Negotiating For What You Really Want In Your New Job

This podcast originally appeared on Wondery's Safe for Work podcast, hosted by Liz Dolan and Rico Gagliano. View the full interview here.

Negotiating in a job interview is arguably one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the hiring process. But it doesn’t have to be that way! For a lesson on how not to get stumped when talking to a potential employer, Egon Zehnder's Sarah Van Dyck joins the Safe for Work podcast, hosted by Liz Dolan and Rico Gagliano, and shares some expert advice on how to ask for what you really want out of a job, and we’re not just talking about salary.

Executive recruiter Sarah Van Dyck joins us this week to share her advice on how to ask for what you really want out of a job...and we’re not just talking about salary. pic.twitter.com/A1kdhWIxbY

— Safe For Work (@safeforwork) April 1, 2019

Five lessons when negotiating with your new employer

1. Think beyond salary: do you want to work from home, have more vacation time, receive paternity leave? Think of your priorities and goals, and bring it up right before the job offer.

2. Negotiate for total compensation. It's really important to think of total compensation: base salary, potential bonus, and equity. With those three components, the base salary and bonus do not provide much negotiation power. To successfully negotiate, you need to understand what is most important for you.

3. Don't bet on a future salary. In general, betting on what might be in the future is very risky. If you don't start your salary at a high enough level, you will fall behind quickly in the rest of your career.

4. If asked what you currently make, you do not have to answer. Instead, say, "I am looking for this specific range based on the scope of this role."

5. Let your employer provide the first salary range. This gives you the leverage to negotiate those three parts of total compensation.