Get ready for your salary negotiation

When you have a salary negotiation, whether it is for a new job or the annual salary review, the most important thing is to prepare well in advance. This means that:

• You have researched the salary level in the market for someone with your experience in your field
• You know your goal and your pain threshold
• You have your arguments clear and can visualise your results and value
• You have considered whether there is more than just salary that you can discuss as part of negotiations

You have read all the other tips here and learnt how you can best prepare for your salary review.

someone with a similar education in a similar job is earning can be an excellent benchmark for your salary negotiation. This way, you can see if your current salary is below or above the average.

It is unrealistic to expect to be paid DKK 10,000 more than an equivalent person. So make your salary proposal ambitious but realistic, and you will be taken seriously at the review.

However, don’t forget everything that goes on top of the gross salary, such as pension, extra holidays, health insurance, bonuses and more. So, it is the entire salary package that you need to consider when looking at what others are getting paid.

Have you tried Jobindex’s salary calculator?

Think about questions. If your boss is going to give you a raise, or if you are negotiating a salary offer for a job you have been offered, the first thing you need to do is make your value visible and explain why you should be paid more.

Hvis du skal forhandle løn i et nyt job:

• During the interviews, visualise how you will be able to quickly contribute to the department or deliver visible results. For example, you may have specialised knowledge of the company’s customer segment, which means that you will be able to create value early on.
• Show how you can contribute new knowledge or help develop the department or company.
• Show how you can contribute positively to the team and culture.

If your annual salary negotiation is due:

• Focus on the value you add to your workplace.
• Visualise how your efforts have impacted the team- and workplace goals since your last salary negotiation.
• Make it visible if your tasks have changed or you have been given more responsibility.
• Explain how you contribute positively to the culture.
• If you have specialised knowledge, emphasise this.

Part of your preparation for the salary negotiation is to realise what your specific salary request is, but also what your pain threshold is.

If you are negotiating the salary for a new job that you really want, know what your minimum is. If you come in at too low a level, it can be very difficult to increase the level sufficiently during future salary negotiations.

If the level is on the low end, you can also choose to accept the salary offer, but have it written into your contract that you will have a salary review after 3 or 6 months. Not that it is a guarantee.

Keep the total salary package in mind when you enter the salary negotiation. When we sit down for our annual salary negotiation, many of us have a number in mind, and that is the salary increase.

However, if you don’t get what you want, or if you simply have other requests, see if there is something else you can negotiate. For example:

• Extra holiday
• Work-from-home days or other flexibility
• Courses and further training
• Reduced time.
• Paid mobile, computer, Internet or other benefits.
• A new title.

It could be the thing that gives you more job satisfaction, strengthens your competencies or gives you a better balance in the rest of your life. And not the extra DKK 1,000 in your pay packet that you were expecting.

Whether you know your salary scale before you enter into salary negotiations varies greatly from company to company, and it also depends on whether you work in the private or public sector.

If you don’t know, ask about the salary scale early in the process if you are applying for a new job. Then you have a starting point from which to begin your own negotiation

If you are negotiating salary at your workplace, talk to management about a benchmark for what they would expect to offer in terms of an average salary increase – in percentage terms. Collective bargaining agreements vary from industry to industry, but if you don’t know the salary scale in advance, ask.

If the average salary increase is expected to be 4%, going into a salary review expecting 10% is a poor starting point.

And if you want an above-average increase, you need to have your arguments in place. Furthermore, go into the salary negotiation with alternative requests, for example, in the form of employee benefits. At the end of the day, it is all about reaching an agreement that you are happy with.