How to negotiate your salary like a pro

How to negotiate your salary like a proHow to negotiate your salary like a proAre you currently applying for a new job, or gunning for a promotion at your current company? Either way nows the time to brush up on those negotiation skills and secure the salary that you deserve.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraDoes the thought of negotiating for your salary bring you out in a cold sweat? Youre leid alone. Many people are scared about negotiating their salaries according to Salary.com. A recent survey revealed that only 37% of people said that they always negotiate for their salaries. 18% said that they never do it and 44% said theyve never brought it up And, according to Linda Babcocks book Girls Dont Ask, only7% of womenattempt to negotiate their first salary.This is definitely something you should learn to do though, however much it scares you. When you negotiate, you show your e mployer not only that you can advocate for yourself but also that you have done your homework about how much youre worth in the labor market. You could also increase your salary by 7% which adds up to a lot over the course of your careerStep 1 Find out how much youre worthDo your research and find out your market value. Rather than discussing any raise in relation to what you currently earn, flip the conversation around to talking about how much youre worth on the labor market and focus the discussion on hard numbers.Step 2 Formulate your argumentsWrite down all of your arguments about why you think you should get the salary or raise youre asking for. Make sure to focus on your market value and the value that you bring to your role.Step 3 Be proactive about asking for a raiseMost people will wait until its performance review time to ask for a raise, but in many cases, this is too late. Your manager will likely have already worked out who to offer raises to by then. Make sure to get your request in there early. If youve been in your job for more than one year, taken on new responsibilities and exceeded expectations whilst doing so, then you can feel secure in asking for more money.Step 4 Shoot for the starsAsk for more than you want. If you start too low then you wont give enough room for negotiation and will likely walk out with an offer that is less than you want. Itll be tempting to ask for a price in the middle of the range, but if you start at the upper limit of what professionals in your role are paid, then youre more likely to come out with something much better than you currently have.Step 5 Hold your head upWalk in to the room with confidence. Hold your head up high and smile. Use your body language to show that you mean business. It might help to put on a different persona or pretend to be someone else. Be positive and assertive. Tell the HR manager or your boss how much you want the opportunity and how excited you are to bring your expertise to the r ole, but also emphasize the salary that you think is right.Step 6 Name your priceWhatever you do, try to put your number on the table first. Doing so will mean that any discussions have to start from there. And, make sure to ask for an exact number. So, ask for $67,540 instead of $68,000 as this will make your vorstellungsgesprch partner feel like youve really done extensive research about how much youre worth. Also, whilst you might want to give your interview partner a range, but this will make it seem like youre willing to concede, so stick to one very specific and sufficiently high number and make no indication that youre willing to go down at all.Step 7 Walk away if you need toDecide on a salary that is too low. You can work this out according to your own long or short term goals and also your knowledge of how much you should be able to earn in this role. Be willing to walk away if the salary offered is below this. It will be undoubtedly difficult, but you will be thankful that you didnt settle for a salary that is less than you deserve.Step 8 Make a counter offerDont be scared of getting a no. Most negotiations dont even start until an offer has been turned down. In this case, you can make a counteroffer that reflects the raise you were hoping to get. Or, if there are other things such as paid leave, flex time, conferences, courses etc., then ask about these too as a way to improve your offer. The most important thing is that you come out of the discussions feeling like you won something. If the offer is still too low or not satisfactory, revert to step 7 and walk away.This article first appeared on Kununu.