How to Negotiate Your Salary in Three Easy Steps

The question of how to negotiate your salary inevitably arises for the successful career hunter.

On the one hand the employee needs to make as much as he can. On the other, it must be at a point the employer can justifiably be willing to pay.

To that end..

Step One) Simply Do Your Research. Know the Job's Market Price

Information about what to expect is the first step in making sure your number is realistic.  Here are five such sites.

1. PayScale
2. Glassdoor
3. Salary.com
4. Beyond
5. Indeed Salary Search 

Step Two) Offer a Fair Number

Having done your research give yourself a number that puts you above the minimum (though not at the maximum if you are between jobs).  You justify this by want to let the company know that if they offer the bare minimum, they run the real risk of a competitor snatching you up down the road.

Demanding the maximum is what you should do if you are already in a secure position, and its indeed a "snatching up" action that's taking place.

Step Three) Be Negotiable

With the following established, considered the net compensation package. This goes beyond the salary itself, but other employee incentives such as bonuses, health care, 401K plans, educational compensation, and simply the company's culture and location.

With these steps in mind, you should be able to put yourself a good compensation position that's appropriately priced for the market.

~Noble Career Hunter~