Two Options When They Won’t Budge On The Salary Offer

Getting low-balled or even offered just a little less than what you hoped for — or discussed at the outset — can be pretty deflating.

There are going to be some scenarios where a company you want to work for just can’t (or won’t) give you the salary you’re looking for to begin with — and sometimes that’s okay. Yes, you can ask for other things like extra vacation, expenses, professional development courses, flex days but at the end of the day, money is money.

From the employer’s perspective, if you haven’t worked for them before or haven’t been referred by someone they trust then you’re considered an unproven candidate.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t negotiate a salary review or salary raise based on specific deliverables. If you get a lower offer than what you expected, here’s some salary-focused options you can consider:

1. Ask For A Formal Salary Raise (after X months)

A formal salary raise is a guaranteed raise after a certain time frame has passed and certain deliverables have been met. You HAVE to make sure you have 3–4 Time, Money & Manpower deliverables agreed upon in writing in order to make this stand.

If you want $100,000 and they offer $90,000 ask for a formal raise to $100,000 (or more) once you’ve achieved certain quantifiable targets.

E.g. $90,000 base with a raise to $100,000 after 6 months, contingent on meeting the following:

• Increase the customer database by 10–12% within the first 6 months by prospecting and qualifying new leads.
• Increase website traffic by 15% within the first 6 months by implementing a new SEO strategy.
• Recruit 15 new employees within 6 months including 4 senior roles: Operations Manager, Payroll Manager, Director of Manufacturing and Director of Sales

Don’t agree to something vague like “exceed expectations after 6 months” — if you agree to this open ended term then you have to be prepared to take the risk that they might not hold up their end of the bargain. Why? Because this is a generic term that’s open to interpretation. Your idea of exceeding expectations could be different from the hiring manager’s idea.

Pros:

• Hiring managers are usually open to this if you can articulate exactly what it is you will deliver because you paint the dream for them.
• It shows that you have skin in the game and are willing to put money where your mouth is.
• If you’ve gotten this far without identifying clear, quantifiable deliverables then this represents a chance for you to knuckle down on SMART objectives.

Cons:

• If you don’t hit all of the deliverables by 100% they’re not obligated to give you a raise.
• If you exceed the deliverables they’re not obligated to pay you more than what you asked for (unlike a review where you can ask for even more if you accomplished more than originally discussed)

2. Ask For A Formal Salary Review (after X months)

A formal salary review is the opportunity to have a formal conversation with your manager about your salary — it doesn’t mean you’ll get a raise but it’ll give you the right to ask for one after a specific time.

Pros:

• It gives you permission to engage in a formal conversation about salary after a certain amount of time has passed.
• It’s usually easy to get in writing because it doesn’t bind the hiring manager to give you a raise after 6 months — just the opportunity to ask for one.
• You might be able to ask for more than what you wanted in the first place. For example, if you originally wanted $100,000 but they offered you $95,000 but after 6 months you exceeded all targets, then you might be able to ask for $105,000 or even more. By then you’ll have proven yourself as a valuable team member and if you’ve exceeded deliverables then you can justify the raise.

Cons:

• Hiring managers can say yes to this without ever having the intention of giving you a raise — it’s not guaranteed.
• You might bust your ass off and exceed deliverables but they’re still not obligated to give you a raise.

Good luck,

• Sam

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Sam is a Recruiter, Résumé Writer and Salary Negotiation Coach. He has recruited at executive search firms and led talent acquisition teams for rapidly-growing global tech companies. Visit simplesalarynegotiation.com for a free lesson on how top performers land interviews and negotiate 30–60% more. You can also find him on LinkedIn