Posted: 21/09/2012 5:00:00 AM by Mining Oil and Gas Jobs
Filed under: Job-seekers, Recruitment, Career-resources________________________________________
One of the trickiest aspects of a job search is negotiating your salary. Hiring managers do it every week, you probably only do it once every couple of years. We asked industry hiring managers to give us their best advice on what works and what doesn’t work when negotiating a salary for a new job.
You won’t be disappointed with the advice provided. We hope you read to the very end as this information could have an impact on your earning potential. This week we asked:
What advice would you give a candidate about negotiating salaries? For a candidate chasing a new role:
Be realistic. You don’t want to be setting your salary expectations so high you miss out on a dream role. But you also don’t want to lower your expectations to the point you won’t be able to survive day to day. It’s important to ask questions such as salary review periods and bonus schemes at the time of interview. This way you will be able to assess what salary level you can enter negotiations at knowing that a review may not be far away when you attain the role.
For current employees looking for a salary review:
Going in to these discussions is the same as any business proposal. You need to be well researched, planned and have a solid argument in place. You need to have clear reasons and a justification as to why a review is necessary.
Paul Joyce, Human Resources Advisor, Subsea 7
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Nobody likes to talk about money. So to start with, try and think beyond just the dollars. Think about adding value in other ways. What else will make the deal that much sweeter?
Are you a confident person? Ask for a performance bonus agreement. Want to further your career? Ask for the company to pay for university courses and/or offer paid study leave. Want more time with the family? Ask for a better roster and/or a rented family home if you’re going to be based in an urban centre. Remember, the benefits from these extras may just out last the ‘boom times’, while dollars will be spent today and forgotten about tomorrow.
Paul Dean, Partner and Principal Writer, thinkSMART resumes
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It is important to consider how you negotiate a salary as this leaves a lasting impression on the organisation you may be joining. The message that ought to underpin any discussion on salary is your unique value proposition and what you are able to deliver to that organisation. You should research market conditions and industry salaries so that your salary expectations are realistic.
Julius Freeman, Senior Recruitment Advisor, Downer EDI Mining Pty Ltd
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Be clear and realistic in your salary expectations from the off; make sure that they are in line with current market conditions and the role that you are applying for. Have the conversation at the beginning of the process as most companies will have a budget set for the position and requests to increase the salary at the end of the recruitment process is not looked upon favourably.
Emma Davis, Senior Recruitment Advisor, Sibelco
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The first bit of advice I would give is to take a step back and acknowledge that the job isn’t all about just the salary. Other factors like job satisfaction, work-life balance and career development are as equally important and should also be front of mind when considering a job opportunity. Also in some cases you do not have to negotiate salaries, as there are legislated agreements in place with very specific instructions on rates of pay for specific roles.
In instances where salaries do fall under a typical individual contract negotiation, my advice is to have two salary expectations based upon your sense of employment worth in the market and also your personal situation. One is what I would call your minimum acceptance salary which is the minimum you would be willing to accept under any conditions and the other is your desired acceptance salary, which is what you ideally seek.
However one thing to understand is that these salary expectations are based upon two factors. One of these is what you are or have been currently earning and remuneration markets linked indirectly to supply and demand can fluctuate. The other is your perception on what the market is paying for your skill set and this typically comes from what you may elicit from work colleagues or the media. In many cases this data may not be factual and your expectations may be out of alignment with what the market is actually paying.
Another factor to consider is that companies take different positions with regard to their remuneration strategy. For example a company with a high risk profile or a less than optimal work culture may decide to pay higher than industry average salaries in an attempt to attract staff. However this does not necessarily mean that all companies that pay higher than average salaries have adverse work environments. It may also be a strategy adopted by great companies to retain staff, although most retention strategies are broader than just remuneration.
Finally, in addition to a minimum and desired acceptance salary, I would also advise candidates to validate their expectations early with the company in the recruitment and selection process. There is nothing wrong being open and discussing your expectations with the Recruiter or the Hiring Manager in the initial stages. However what is important is that you balance that query with other queries, such as job satisfaction, job challenge and career development. That way you will come across as someone generally interested in the job from a holistic perspective and not just solely remuneration. The reasoning here is that candidates that have an interest in a job from multiple angles have a greater chance of connection with the role and the organisation, leading to better performance, engagement and retention.
Rob Papworth, Group Recruitment Manager, MMG
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