To ask when to negotiate a higher salary

[Herculesfan]

Posting here for traffic really.

I've been offered a job and been offered the highest pay they advertised however I still think I ought to be worth slightly more. I've verbally accepted the job but haven't yet formally done so. Is it too late now to try to negotiate a higher salary? And how would you go about it? I've never done this before and coming back from Maternity Leave (during which I was made redundant) so trying to make every penny stretch.

It may be easier to ask for benefits rather than cash - the job will more than likely have a budget associated with it.

So ask for higher % pension from the employer, or other perks if you have them, extra annual leave, high street vouchers, whatever.

(One way I got a higher base salary over a budgeted amount was to have it written into my contact "on achievement of key KPIs" which may manager then went on to guarantee anyway!)

This is absolutely the time to do it. They want you to work there, and you will never have this power again without doing something drastic like threatening to quit.

I've done this before, and it's very rare for a max salary that's advertised to be the real maximum, there is always wiggle room. If they can't offer a higher salary then maybe thing about it in other ways. An extra week of holiday could be a real boon for you, but not actually cost them any more money, or maybe they could increase the matching on your pension.

Thinking about things that are high value to you, but low value to them can open a lot of doors.

I think having already accepted it you’re at a bit of a disadvantage unless you’re willing to walk away.

To be honest the best time to negotiate a salary and benefits when going into a new job is at the point where your prospective employer has made you an offer.

Do you have a specific salary range in mind? WRT negotiations, it's really in your best interest to be prepared to come up with a figure (after hearing what they're willing to offer) that is in lieu with the current market value of your peers.

Be prepared to face rejection though.

If they are already paying you the maximum they may say they will increase after x months.

You need to be prepared for a no though.

I negotiate the salary before accepting - I think you've left it too late and you risk them thinking you're not trustworthy if you start trying to negotiate a better salary now.

I think now is the perfect time. I recently recruited and offered the maximum salary in the range advertised - it was accepted.

The candidate then got in touch and asked for £5k more with lots of good reasons. I knew he was committed to the job as he'd already accepted, and totally agreed with his reasoning.

He got the extra £5k and we wrote it into the paperwork before sending out his final contract.

Go for it - nothing to lose!

Potentially outing here but when I was offered the job I asked if there was any potential movement on the salary and was told they thought I was worth the higher end of the budget but there was not room for manuvore beyond that. It is also 5k less then I was earning in my last job. We can afford for me not to be working for about 4 more months so I'm half thinking to just walk away from this one in the hope that something with a higher salary comes along and that is absolutely what I would have done in the past but I'm afraid it's too much of a gamble with a baby in the mix.

@Herculesfan could you take the job but then continue to look?

No experieince in this but if you have accepted this position then it is a little late, but you could get in touch stating that before formally accepting the position you would like to discuss extra leave/travel benefits/working from home/extra flexi.

I think that with having a baby the extra leave or flexible leave, WFH could be more valuable to you.

Can they offer a contribution to child care?

And with regards to other positions coming up, you should always be looking around anyway.

You should have done it before you accepted, but there's still time to do it before you start.
It's a LOT harder to negotiate a raise once you're in.

Well if you're willing to walk away then what's the harm in asking?

I agree that the time to ask was before you accepted, albeit verbally. It depends how tightly they are working to budget. Also whether you were the only candidate they considered for the post which may put you in a stronger position. If, however you were the best of, say, three, they may decide to withdraw their offer and choose second on the list.

How problematical will it be if you don't find a new job within the next four months? Have you got other irons in other fires, ie have applied for other jobs? What do you think your chance is of being offered another job?

Difficult OP, so many things to consider. Sometimes a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Good luck.

Are there enough other jobs out there on the higher salary that you're looking for, that you have a decent chance of getting one before your financial buffer runs out?

I was made redundant from a very well paid job, and spent ages searching for a replacement on the same salary but in the end I had to take a 20% pay cut.

I dont know exactly but think I wa one of two they were considering. With regards to jobs of a higher salary, I applied for one other job since being made redundant which had a salary of 15k higher then I'm currently being offered and got to the final round of interviews. So I think I have a reasonable chance of getting something else but also this one is guaranteed.

I think it's too late now. You won't look good if you start negotiating after accepting the offer, even if it was a verbal acceptance.

But you're prepared to let this job go and look for another, so what have you got to lose? The only negative is you might burn your bridges with this company. Depending on the size of your industry, that could be a minor negative or a huge one.

I don't know - I don't think you can win this one. Either you'll lose the job or you'll start it with a bit of a cloud over you.