Salary negotiation tends to focus on the immediate dollar-value – salary, bonus, and stock. But once you have negotiated to the hilt and reached a compromise, don’t give in. This is the time to throw in those extras into the bargain.
You’re not done yet.
You’ve reached a financial number, but there could be more in the bargain if you ask for it. Don’t be a push-over and make your employer sweat a little. Your job achievements add great value to business, so now is your time to get some of the action.
Position your argument for extras as an offset to a higher financial number you had in mind. You wanted more, so these extra benefits may go some way to compensate for this loss. If you catch my drift….
If the ‘other side’ believes that you’re happy to accept the negotiated financial amount, you have no leverage at all.
Flexibility – strive to balance your personal needs and request flexibility in working hours and location. Want to work from home a day a week? Or leave early on a Wednesday? Then get this onto the table now.
Training – there may be new skills you want to develop that will increase your marketability, and value to your employer to-boot. Now is the time to ask, because training is often seen as an avoidable expense (perceptively irrational, I might add).
Conferences – staying connected and in-touch with industry change could be important to you. Some conferences require a considerable investment, but not all. There may be a deal to be struck – such as you pay for your travel/room and your employer pays for the conference (or vice-versa).
Memberships – such as association memberships. Your employer may even have preferential rates or an enterprise membership, not normally offered to people on your pay grade. This is an opportunity to be a member of associations and societies that will improve your professional exposure.
Childcare – your employer may offer an optional childcare scheme. Find out! Add this into the deal at no cost to you.
Longer term – the original deal could be for a fixed term contract, say 6 months. Ask for a longer contract if you’re to accept a financial package below your par.
Promotion assessment – yeah – pre-negotiate a timeframe in which you will be assessed for promotion. Some companies may require you to experience a longer tenure before being considered for promotion, but why wait that long if you don’t have to? Make sure it’s clear to both you and your employer about the criteria for promotion assessment at this stage. (You’ve got to be confident that you’ll have proven yourself though – this isn’t a guarantee)
Vacations – don’t be shy in asking about this. Ten days is not a lot of vacation leave, is it? Why settle for a lousy couple of weeks vacation when you could negotiate more precious time. Ask for more, if that’s what will sweeten the deal for you.
Get these things written into you contract. Don’t accept a promise. Managers move on, often leaving promises unfulfilled. Make sure the terms are specific enough so that your employer can’t scale down the commitment later on.
Don’t shout about them to you co-workers, as your deal may be counter to standard. You wouldn’t share details about your salary, so don’t share details about your extras.
