5 Tips to Negotiate the Best Salary (Even in a Recession)

In our currently sketchy economy, many job seekers have given up on the idea of asking for more money during their salary negotiations. But it is possible to negotiate a great salary for yourself, even during a recession. What I have seen in my interviewing (as a recruiter) and in my coaching with my clients (as a personal career coach) is that they are able to consistently negotiate great salary and overall compensation packages when they excel in the interview process.

Over-Prepare

So that is my first piece of advice for you: Over prepare, and excel in that interview. Be totally tight with all of your answers. Know more about the company than others can know. It's "doing your homework," but it's doing it like an over-achieving A+ student, not a C student.

Provide Proof of Your Greatness

Provide evidence of how good you are. Bring a Brag Book with evidence of what you’ve done in the past--performance reviews, "attaboy" notes, awards, etc. Also, bring a 30-60-90 Day Plan that shows exactly what you’ll do in the first 90 days in that role. (All that research will help tremendously here.)

Don't Forget Your References

Bring very tight references that speak to how amazing you are, and how they would hire you. Prep your references beforehand so they know what's important for this particular hiring manager to hear.

Set a Bias

So when you’re talking with them and they ask, “What type of salary are you looking for?” You can respond with, “I wouldn’t take a salary less than what I’m making now. It would have to be significant enough to make it worth the change in my personal and professional life. I have a really good job now, I’m valued in my organization, so in order to take this position, it would have to be a solid opportunity with the potential for me to exceed my expectations in the future.” So you are setting the bias. It's planting a seed that directs their thinking on this issue.

Ask

And really, the best way to negotiate a better salary is to ask for a better salary once you receive an offer. You may not always get it, but if you don’t ask, you won’t get it. I like to negotiate from a positive point of view. So, if I really want the job, and the truth is that the salary is probably acceptable, but I’d like to see if I could get a little bit more, then I’ll say, “This job is exciting for me, it’s perfect, I’m super excited about the role, I’d like to ask for x dollars more in the basic salary, or I’d like to ask consideration for an early merit raise, or for an early performance review, or additional responsibilities that I can be compensated for.” So you’re starting that discussion from a position of positivity, not negativity. Again--you may not get it, but if you don’t ask, you definitely won’t get it.