Information is power
Before you embark in the salary negotiation phase, be sure you have researched key job market information and that you have calculated how much the job you were offered is worth:
- Search the web for salary calculators and salary comparison tools (e.g. payscale.com, salary.com), salary reports and job descriptions.
- College graduates: search the web for job opportunities for college grads, expected salaries and hot professions.
- MBA graduates: search the web for average MBA salary for your business school in specific MBA salary surveys (i.e. Business Week, Financial Times). Try to find out what the average salary level is for MBAs with your experience level in the particular industry you are targeting.
- Consider cost of living at new location: search the web for cost of living or location based salary calculators.
- Consult with your career services and the alumni network.
- Consider employers who decide on amount to offer based on:
- What you made on last job.
- Salary surveys/benchmarking.
- Internal equity.
- Internal budgets.
- Years of experience.
- Higher education (MBA, PhD, etc.)
(See NEGOTIABLE FACTORS Card)