Negotiating Salary

xirtlook

Interesting topic.

How do you negotiate your salary? How to know what you're worth?

Experience, Degree, Certification, Demand...it all has an important part in negotiating how much an employer should pay you.

Do you ask for more, and settle for less?

Do you acquire certifications while working to get those promotions or raises?

Just want your tips, past experiences, and suggestions.

Ryan82

Unless the position was an awesome opportunity I probably would look for at least a little higher salary each time I change positions. Generally you will probably look at the market salary for the position in that particular area and depending on how qualified you feel you are for the position would dictate whether you try to go for the lower or higher part of that salary range.

I always try to be in a position where I am not forced to accept a package that doesn't match my value. If you tell them what salary you would expect and they aren't willing to offer it, then thank them for their time and keep looking. I don't bother with the haggling.

I generally look at certifications as a means of proving progressive learning at my current job for annual reviews, but don't really expect them to benefit me until it comes to negotiating a salary for a new position.

xirtlook

I mean say you're re-negotiating your salary, or asking for a raise.

How would use certifications, and degree, and experience as means to ask for more. How much more?

Say you picked up 5 certifications within a year, and a degree.. is that enough to ask for I dont know, 5k more a year?

just throwing out examples, to get the discussion going. Others can feel free to plug in their situation/dilemmas/experiences.

tpatt100

I only had to negotiate my second IT job. Later on employers asked what I was making currently and they just went up a bit from there so I didn't have to negotiate much, but I was lucky.

edit: oh asking for a raise? hmmm, I asked for a raise years ago and this was after I got my MCSE and four year degree. Manager said "sure let's go ask the project manager", I was surprised... Well he said they could give me "extra" next raise and review time which was coming up and they gave me a bonus which wasn't much but better than nothing. I did get an extra few percent on my raise though.

networker050184

I think its all relative really. So you got five certifications, but what certifications are they? Do they directly help the company or make you more proficient at your job? Same with a degree. If you aren't helping the company with your achievements then they aren't going to pay you more money.

As far as how much, thats going to depend totally on the company. Some greatly value continued professional growth while some could really care less.

xirtlook

Well I work for a Cisco/VMware partner, so any vendor-specific certifications we get, helps the company attain bigger discounts.

certifications and degrees that go towards the department I can understand.

My boss/department turns their shoulder to Linux, so I'm sure any certifications or experience I attain via linux will not get me anywhere.

I'm currently getting paid less than most people with my experience, and do what I do, and certifications, and degree would be paid.

I would merely ask for a raise that would put me at about equal to that.

I think if I apply for other jobs, and come up with a "oh I was offered a job that makes this much, but I really want to stay here, can you match that" approach might work... or backfire. not sure how to go about asking for a raise.

I think every 6months we are re-evaluated, so I'll just try to do my best, volunteer, work over, get as many certifications they ask from me, and wait to see how much the propose, and I can either be happy with that or ask for more then.

Everyone

Research your market value, and set realistic expectations based on your findings. Sites like salary.com, glassdoor.com, etc., will help with this.

Your evaluation is probably the best time to present your findings. Prepare yourself as much as possible. Be able to defend your claims in a professional manner.

WillTech105

I've been able to "haggle" my salary up twice. The thing I've found is once your experienced and you know they want you (offer you the job) THEN you can start talking money.

Don't be nego as a level 1 Desktop guy. The first 4,5 years you're basically the little ....you knowwhat....and whatever they give you, you'll tale with a smile even though deep down it sucks. Once you have 5,6+ years under your belt you can start being little more pushy and demanding after they've accepted you for the job. Of course, the more EXP you have, the more you can nego. The less you have, the less wiggle room you have.