13 Tips for Negotiating Fair Salaries and Counter Offers

Talking about money is always a bit uncomfortable, especially regarding a new or potential job.

Despite the awkwardness, negotiating fair salaries and counter offers are still conversations you’ll need to prepare for. You can’t expect employers to read your mind and understand what you want and value. These conversations will allow you to express your needs and ensure you’re receiving a salary and benefits package that you’re comfortable with.

Here are our tips for making these conversations a lot easier.

Salary Negotiation

1. Do your research

Research the company you’re interviewing with before meeting with them. If you can’t find much information about their salary offerings on websites like Glassdoor, have a look at SEEK or Indeed for their salary guides that will tell you the average salaries for different role types. Salaries vary due to experience level and skillsets. Doing your research will let you know if your expectations and what is being offered is too high or too low. Check out SEEK’s salary look-up tool here.

2. Don’t get ahead of yourself

While it is important that you know your worth, make sure you’re being reasonable. Before making any high-reaching demands, consider the skills and experience you’re offering the company. Don’t forget, a higher salary always comes with higher expectations from your employer!

3. Don’t let salary be the first thing you ask the interviewer

Give the interviewer time to get to know you and show them why you’re the best fit for the job (give them a reason to believe you’re valuable). Being too eager about salary is a red flag to all employers. If salary is the only thing you care about, what’s not to say you’ll jump for a new role as soon as you’re offered a bigger carrot?

4. Don’t let the interview end without talking about salary

At the end of the interview, the interviewer will ask you about salary expectations. If they don’t, they’ll ask you if you have any questions. This will be the time to ask what the salary is. Don’t give everything away too quickly. If a salary higher than you expect is being offered, lucky you! If not, reflect on your research and negotiate a salary a bit higher than what you prefer. This will provide room for further negotiations. Where you’re not sure what the going salary rate is, ask for a day to think about whether the offer is right for you. Go back and research, then provide a prompt response – remember that you’re competing against other applicants!

5. Be honest if you’re unhappy with the proposed salary

If the offered salary is too low, tell them! Don’t beat around the bush and remain neutral in the conversation, then expect a higher figure to appear out of nowhere. If you’ve reached the stage of the hiring process where you’re discussing salary, the interviewer is clearly impressed and considering you for the job.

6. Don’t bluff or claim you were offered more in a previous role

If you’re dissatisfied with the salary range that is being offered, it can be tempting to claim that you were offered more in your previous role. False claims surrounding salaries will come back to bite you. The interviewer would have also done their research to know the average market rate. Some may be ill-informed. But where they are not, they’ll have realistic expectations about what you should be able to achieve at a certain salary range. If you’ve been offered a higher salary because you’ve asked for it, you’ll be given KPIs or responsibilities to match it.

7. Back yourself with evidence and confidence

Don’t settle for less than you’re worth. If the salary being offered is less than what you’re currently being paid, or less than what you believe you should be getting, be prepared to back yourself in explaining why this is the case. Emphasise what you’ll be bringing to the company, this includes your past experiences, achievements and how you plan to take the company further with your skills. Be prepared to stand your ground because, at the end of the day, you need to live with what is being offered. Don’t feel compelled to accept, especially if it is the only offer you have currently received, there will be more around the corner that will be more suitable to you and your needs.

8. Look at the bigger picture and ask yourself if money is the only thing that matters about the job

So, the salary being offered is less than what you hoped for? Looking at the bigger picture can help you see what the offer is really worth. Consider what else you will be gaining from the job, such as new skills, experience, mentorship, other benefits, or other career opportunities. Is it a shorter commute that gives you two hours back in your day? These aspects might help you better achieve your life or career goals than money.

9. Get it in writing

Once negotiations have been had, and you and the interviewer have agreed upon a salary, make sure you have this information in writing before accepting the job, and especially before submitting your resignation letter! Miscommunications happen and are better resolved early.

Managing counter offers

Let’s say, you’ve now been offered the job and you’ve gone back to tell your employer about the offer.

What happens when your employer proposes a counter offer after you announce your resignation?

Let’s dig deeper to see why they might propose a counter offer and what you can do when facing this situation.

What is a counter offer?

Counter offers are made when an employer wants to retain an employee who has submitted their resignation. It can be in the form of a promotion, a salary increase, additional benefits, another role, increased responsibilities, and anything else.

The aim of a counter offer is to convince the employee to stay at their current job.

A counter offer can be a great opportunity for you if the issues and original motivators for you wanting to leave are addressed. It’s important that you properly reflect on your situation before making your final decision. Statistics show that most people who accept a counter offer end up leaving after six months anyway.

That bigger pay cheque isn’t going to make your job more enjoyable, if enjoyable work is what you’re after.

“Accepting a counter offer for short-term gain is no help to anyone – you’re simply wasting time before going back on your search.”- Sarah Frank, Recruitment Consultant

To assist you in navigating this line of thinking and help you make the right decision, we’ve broken down the reasons why you should vs. shouldn’t accept a counter offer.

10. Before making your decision

Once you’ve received a counter offer, don’t feel pressured to accept or decline it straight away – ask for a few days to properly think about what you’re going to do.

During this time, consider why you wanted to leave your current job in the first place, what it was that appealed to you about the other offer, and what the perfect scenario would look like. Whether it be down to salary, workplace culture, lack of challenges, or career advancement opportunities, at some point, you realise another job could offer what your current role is lacking.

Think about what motivated you to go through the entire interview and hiring process. If it is a matter of salary or benefits, accepting the counter offer could be an easier decision.

However, if it isn’t something as tangible or clearly defined, you may need to dive deeper to discover what is really causing you to be dissatisfied.

Here are less obvious, yet very common, reasons people are dissatisfied in their roles:

• Poor company culture
• No scope for career progression or professional development
• Long commutes
• Hours are too long
• Poor relationship with colleagues
• Unchallenging or uninspiring work
• Lack of reward and recognition
• Your motivations have changed since you started your role

11. Negotiating the offers

Do the offers at hand meet your wants and needs? If you’re left wanting more, ask for it. In a candidate-driven market like today’s, employers are more likely to consider bold requests.

You might ask for more flexibility in the hours you work, free parking on site, or more responsibility or autonomy.

Depending on your request and market conditions, the employer will either accept, negotiate further, or retract their offer. Don’t be too eager or too greedy. At the end of the day, you still need the employer to want to work with you.

12. Accepting a counter offer

If you’ve had an honest conversation with your manager and they are open to actively addressing the issues you highlighted, then accepting the counter offer might be in your best interest. Once you’re feeling positive about staying, go ahead and accept the offer!

After accepting the counter offer, let the other party know that you’ll be declining their offer. They might come back with a better offer, or they might accept it and thank you for letting them know.

13. Declining a counter offer

There is no pressure to accept a counter offer. Don’t feel guilty about putting yourself first in a situation where you might be unhappy. If the counter offer doesn’t meet your expectations or address the issues at hand, kindly decline.

Explain that x, y, and z aren’t being met and that you appreciate the offer.

Negotiating salaries and counter offers does not come naturally but hopefully our tips will help you do so confidently leave you with the best offer you can get.

If you’re almost at that next step in starting a new role, check out our ultimate guide to job hunting in 2023 where we share how to make a great first impression!