Salary negotiation is always an important part of your career, whether it's a new job opportunity or a pay rise. Negotiation skills are one of the most important factors for success, but it doesn't hurt to be well-prepared.

Salary negotiation can be an awkward conversation for most people, so it's no surprise that 59% of respondents to a previous Glassdoor survey said they didn't negotiate and accepted the salary they were offered. For women, the acceptance rate of the first offer may be even higher, which does not help to narrow the gender pay gap.

Of course, everyone wants a fair salary. However, some workers tend to shy away from negotiating pay because they do not want to appear arrogant or greedy, or risk disrupting the established workplace dynamics.

In setting annual pay rises, however, employers tend to make a restrained offer, which tends to be budget-conscious and is calculated based on inflation or market averages. If you find this to be low, it is essential to negotiate the expected salary. In this article, we have put together 5 useful tips to help you negotiate your salary successfully.

tips on how to negotiate a higher salary.

The most important advice for salary negotiations is to always stay within reason. Whether you want to negotiate for a basic salary or a full benefits package, strive to be cooperative and keep your negotiating style professional. Threatening to resign or trying to present a counteroffer clearly gives a negative impression of you as a person and can suggest that you are motivated only by money.

Before negotiating a pay rise, it is worth making a list of arguments to support your salary demands. This can make a good impression in terms of wanting to initiate a two-way conversation on the subject, whereas an impersonal email stating our salary expectations or requests is more likely to come across as a demand and therefore more likely to end in a rejection.

So to ensure a successful pay negotiation, it is worth preparing in advance by following the steps below:

1) assess your options.

First, identify the salary ranges currently available in the sector for similar jobs. This is important so that you know where your own salary stands compared to the average, and so you can avoid being underpaid or setting too high a salary for an expected increase.

Knowing the approximate salary ranges will be an excellent basis for setting a realistic salary requirement for yourself.

This will be useful not only when you are looking for a pay rise, but also when you are looking for a job, as you can specify your salary requirements when you apply, and if the salary range in the offer does not match your expectations, you can continue the salary negotiation on that basis.

To help you determine your realistic salary needs, you can use Randstad's salary calculator to compare your current salary with other people working in similar jobs. The calculator will show you whether your current salary is average, below average, or above average for the sector, so you have a benchmark to determine your salary needs.

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