Salary Negotiation - What Career Coaches WON'T Tell You ( EXACTLY what to say )

Something different today! I guess the April fools joke is that I made something useful! If you enjoyed it, leave a like!
I've included the phrases down below for you to put in your emails - Copy / Paste / Modify them if you want:
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Deflection Technique 1 – The Reversal: ‘Before I give you a number, can you please provide me with the salary range for this position?’ The direct solution.

Deflection Technique 2 - Neutralize: When asked for your salary expectation, neutralize it by saying something like, ‘I’m looking to stay right where I’m at,’ then give a number that’s 10-15% higher than your current salary. They don’t need to know that. Go higher if you’re brave enough.

Deflection Technique 3 – The Polite Stall: If they won’t budge, try, ‘I’m sure your company has a fair and competitive compensation structure. I’d be more comfortable discussing salary once we’ve determined that this is the right opportunity for both of us.’ You can also use this as a way to show you're serious about finding the right fit and not just chasing a paycheck.

Also, consider these more polite roles:

“I’m open to discussing salary, but I’m also interested in learning more about the company’s compensation philosophy and how salaries are determined. Could you share more information about that?”

“I’m hoping to find a role that aligns with my skills and experience and that provides a fair and competitive salary. Based on my research, I believe that a salary in the [insert salary range] range would be appropriate. How does that range align with the company’s compensation structure?”

[ Non-salary Options ]

They won’t budge on dollars? Try this:

“I understand that the salary might be fixed at this point, but I believe there’s room for negotiation in terms of non-salary benefits. Considering my commitment to the company and the value I bring to the table, would it be possible to discuss enhancing aspects like additional vacation days, an increased signing bonus, or a more substantial equity package? I’m confident we can find a mutually beneficial arrangement that reflects my worth while still respecting the company’s budget constraints.”

If you get frustrated, ask to see their Income Statement and balance sheet. Explain you wish to work for a winner and not a loser. I actually received an Interview with the Company Owner after asking for this. I was offered the Job and declined it. Iv’e also asked to be compensated with something tangible instead of worthless American Currency, like Gold! They were shocked by the request. It wasn’t a request, it was a demand. Go on, “ I don’t give a shit Interviews”. It’s kinda fun……

Do these strategies work for government entities as well like "City of x" or "State x" as your employer? These sound like solid tips for private companies, but what about government positions?

Good info, yet I am in that point that playing this game is rather a red flag of its own. It would be hard to continue this way.

I always just state a higher number than what the market offers that i want, then see how they respond.
If they go lower but its still in my "low end" ranage then i accept.

Never been disappointed.

"What's in the budget?" Is a reply that Has worked for me before

Not a negotiation, but I walked into the office and asked for $2 raise. He said no at first until I told him I'll fix his jaw for him. Got a $3 raise. Thanks man

This idea of negotiation works ONLY if you're worthy and desirable...and when they ask you about the salary, you are not.
Because they ask first in early stages and you get past after you said your number
And if you don't say a number then they repeat the question again.
And if you don't give a number, your negotiation ends and there is no follow up.
And that is it.

I recently watched a video where a hiring manager said to avoid using a range. If you give a range, you will want the high number but they will hear the low number.

I'm in a job that they offer a position without even talking about pay grade. I got duped once thinking they would discuss this after deciding to promote me. Now a leadership position has opened up and once again I'm being pushed towards it. I love my job and really want to stick around but I don't want to be screwed over again. How do I pose a means to force them into talking about possible salary increase?I've managed to keep my responsibilities to my paygrade atm but its an ongoing struggle and push back to try and add more to my plate. I don't want to look for another job because this one is very close to my home and I love the work which is niché so finding a better opportunity would be daunting.

Thank you for the video

The anqoring bias is why you should give a number first. Give a salary that's 40% more than the minimum you would take. It's easier to work down from a high number because it forces them to negotiate you down instead of you trying to get them to go up.

If you give a range, they will offer you the lower limit, so there is no point in goving them ranges.

CONCLUSION
1. give salary range not exact figure
2. Instead of telling my figure, ask the company their budget
3. They claim this offer is urgent.

Totally agree to not try and play companies against each other (especially if you’re bs-ing). I offered a candidate once a salary that was mid-range for the market based on her skills and experience. She told me that she had a competing offer for 30k more. I wished her best of luck in her new role with the other company. She came back a few weeks later and told me that she wanted to accept my offer because she liked my company better. By then I’d already filled the opening

Wow, Noticed that subscribe button highlighted after Joshua said "subscribe"

@JoshuaFluke1 Can you do a video on technical interviews? I have one coming up for my first ever IT support specialist job and I've never taken one before and I need advice.

Job interviews are so toxic and manipulative

The thing is though, these companies have formulaic processes. Even if you land a good starting pay, part of the formula for your continued employment and raises is designed to knock that salary down to inline with others with similar time and roles. They also really do not account for above average performance which is another misconception, that hard work pays off. Insane work pays with a promotion to match the output, not normally an insane salary and bad work means you get laid off eventually. I think the best thing to go for is work life balance. Get remote work, get good pto, and get a lower position if possible. Then try to get a sign on package that is substantial. And finally if you actually want to get ahead, take your free training and sign on and leave with it to rinse and repeat.

For some employees currently working who are looking for a new job, salary is the most important aspect that they need to know before even continuing with the rest of the recruiting process. By the time salary negotiation comes, months might have passed with interviews and tests and they realize the company cannot pay even 90% of the salary you're getting at your current company you work for. So it is months wasted on absolutely nothing. Sometimes it is just better to say in the first phone conversation "I will not go below $110,000 per year". What's the point in losing your last job and that you then might get fired on the new company in a month or two because they didn't like your work or whatever. It all depends on your CURRENT situation.

Do you have a video on how you'd handle this interview when getting a promotion to a new position in the same company?

Hi, independent career career coach here. Generally, if they're giving a number and not a range, that's an average or (below avg). For those of you high-octane turbo-workers out there you should NOT be accepting "average" compensation. You should know or figure out your output respective to your peers/the average (in general), and add 5-15% on top of that, which should be your minimum. That's 2 premiums... A premium for being above average, and then another % because you should always try to take a pay raise based on what you SHOULD be paid now, not what you actually ARE paid; Because I know a lot of you are probably underpaid because you didn't negotiate last time, and also inflation hasn't even really started yet for real for real. This is how you re-anchor the salary trajectory of your entire career going forward after a pay cut or job loss. So... If you know you work about 30% faster/better than your average colleague, then take whatever is the average salary for the company/role and add 35-45% to the number given, or the to the middle of the range given.

The company you're applying to, matters. A garage tech start-up with no blind investment by boomer-led hedge funds that think they're going to be the second coming of Radio Shack... they can't pay you 6 figures day one. But FAANG can. You price the company an your potential RoI, not necessarily the job itself. A software engineer that is contributing to a $25mm project should not be paid the same as one that's working on a $500k project. We've been tricked into thinking that the "market rate" shouldn't consider how deep the company's pockets are, and that's how you wind up getting underpaid at a billion-dollar fortune 500 international corporation. They can afford it, they just don't want to; and if they can get away with it, they'll just pay less because you said yes.

At interview time. If you're comfortable appearing somewhat arrogant you can literally just tell them "Without seeing a the full picture about your compensation strategy, the average salary seems somewhat reasonable, however I believe you invited me here today because I'm a top/leading candidate" [ before moving on, verbally ask them to confirm/challenge this; if they challenge it, then push back and verbally challenge 'if I should work for a company that doesn't see eye-to-eye on the value of my skill-set' and hash that out. If they backpedal/agree, move on to....] "With above my above-average [skills/performance]; even at a higher compensation level, I'm sure I will provide enough value to [our] company to mitigate cost concerns." ... This re-anchors how they should see you in relation to your peers, which throws out their salary anchor based on the average Joes, You subtly imply that the salary they gave/have displayed on the listing may not even be entirely aligned with the latest market data, And sneaking in that "our company" at the end is a psychological trick to make them think you "accidentally gave away" that you've already decided to accept the job ("we language"/buy-in/assume-the-sale), Which FOMOs them. and pressures them to not screw it up with a bad pay offer. NOTE: None of this works if you can't back up your claim of being better than average. Some will test you. So first, be better than average and start that now if you're not there already, so you can leverage that in future negotiations even if you just want a raise at your current company and don't want to job hop for whatever reason.

PS: Get the expected/average hours. 90k at an expected/minimum of 90h work weeks is a bad offer, thats 19/h and change. Also, 40h is the normal employment workweek, If they're working you overtime, they'd better pay overtime. If you're going for a salary job, just build it into the salary. R&R is necessary to strong work performance and I religiously support taking time to do absolutely ZERO work and not answering your phone about it. Literally, don't work too hard.

Subscribed! Ty :D

I have used all the tricks to dodge 'what is your currect salary' question but I get a 'We require that to proceed ahead with your application or else we cannot move forward' and they don't move forward with the application

I interview people for my business, try any of these and my response is, “I see no reason for our interview to continue if you are unwilling to answer simple questions in a straight forward manner.”

I’d rather spend another month finding someone who can follow directions than someone playing games. If I ask a question, I want a straight forward competent answer. If you cannot give it I’m wasting my time. If it’s high you better be prepared to sell me on why I should pay that price. If you fail, you won’t get that number, or the job. If your number does not match the application, I want to know the reason for the inconsistency. Just be worth more and I’ll pay more. People who play games aren’t worth more and they want a pay increase for anything they “feel” is outside of their job duties. Good luck with that…

3 people before me tried to negotiate lol it doesn't always work.

You’ve hacked the Bs corporate hiring process , love it

If an employer tells you what a great opportunity the position is, that should make it more valuable.

i had 2 jobs
one initially offering 24/hr
the other 25/hr

the 24/hr asked about other opportunities i had lined up
i said the 25/hr was offering 27/hr
so the 24/hr offered 27/hr xd

The way I think of it, I go into the interview already knowing the minimum I would take. I already did all the math and pros and cons of switching jobs or taking the job. I always give them an exact number typically a bit over the comfortable minimum. I don’t worry about how much I could’ve gotten because I already accepted what I was very comfortable taking. Just like in gambling, winning is winning. I don’t get mad if at the end of the day, I’m ONLY up 30%. I’m still up 30% and I didn’t lose any money. Can’t keep worrying if I could’ve gotten more

A technique I've mastered is this:

Employer: What is your expected salary?

Me: Well, at my previous job I was earning $32. I'd like to be as close to that as possible.

Okay so where's the trick? Maybe I was only earning $26.50. By artificially raising my previous wage, I do two things. First, I answer their question and give a baseline. Second, I put the ball in their court (or so they think).

So when they come back and offer $30 they think they are getting a deal and low balling me. Little do they know, I just got a $3.50 raise above my previous job.

It'll work with salaries, too. If you earn $90,000 a year, say you earn $115,000. So when they offer $108,000 they feel pretty good about bringing you in lower, and you actually got an $18,000 raise.

But the key is to be believable. Make sure your rate is within the expected range, but not at the highest. For example maybe you are a department supervisor and the national average is $45,000 to $60,000. Don't say you earned $60,000 at the previous job and certainly don't say $75,000

Maybe you were earning $52,500.

Say $58,000

It shows you were well compensated for your skills which makes you more desirable. Then when they try to low-ball you at $55,000 it's actually a raise from what you previously had.

Play the game enough and you'll end up like me, earning $110,000 a year to turn a wrench on some pipes and compressors.

If they dont pay, u dont take on the job

VERY well done video. THIS is what should be flowing around on LinkedIn. Not the arbitrary company BS! ALL this is a LOT more relatable to everyones experience.

Great video Josh 💯

It is such a tragedy that tips like these are actually useful. So many companies mishandle the hiring process so very badly. It's really stupid. What kind of idiot starts a multi-year collaborative relationship by lying and manipulation? Urgh.

Meta-tip: look out for the companies that "lose upfront" by:
- disclosing the salary range IN THE JOB AD where it belongs
- involving you in figuring out the right salary by letting you know what they think you should be paid without asking you what you used to be paid, and then asking you to work together on figuring out the right figure

Everyone should do this. So few do.

I always use deflection technique 1 and 2.

Going through this now…. They threw out a number that is $70k less than what I make now…. Almost fell out of my chair. They really want to hire me, now the recruiter needs to go back to the hiring manager to see what can be done. No idea what he will come back with… lol

These tips were great. I noticed I was recently at an information disadvantage, it's not a great candidate season and the company was asking all they could without giving any hint of their pay range or benefits. Will see how I can salvage the situation, perhaps I may need to walk out on this one...

Everyone always talks about the Opening, what about the Body/Content of the Negotiation?? What about how to Close the Negotiation?
OK, You had the Opening like, "Could I get to know the Salaray Range for this Position?" And then they give you the range, what do you do next?? Do you respond with the value at the top of the range if it's above your expectations, what if the top range is low?? Do you now reveal what you expected. Imagine having a great opening but then you don't know how to continue and close the negotiation?? They could just talk you out of your expected salary

Well it’s all supply and demand man.
No matter what you say, if there are 100+ people in line for this job they have everyone by the balls.
Period.
You can be the wizard of used car salesmen and not get a good salary if the situation is the way it is now.
Supply and demand , and especially in this really bad market where there are ghost jobs.

What is the highest you can offer me for the position? Boom. Great video though

I'll be honest. If I give a number that's too high then I'm fine with that. I'm not gonna waste time playing Russian Roulette with a company about my means of surviving

I have yet to encounter a single website that asks for salary expectation and makes it an optional field. And I've gone through THOUSANDS of applications.

I usually put a $0 in and note that we can discuss salary during the negotiation process.

Why not just say the number you want in the position you're interviewing for plus 10%. How will they know how much you're making currently?

Edit:. Oops you already said that

All this salary negotiating has ruined the job market. The people who get the best jobs with highest possible salary are smooth talking grifters who will bounce to another gig as soon as something better comes along. Value of dedication and doing actual work has gone out the window. Who gets the job goes to whoever can babble the most nonsense to HR.

Your previous salary is literally just whatever you want it to be lol also, I always give a large range with a very high upper bound and a higher than current lower and say it’s a sliding scale on equity.

I will always love my last negotiation. They asked me what salary I expected and I asked what the highest range was for the role they were offering me. They gave me a number and I responded with "Okay. Let's start there." and that was it. That was my negotiation. Less than 5 minutes it took.

When it comes to negotiations you only need to remember that you know your own worth. You know what you're prepared to work with and the rate that allows you to live. If they come in under that, it's up to you to determine if you're okay accepting the offer or not knowing that it's lower than your worth. Of course, this is reliant 100% on you being reasonable and practical with your value and worth and not one of those constipated Muppets that overvalue themselves to the Nth degree. As long as your worth is realistic, then you're off to the races.

Carefully think before responding to their dialog options. Always respond, never react. Think before you speak is critical here. If you jump on an answer or waffle on one, they'll catch that and use it. Don't play their game. You need to be methodical. Make eye contact and think of your response before providing it. Even the most benign question has an HR led, "analytical/evaluation" tool behind it. Always.

Sell yourself. Don't sell yourself short however. Remember that.