Negotiate the Job Offer

Question
I recently received a voicemail regarding a job offer that I interviewed for but I
don't even know what the pay is since I never asked. How do you bring that into the discussion?
--- Shirley

Answer
by Joel Garfinkle, Career Coach

Ideally, you don’t want to be the first one to mention a salary figure because it might be lower than what they are willing to give. Based on your situation, I recommend that you tell the interview the following:

“You have made me a job offer without stating a salary range. I am interested in the position and know that my skills match the position, but I don’t know what the salary is for the job. Could you give me a clearer understanding of what you have budgeted for this position.”

Now the negotiation begins. Know that the first figure out of the employer's mouth is the lowest. Once you have the amount, you want to present the employer with your amount and it needs to be what you feel you’re worth. Your stated number should be at the highest of your range because once you say a number, you can’t go higher. Your objective in bringing up the salary is to get the company to pay you the best salary for the work you’ll be doing.

Joel Garfinkle is the founder of www.DreamJobCoaching.com He has been providing individualized and customized coaching for executives, managers and supervisors for 10 years.