Salary negotiation: How to get more salary

Created: 08/16/2022, 16:00

If you want to get more money from your boss, you have to be able to sell yourself well.

With these tricks, your next salary negotiation will be successful.

Salary negotiations are not a pleasant situation for anyone.

You want more money, your boss wants to pay you as little as possible - and somehow you have to meet in the middle and find a solution that both parties can live with.

However, it is usually the employee who has the most to lose because they are in the position in which they would like to have something.

Now is the time to ask for it in the right way.

These tactics will convince your boss that you not only want the raise, but that you really deserve it.

Salary negotiations are not pleasant for either side, but don't shy away from it.

Make sure you have something in writing.

A handshake alone is not enough.

(Icon image) © Andrey Popov/Imago

Salary negotiation: You must follow these steps

The salary negotiation is divided into different steps – you should remember these six steps:

Salary negotiation: 1. The right preparation

There are two things involved in preparing for a salary negotiation: your own attitude and the right information.

First, you should go into the interview with the belief that you deserve a raise.

Think of yourself first, because that's the way the business world usually works.

Others also ask for more money, so why should you settle for it?

The second ingredient for a successful salary negotiation is the background knowledge that you should acquire in advance.

Find out what salary is usual for your industry and your position with your work experience and adjust your request accordingly.

You can increase the amount a little if your boss wants to bargain you down, but keep it realistic.

Otherwise it quickly looks bold.

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Salary Negotiation: 2. Sell your benefits

In a salary negotiation, you are in the position where you want something from your manager.

This means that your counterpart has the upper hand, but that does not mean that you are powerless in the conversation.

Instead, arm yourself with arguments about why you deserve the raise and consider the indispensable asset you bring to your employer.

Concrete examples are particularly good here.

If you make it clear to your negotiating partner what added value you offer the company, it will be more difficult to turn you down.

Salary negotiation: 3. State exact salary expectations

Make a precise request to your employer and avoid statements such as "between 40,000 and 50,000 euros per year".

If you make such a vague statement, it firstly seems as if you have not informed yourself enough and secondly, as if you do not dare to demand the 50,000 euros that you would actually like.

In addition, with such an offer, your boss will of course accept the cheapest option for him, namely the 40,000 euros annual salary.

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Salary Negotiation: 4. Consider other merits

When you sit down in a salary negotiation, the first thing you naturally think of is the money that you would like to receive from your employer.

However, if you absolutely cannot come to a financial common ground with your counterpart, then it can also be worthwhile to look for advantages outside of the financial factor.

Accept the lower salary, but ask for, for example, a parking space on the company premises, a company car, a rail card, more vacation days or the opportunity to work from home a few days a week.

Salary negotiation: 5. Tone and honesty

Anyone who wants to ask their boss for a raise should come to the office that day in their best mood - and make sure that the boss is in a good mood too.

Salary negotiations are usually uncomfortable for both parties, but that doesn't mean they have to be stiff or even scary.

Be open and friendly, and maybe open with a humorous statement like "Now for the awkward part of the conversation..." to take some tension off.

But beware: Even if the salary interview was a nice one, you should not rely on the spoken word afterwards.

Put the agreement in writing.

It is also important that you remain honest in the negotiations.

So don't invent an offer from a competing company or utopian salaries from industry colleagues elsewhere.

In the end, such fibs fly anyway.

Salary negotiation: 6. Know when it's over

If you have been discussing with your counterpart for a while and are finding it difficult to come to an agreement, then at some point you should give up.

Take whatever raise you and your boss might have agreed on in the middle, and don't insist on the maximum.

Better try again in a year.

The same applies if you come to an agreement particularly quickly.

If your boss immediately agrees to your request and you feel like you could have gotten more, leave it at that for now and keep the peace.

You can always renegotiate – you now know how it works!