Negotiating Your Offer: Why It's Important!

by Sharon Potsch, Talent Representative

First off, congratulations on your job offer. That is fantastic! Now comes the crucial part--negotiating your offer. While you may be happy with the proposed salary, negotiating your offer illustrates your future company's willingness to work with you. It also provides a glimpse of your overall fit with the organization. Can your benefits kick in early? Is flex time an option? Is this job a stepping stone or a career path? Answers to these questions don't magically appear--they are crafted by thorough, smart negotiating.

While you may be nervous to start the negotiation process, the actual act of negotiating is not scary. It's not a game of who goes first and it's not nearly as complicated as what you read when you Google "Negotiating a Job Offer." Successful negotiating requires aligning your priorities and displaying confidence in what you need to be happy. Strong negotiating is also knowing exactly what you are offered and acknowledging whether or not both the offer and job are a fit.

Setting the Tone

Typically, the first job that you land sets the tone for the salary that you will be able to command throughout your career. While it is not uncommon for individuals in the creative industry to make huge salary jumps, it can be difficult to substantiate the need for a $10,000 or $20,000 increase in your next job if you feel underpaid in your current gig.

While the initial salary that you are offered may sound really exciting at first, be sure that you are truly happy and satisfied with the monetary amount being offered. After the romance of the offer wears off your salary still remains the same. So, what was OK when you were excited about the new job might start to wear away at your nerves when you get into the thick of your new role.

Be Reasonable

Most people are scared to ask for more after they are awarded a job offer: they think that if they buck the system and ask for more initially, the job offer will be retracted. The fact is, if you are asking for a reasonable increase over what you were offered (say $3,000 more, for example) or a little padding for vacation time, anything that matches your trigger buttons, most employers will be amicable to this request and extend a revised offer with those improvements.

You've been chosen and offered the job: take advantage of being in the driver's seat while you still can! Reasonable modifications to a job offer include:

• Asking for an extra week of vacation
• Inquiring if your benefits can kick in earlier than stated in your offer letter
• Asking for $38,000 instead of the offer of $35,000 to cover transportation costs
• Free or reduced-cost parking if you work in the city
• Delayed start date to accommodate your existing schedule (vacations or current job objectives you need to complete)

Asking for a huge title increase, coming back with a proposal of $65,000 when they've offered you $48,000, or requesting a yearly paid sabbatical after your first year of employment might seem pretty sweet, but it could also signal that you and your prospective employer are too far off the mark to make the job a great fit for you.

Display confidence in your requests if you have specific needs that must be met in order for you to accept the job. For example, if picking up your children at daycare three days a week requires you to leave at 4:30p.m., that is something that must be worked out prior to your acceptance. If your prospective boss bargains with you now, odds are this job is a good fit and you have a good game plan. This also identifies that this new company and boss might not only be a match for your career, but for your lifestyle.

Negotiating is Not a Game

Yes, it can be nerve-wracking not knowing when to blurt out: "--but I want an extra five grand and three weeks of vacation!" However, you cannot say what you want until you see what you are given. After the verbal offer, ask to see the offer in writing. Evaluate the document and start drawing up your pie in the sky, your rock bottom, and what you think is fair and satisfying for you to take the job and also stay there with a smile on your face. Once you have this information, you can let the hiring manager know where you stand and what you require to work there.

Most companies have pay bands allocated for each position. This is especially true with large corporations. Within each position there is a certain amount of money allocated, and the employees brought in to fill that role are compensated somewhere within the pay band. The amount you are offered depends on your experience level, what you bring to the table, and your negotiation skills. Say the pay band for an entry-level graphic design job is $35,000 to $40,000. If you have a year of experience, a great internship, and a degree from a top design school, you have leverage to push the envelope and ask for the top of the band.

There are pros and cons to starting a role at the top of a pay band. Pay bands allow your boss to give you a healthy raise at review time, provided you step up to the plate, get your work done on time, and refrain from downloading too many iTunes. Once you reach the top of a pay band, you either have to earn a promotion (more work = start at the bottom of the next pay band) or stay content with where you're at, meaning you won't see much of a raise and your responsibilities will remain the same.

Do You Fit?

You can gauge how you will fit in at your new job by how well you and your employer get along through the negotiation process. Trust your intuition throughout the process. If your future boss in unyielding or insensitive to your requests now, don't expect this individual to suddenly turn into Mary Poppins when it comes time to ask for a flexible work schedule a couple of years into your role.

The creative industry is notorious for long hours, demanding deadlines, and many nights burning the midnight oil. If you find a prospective boss willing to work with you on crafting a job offer that not only is fair, but maybe even a little generous, you are more apt to want to work with that person for years to come.

The job market is improving: talented designers and copywriters don't have to accept the first job offer they receive. Talent can be more selective about where they'll hang their hat and can craft a work schedule and benefit package that best suits their lifestyle and career nuances.

Remember, this company invested quite a bit of time in cherry-picking you as a candidate and visualizing how you will fit within their organization. They like you; you are in a good spot to ask for what you need. There is no harm in aiming higher and settling for the middle; you are already ahead of the game. Good luck!