Try to Negotiate Your Initial Job Offer, It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask

In today’s employment market, it may seem like ‘any port in the storm’ while you try desperately to avoid any mistakes. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to accept the initial job offer package. Even in better times, I seldom met friends or colleagues who even attempted to negotiate for their post-graduation job (I joined the Peace Corps, and alas, negotiation wasn’t an option). Most graduates don’t know that salaries are often negotiable. Those who are aware of the flexibility fear that the employer will rescind the offer because they seem ‘ungrateful’ for the opportunity. Point taken – if you are truly desperate or this is your absolute dream job, you may need to bite the bullet and take what’s initially offered just to be on the safe side.

If you’re willing to give negotiation a try, you may be able to respectfully negotiate for a higher salary or other benefits. To give yourself a fighting chance, you will need to steel yourself into not accepting right away (in the moment, this is harder than you think). You’ll also have to think ahead of time about what you value besides salary. Since times are tight, an employer may not be that flexible in terms of salary. But they can sometimes control non-monetary items: number of vacation days, telecommuting options, flexible hours, education and training time allotment, etc. Well-established negotiation theory emphasizes these secondary items as a key component of satisfactory agreements.

Finally, make sure you are leveraging your previous work experience, even internships. For instance, I personally, as well as with our Community Ladders members, have successfully used previous internship employment to count toward time-in-service for federal vacation accrual.

Courage!

This blog entry is part of our June newsletter offering advice to recent graduates. 

Bill Varettoni is a financial planner and the founder of Community Ladders.