The Salary Negotiation Secret to get the Biggest Pay Hike

by Robin Ryan

The largest raises you're likely to ever get in your career come from quitting your job and going to work for another employer. At least that's true if you learn the strategies necessary to negotiate your salary and benefits, and avoid the minefield of mistakes employers lay out for you.

A key concept to learn is this: Whoever mentions money first loses. That means if the employer asks you to mail in a salary history (one quarter of employers do) just ignore this request. Employers report that they use the salary question as a device to screen out applicants. While you worry the employer won't pay high enough, in reality often times employers eliminate you because your salary was too low, thus automatically downgrading your skills. Nothing illustrates this more clearly than what happened to Kathy, one of my clients.

Kathy, spent several years at a large, prominent company, taking on new managerial duties as her job expanded. She excelled, but her requests to upgrade her salary seemed to get lost behind other items her boss found more important. When she left on maternity leave she never went back. Two years later she wanted to go back to work. Revealing her former salary excluded her from many jobs she was well-qualified to do. In an early interview she told the hiring manager her true salary. A friend inside the organization later told her that once the hiring manager heard the low figure her last employer paid her, he devalued her skills deeming them lower than the level he wanted. Too late, Kathy learned the correct salary negotiation technique is to never reveal a previous salary. She never made that mistake again. A few weeks later, she masterfully dodged the salary questions when interviewing with an impressive high tech company. Coupled with good answers and solid work examples, Kathy landed the job that brought her a 45% increase in pay over the job she left behind.

Of course some people know they are underpaid and aren't sure how to negotiate. James had an MBA and wanted a promotion but his company had a salary freeze. His work was praised and he got new titles, but no raises came his way. He got fed-up and became a client, motivated to get a better paying job. We created a resume that promoted his accomplishments and rehearsed how to deal with salary questions. An international marketing job caught his eye, and he was well-prepared for the interview. He wrote to say, "My interviews went so well; I know they truly liked what they saw. Using the work examples as props and adopting a conversational approach was a real hit. I also followed your advice on salary, didn't disclose a thing."

He got hired, and wrote again to say, "I am really loving it here and growth opportunities are everywhere. I just got my first paycheck, and WOW it's one BIG paycheck. Just wanted to say thanks again; this is more money than I ever dreamed I'd make."

Everyone should be paid a salary that reflects their true value. There are three cardinal rules to all salary negotiations that you must master so you can enjoy a more prosperous future:

Rule #1 Never reveal what your old salary was.
Rule #2 Never break rule #1.
Rule #3 Never EVER break rule #1.

Why? Whoever mentions money first loses, so don't let it be you. This "secret" preserves your negotiation power once the employer decides they want to hire you and are more motivated to pay whatever it takes for you to join the team.

My advice is TRY to negotiate! Many applicants simply accept the offer as given. Too bad -- because in the last few months I've seen employers offer higher salaries and more lucrative benefits packages, simply because the prospective employee asked for them.

SOURCE: Audio "Salary Negotiation Strategies" by Robin Ryan.

© Copyright 2008 Robin Ryan. All rights reserved.

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Robin Ryan has appeared on Oprah and Dr. Phil and is considered to be America’s top career coach. Robin has a busy career counseling practice providing individual career coaching, resume writing services, interview preparation, salary negotiations, and outplacement to clients nationwide. She is the best-selling author of : "60 Seconds & You're Hired!," "Soaring On Your Strengths," "What to Do With the Rest of Your Life," "Winning Resumes," and "Winning Cover Letters." A dynamic national speaker, Robin has spoken to over 1200 audiences sharing her insights on how to improve their lives and obtain greater success. Contact Robin at: 425.226.0414, or email: robin@robinryan.com, or visit her website: http://www.robinryan.com

Reprints release: Newspapers, magazines, online websites are granted permission to reprint this in part or whole but are required to credit the author including author's bio, book credits, and include author's website information (with link if online); PLUS email author at robin@robinryan.com and state when and where reprint publication will occur. Questions: contact author at robin@robinryan.com or 425.226.0414.