How to Negotiate Salary for Your Next Career Move

Posted by Invercargill Resume on 14 Jun 2025

A salary negotiation is difficult to talk about, because it involves balancing what you consider your worth and what an employer thinks they’re able to pay. If done properly it could be an enjoyable experience for both parties, resulting in a higher salary for the employee as well as greater employees’ engagement in their jobs. Learn how to negotiate your salary with confidence.

The most important takeaways

  • Before you make a salary offer take a look at market rates and industry standards to ensure that your salary proposal is realistic.
  • Find out information by the networking of colleagues, using websites like LinkedIn Salary and Glassdoor, and reaching out to professional networks.
  • Prepare talking points ahead of the time, including education and certificates in the form of years of relevant work knowledge, accomplishments and achievements, unique skill set & qualities, industry knowledge, and the potential for further training.
  • During the negotiation, be confident and clear, but be flexible and open. You should highlight tangible results you achieved in your previous roles.
  • Keep a positive and upbeat tone throughout the conversation, and be active in your listening.

Do your research

Before entering into any pay negotiation, it’s crucial to conduct a thorough study of the market and standards in the industry to make sure your salary offer is reasonable. Factors that might impact this could include levels of experience degree, size of the company, and location (?). Another great method to gather data is to connect with colleagues and others who are in the same profession.

Research Online

Utilizing online resources, such as [LinkedIn SalaryWith the help of some online resources like [LinkedIn Salary (https: //www. linkedin. http://www.linkedin.com/salary) and [Glassdoor] (https: //www. glassdoor. com/Salaries/index. htm) you can get an extensive view of the range of benchmarking salaries businesses pay for the same job. This gives you an idea about current market rate and a few other facets of an employment.

Your Network is Essential

Gain insight by speaking to friends who have held similar roles, or reaching out through the professional networks in addition to brainstorming members within professional organizations.

Make talking points

Preparing for any negotiation is always time well spent. You’ll be much more confident when making your case if you have a clear set of talking points outlined ahead of time.

Here are a few examples of things that you might consider when negotiating your salary:

  • Education & certification
  • Experience gained through years of relevant work
  • Performances and results
  • Unique skill set and qualities (e.g. language proficiency,)
  • Know-how in the field
  • Potential for training

The idea of keeping a notepad and/or notes handy could assist during conversations to ensure that you don’t miss any important points.

Be confident & concise

When you negotiate your salary, it’s important to be confident and clear. Speak clearly about your experiences of accomplishments and your expectations. It is important to keep a positive tone throughout this dialogue so that the employer doesn’t feel like you’re coming across as hostile.

Show tangible results

Simply stating one is driven, hardworking, and aspire-driven person may not be enough to create an impactful appeal. So put forward clear statistics regarding how prior roles have made a distinction in businesses or what are the most valuable abilities that can benefit an organization.

Be flexible

If your employer isn’t able to agree to your requested salary or compensation package being flexible and open can help create space for dialog. You may be able to ask for alternative incentives like performance-based bonus structures instead of Base salary(? ).

Make sure to remain professional throughout the negotiation - regardless of how well or poorly it’s going: getting too defensive or making unreasonable demands can result in an unfavourable outcome for all parties that is.

Practice active listening

Listening is equally as important as communicating during these types of conversations. Listen attentively from the your counterpart during negotiations. Listen to specific requests and resolving questions if needed, but gently sticking with their original request. The goal is to arrive at acceptable outcomes.

Learn away from these conversations and incorporate them into future talks you’re likely to participate in. By following the suggestions above, you will go far in maximizing the chance of achieving an agreement that is mutually beneficial.

Your network is important Contact friends and acquaintances who have been in similar positions or reach out to professional networks as well doing brainstorming members of professional associations.
Plan Talk points Education & certification, Years of relevant experience and accomplishments, Unique ability and traits (e.g. bi-lingualism) and industry knowledge. Training potential
Be confident & concise Be clear about your experience, achievements and job expectations. Focus on tangible results.
Keep your mind open You can inquire about alternative incentives such as performance-based bonus structures instead of Base salary (?). Make sure to remain professional during the negotiation process.
Practice active listening Listening is as crucial in these types of conversations. Learn from these conversations and incorporate it into any future conversations you’ll probably be involved in.


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Frequently asked questions

What is the concept of salary negotiation?

Negotiating salary is discussing and finalizing the compensation package for a position. During this process, you can discuss not just your salary base, but also additional benefits such as retirement plans, health insurance, and more.

Why is it necessary to negotiate a salary?

Negotiating your pay can provide you a better financial future as well as indicate that you’re confident about your worth. It also helps you keep money off the table.

When should I start negotiating for a raise?

It is best to begin negotiations after you have received an offer, so that everyone is conscious of what’s being negotiated. Then, the discussions are focused on negotiating ideal terms while avoiding surprise.

What if I am happy with the deal I received without any negotiation?

If you get an offer and are content with it, then there’s no reason to bargain. However, it’s essential to have transparent communication about what the employers are willing to offer in terms of things like the performance-based bonus or career-training reimbursements.

What is the best way to negotiate my salary? I change careers entirely?

Negotiating salary when you change career paths can require extra preparation due to the fact that your previous experience may not directly translate or relate to the new duties. Study what similar positions in related fields pay to gain a robust knowledge of the realistic expectations you can set for you, based on the specific circumstances.

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