and Lean designations, and years of leading complex, strategic projects. Her book, Unleash Your Meeting Potential™, can be found in retailers around the world. She also launched this material as an online course after teaching this valuable content to several MBA programs and at various educational events and symposiums including IIL’s 2021 International Project Management Day.
Natalie has international project experience in both Canada and the United States, and has worked primarily in the healthcare and non-profit sectors. She currently provides her expertise to Beaumont Health in Michigan. In her spare time, she focuses on training and coaching others to build their confidence and credibility to take their careers to the next level.
You can connect with Natalie through the following:
Website: www.NatalieScenna.com/learn
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalieberkiwscenna/
Email: NatalieScenna@gmail.com
