4 Strategies for Negotiating a New Job Offer

Negotiating a job offer can be a bit of a science. Leverage these four strategies to maximize your approach.

The ability to negotiate effectively is a skill that you will use every day in both your personal and professional life. And not only will it enable you to attain professional success, but you will also end up getting more of what you want out of life. When many professionals think about negotiating a job offer, they are thinking salary, but the savvy person knows that he or she should also be negotiating a compensation package that includes a variety of benefits. These days, you can negotiate health care, retirement plans, vacation package, paid maternity and paternity leave, option to telecommute, professional development budget or education reimbursement, and funds to cover the cost of transportation.

Want to improve your skills of persuasion? Leverage these resources to learn all you need to know about successfully negotiating a job offer (as well as knowing what to negotiate).

• Salary Negotiation Strategies : The ability to negotiate is a skill that will serve you well throughout your personal and professional life, and this is especially true when negotiating a salary offer. In this post, you will find a strategy that’s specific to salary negotiations.
• Negotiation Essentials: This post outlines a negotiation process that a legal officer at ManpowerGroup discussed in the webinar, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Negotiation.
• Considering the Job Offer - It's Not Just About the Salary : There seems to be a notable emphasis in today's job market on issues that contribute to job satisfaction that go beyond compensation. In your next job search, along with the money, you may also find yourself seeking out “employers of choice” that can offer you rewarding work both personally and professionally that fits with your lifestyle and is also in sync with your own personal value system.
• What Can You Negotiate in a Job Offer?: Negotiating a job offer is much more than about salary. There are essential elements, and job candidates have to understand how the compensation is structured.

When a company offers you a job, it is a sign that they want you on board, and they will treat you fairly. Ask for what you want because they won’t necessarily know what is important to you. Additionally, if you want to learn more about what to negotiate for, talk to some of your contacts to identify what people are negotiating for in compensation packages these days. Although you are negotiating for what you want in a compensation package, be reasonable and do not be frivolous.