I used to be terrified of negotiating my salary.
I remember getting an offer and that little voice in my head would scream, "Just say YES and you're in!". I almost lost out on an extra €7,000 a year just because I was afraid to ask for more.
It felt weird talking about money. I’d practice saying I want 5k, but then when the moment came, I'd cave and say, "yeah, 4.5k is good enough".
I realized negotiation is a skill. It's like going to the gym. You don't get stronger by reading about lifting, you have to actually go and practice. So now, I do at least one interview a month just to practice these skills.
Here are a few things that worked for me.
Fight The Fear
This is the most important part. You have to fight that uncomfortable feeling.
What helped me was just practicing saying my target salary out loud to myself in the mirror. "5k. 5k. 5k". Sounds silly, but it works. Or go to a local food market and try to negotiate the price of fish. It’s free practice.
When you state your number, say it and then be quiet. That tactical pause puts a lot of pressure on them.
Use Their Own Feedback
After every interview round, I always ask for feedback. I want to know what they liked.
Then, when we talk money, it’s easy for me to say, “I know you liked my performance on the tests, and that I can solve this problem for you”. I pitch myself based on the value I showed them. They are selling you the company, you need to sell yourself.
Set The Anchor
You've probably heard advice to never say the first number. I think that's stupid advice. It just leads to a pointless back-and-forth.
I always try to say the first number because of something called the "anchoring effect". The first number mentioned pulls the whole negotiation in that direction. I always ask for more than my target. If the market is around 100k, I'll ask for 120k. In the worst case, you just find out their real budget.
The "Other Offer" Tactic
Having multiple offers is the best situation, but let's be real, it doesn't happen every time.
So what do I do? Sometimes I just say I have another offer, even if I don't.
When I was getting a job, I told them: "I really like your company and I know I'm the best person for this job. But money is also important, and I have another offer for 10k more. Is there anything you can do?".
I got an instant raise. You are not losing anything by asking.
I talk about all of this and give you the exact word-for-word templates I use in my full video.
Go watch it. Unless you just really enjoy leaving free money on the table. Your call.
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