Articles : Tips on Negotiating a Job Offer

Whether it’s your first “real” job out of college or university or a position in a new industry after making a career change – getting offered a job is exciting.

Below are a few of our tips on what you should consider when you’re negotiating a job offer.

1. Know your value.
When you have a good idea about what your industry’s market looks like in terms of salary expectations or compensation, it makes things a little easier for recruiters and employers during the job offer process. When you’re confident in your value, it makes the recruiter or employer confident in you as well. It also helps the recruiter or employer know whether you’re asking for well over more than what they are wanting to pay for the position.

2. Be a little flexible.
Have an idea in your head about what you are looking for as compensation but leave room to be flexible. As an example, ask yourself: “Do you still see the value in this position, even if what they are offering me is slightly lower than what I was expecting?”

3. Ask the employer how they arrived at their offer.
If you’re really set on a certain salary expectation and the offer came in slightly lower, you could ask the employer how they arrived at that number. It could be for various reasons like the previous employer was getting paid the salary you were offered, it’s the range that they decided to work with, etc.

As mentioned above, once you’ve had this discussion with the employer, ask yourself if you still see value in this position.

4. Negotiations in job offers aren’t generally adversarial.
If the offer came in lower than what you were expecting, it’s not about offending or undermining you. Once you’ve received a job offer and if the employer isn’t willing to give you exactly what you are looking for, think again about the value of the job:

• If you are a new graduate, what kinds of experience will you gain from this position?
• What new responsibilities will you have compared to your last job?
• If you are switching careers, how will this position help you gain the expertise needed?
• And more…

If you still feel like you want a salary that’s more in line with your expectation, decline the offer respectfully. There’s no need to get angry or insult the employer.

5. Have a lawyer review the offer.
Especially if the offer is more complex, it can help to have a lawyer look over the contract. They will be able to point out terms or clauses that you may not be familiar with to help you in your negotiation. If you can’t get a lawyer, you can always have a trusted friend, recruiter, coach, advisor, senior member in an organization, etc. be a second set of eyes.

6. Respond to the offer in a timely manner.
Usually you are given 2-3 days to review the job offer and it’s expected that you will have an answer at the end of that time. Take the time to go over the contact and ask any questions you may have within that time frame and have an answer prepared on the final day.

For more tips you can watch President of TorontoJobs.ca Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA discuss this topic here.

For more career tips and advice, you can watch all our videos on our TorontoJobs.ca YouTube Channel here.

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TorontoJobs.ca is a full-service recruitment organization, including TorontoJobs.ca Website, Career Fairs, full-service Recruitment Division and Outplacement Services. The local focus and advanced features make TorontoJobs.ca a vital asset for both job seekers and employers within the Greater Toronto Area. Visit our Online Career Centre for additional articles on Career Development, Personal Branding and more!