Salary History and Negotiations
written by UltraJob
One of the most important stages in the process of getting into a job of your choice is salary negotiation. At this stage of the recruitment process, employers ask for your current salary statements or salary history. The salary history you provide to a prospective employer at this stage is very critical as the information that you provide becomes a factor in determining your salary offer.
Providing salary history might be disadvantageous at times when the prospective employer offers you a salary which is higher than your current salary but not the amount that you expect, especially if you are expecting a huge raise. In such cases, you might not be in a position to negotiate much on the offer. It becomes important therefore to decide carefully and do some homework before including salary history as part of your application.
Level 1: Information Search and Negotiation
Providing salary history might be disadvantageous at times when the prospective employer offers you a salary which is higher than your current salary but not the amount that you expect, especially if you are expecting a huge raise. In such cases, you might not be in a position to negotiate much on the offer. It becomes important therefore to decide carefully and do some homework before including salary history as part of your application.
Level 1: Information Search and Negotiation
Your salary history allows your prospective employer to establish the fact that you are working for the organization you claim to be working with. It also acts as a screening device. In most cases, job seekers with salary expectations which match the internal salary ranges of an organization are considered for the job.
Exercise One: Basic Requirements
To effectively negotiate for a salary which is acceptable to both you and your prospective employer, you will need to use your network to find information on:
To effectively negotiate for a salary which is acceptable to both you and your prospective employer, you will need to use your network to find information on:
- The actual internal salary range for the job if possible.
- The salary offered for similar jobs in your organization.
- The salary offered for similar jobs in prospective organization.
- The similar jobs pertaining to the same industry in similar locations.
Exercise Two: Authentic Negotiation
There are situations where people try and fudge the numbers on their salary statements in the fear of being rejected as underpaid or for getting better salaries. This is not advisable as your credibility as a professional in the industry will suffer. Therefore, ensure that:
There are situations where people try and fudge the numbers on their salary statements in the fear of being rejected as underpaid or for getting better salaries. This is not advisable as your credibility as a professional in the industry will suffer. Therefore, ensure that:
- You do not under quote or over quote your expected salary amount.
- You do not tamper with your existing salary statements.
- You are able to support all the claims made by you related to your salary with authentic proof.
- You are honest in justifying your salary requirements and how you have arrived at them.
