Salary Negotiations for Military Veterans
You will find, as you make your way through our salary negotiations learning guide, that the focus of our discussion goes beyond negotiating salary. We at RecruitMilitary believe that, to get yourself into a position to negotiate a fitting compensation package, you first need to understand your career priorities. You also need to understand that the employer is getting into a position to negotiate salary with you from the very beginning of your relationship with them. So it only makes sense that you do the same. As you begin the interview process, you need to take specific steps to put yourself into an advantageous position for negotiating your compensation package.
Keep in mind that, the higher the level of the position, the more possibility for negotiation and the more room there is to negotiate. The entry-level positions, both technical and management, to which transitioning military are applying generally have very little room for negotiation. Additionally, statistics show that most offers made by employers are fair and take into account the candidate's experience, education and skills.
Learning Guide for Military Veterans:
Evaluating Your Career Priorities
When most job candidates consider negotiating a job offer, the focus is usually on negotiating salary. While salary is an important factor, it is not the only one. Creating awareness of what will keep you happy and motivated in a new job will help you to gain a better understanding of what, in addition to salary, may be negotiable. And, it will be the first step toward a successful and productive career.
In general, the factors that influence satisfaction with your job operate in the areas of workplace environment, rewards, relationships, fundamental values and self-actualization. The Career Priorities Exercise at this link
will help military veterans become more aware of the importance they place on each of these areas and will help them prepare for their job searches, interviews, and salary negotiations.
How to Conduct Salary Research
Before you enter into salary negotiations it is essential to know the market salary range for the position. Market salary data are widely available from several sources. These sources include a number of Internet sites:
- Jobstar.org
- Salary.com
- Wetfeet.com
- Career-in-business.com
- Wageweb.com
- CareerJournal.com
- Occupational Outlook Handbook at www.bls.gov
These resources can provide you with general market salary information for specific careers. By researching several of these sites, you should be able to determine a market range for the position. The sources tend to give very broad salary ranges. Narrowing in on a target range that is appropriate for you will take further work. This will be discussed in the next section, Your Market Value.
Of course, the most useful piece of information you can obtain is the salary range budgeted by the interviewing company for this position. Large companies generally have distinct job classifications with well-defined salary ranges for each salary grade. Use your network contacts, especially anyone in your network who works at the interviewing company. If you are working with a RecruitMilitary search consultant – a member of our staff who helps military veterans find civilian jobs – he or she will also have this information.
Smaller companies are generally less structured, so their data will be more difficult to uncover. You may have to rely more heavily on the market data for the region in which the job is located.
Your Market Value
Once you have determined a market salary range for the position for which you are interviewing, you need to determine where you fit into this range. We call the specific value - the most suitable starting salary for you in this position - your market value. This figure will depend upon your background and experience as it relates to the job, and your education. You need to make an honest evaluation of your worth as it relates to the position for which you are interviewing. In comparison with the other candidates, how will your credentials stack up? Take a moment to ask yourself these questions:
- What is your work background and how does it relate to the position?
- How well respected is your previous employer?
- Do you have a stable work history (no gaps, little job jumping)?
- How do your business/military accomplishments relate to the target job?
- How have you done on performance evaluations within the past 5 years?
- Are you looking to move up in the same industry or are you changing industries?
- Will your age impact your marketability?
- What is your educational background?
- What degrees do you hold and where are they from?
- What is your GPA?
As you answer these questions be honest with yourself. Weigh more heavily the questions regarding how your recent work background and business accomplishments relate to the target job. The more closely your background aligns with the target job, the higher will be your market value in the mind of the hiring manager.
You may find through this process of self-evaluation that you are not a top candidate. But keep in mind that companies are not always looking for the high-end candidate. You may be able to get in the door at a company because your credentials do not put you at the high end of the salary range, yet you show potential for growth and advancement. This is especially true if you are dealing with a company that understands the valuable traits military veterans bring to the workplace – including leadership, initiative, and self-discipline.
How to Handle the Salary Question
What do you do when you hear "What are your salary expectations?" It is important to be prepared for the salary question, because the way you handle that question will have an impact on your leverage once negotiation begins.
The first thing to consider is: When is the question being asked? If it is asked early in the process it is simply a qualifying question to ascertain whether you are a valid candidate for the job. If asked late in the process, it may be a sign that you are being considered as a serious candidate for the job.
Here are some basic rules to follow:
Rule Number 1: Do not disclose your desired salary range the first time the salary question arises unless you are confident that your range agrees with the salary range the company has for the job.
Rule Number 2: Have a salary range in mind that you will be able discuss if necessary.
Rule Number 3: Never disclose the low end of your acceptable salary range.
If you are asked more than once for your desired salary range we suggest that you answer the question. Do not run the risk of damaging your relationship with the interviewer. Simply state a salary range that articulates the mid to high range you found through your research. If you are working with a recruiter, state the range the recruiter shared with you.
Check out our sample responses to the salary question.
Sample responses to Salary Question
Here are some examples for how to respond to the salary question when it arises. As a word of caution, never use a RecruitMilitary example verbatim. Find your own words for expressing the meaning you want to convey.
- "I would entertain your best offer."
- "Of course, money is important to me, but it's not the most important consideration. I'm sure that if we both agree that this position is a good fit for me, we will be able to reach an agreement in terms of the total compensation package."
- "I would like to know more about the position before beginning this discussion. Could you tell me about..."
- "As long as your compensation is in line with industry standards."
- "Salary is just one part of the total compensation package. I would want to hear more about the total benefits offered before discussing salary independent of the other components."
- "I am looking for the right opportunity with the right company, and I am sure that you have established a fair salary range for this position. What is the range that you have budgeted for this position?"
- "Given the research I've done, this seems like a competitive range...Is that accurate based on what you've budgeted for this position?"
Evaluating the Offer
As you evaluate the job offer, you should never put all of your focus on a single factor such as salary or signing bonus. Each job offer has several components that must be weighed carefully before a decision is made. Here are some items that may be negotiable:
- Salary
- Salary Review
- Relocation
- Flextime
- Vacation
- Signing Bonus
- Location
- Profit Sharing
- Stock Options
- Benefits
Military veterans who have little or no civilian work experience should conduct research on each of these items to see what is typical for the kind of job under consideration.
In general, the higher the level of the position, the more possibility for negotiation and the more room there is to negotiate. Entry-level positions have very little room for negotiation. Keep in mind that statistics show that most offers made by employers are fair and take into account the candidate's experience, education and skills.
The Job Offer Evaluation Worksheet may be helpful to you as you assess job offers. Carefully consider your top seven criteria for selecting a job. It may be valuable to look at your responses to the career priorities exercise. Some of these factors may be high in your priority as you evaluate the job offer. Write your criteria on the worksheet in order of their importance to you as you contemplate taking a new job. Next, carefully consider each. Enter your evaluation of the company's offer for this criterion based on the following scale:
1 - This element of the job offer is unacceptable;
3 - This element of the job offer is acceptable;
5 - This element of the job offer is exactly what I have been hoping to achieve.
Also write in thoughts or comments that would explain your evaluation. As you go through the job offer evaluation process, you may find that you need further explanation on some points. Gather all of your questions together so that only one phone call will be necessary to get clarification.
How you respond when the job offer is made is an important factor impacting the amount of leverage you will have in the negotiations process. You may find that you are in a position to accept the job offer on the spot. You love the job. It is a good match for you. You feel the compensation package offered is a fair one. Go ahead and accept the job. But remember, once you have accepted the job, the widow for negotiation is shut. Attempts made to sweeten the pot after having accepted the offer may result in damaging your relationship with your potential employer. It may even result in the job offer being rescinded.
If you want to keep the window open in the hopes of negotiating a higher starting salary, a better relocation package, etc., it is best not to accept the position on the spot. Instead, make a statement thanking them for the offer and stating your excitement about the possibility of joining the company. Clarify any questions you may have about the offer. Then ask for time to consider the offer and the accompanying compensation package.
Negotiating the Offer
After completing a thoughtful job-offer evaluation, make a list of important, must-have items. This list should be based on the Job Offer Evaluation Worksheet. A careful examination of your high-priority items and your evaluation of the job offer will be the start of preparing for face-to-face salary negotiations.
Evaluate anything that you rated as a 1, 2, or 3. Determine what it would take to turn your rating to a 4 or a 5. Prepare a list of counteroffers and be ready to defend them with why your qualifications make you worthy to receive them. Be creative with your counteroffers. You may be willing to forgo a higher salary in exchange for a higher commission, or ask for a moving allowance in cash.
How you negotiate will be the company's first indication of how you conduct business. So be prepared, and know you are being evaluated on how well you do. If you are not assertive with the company, they can assume you will not represent their interests in dealing with other businesses. Deep down, we all respect someone who takes a firm approach to business. Good negotiation skills build our confidence and communicate one facet of our leadership ability.
Here is a list tips as you prepare to negotiate:
- Work out all issues at one meeting.
- Meet face to face, if possible.
- Start with the most important, highest priority items first.
- Base your position on what you are worth, not what you need. The employer is not concerned about your credit card bills and car payments. You made those decisions on your own.
- Keep the entire compensation package in mind as you negotiate.
- Stop negotiating after you have accepted the offer.
- Get the final offer in writing.
- It is OK to ask for 24 to 48 hours to consider the final package.
Accepting/Declining the Offer
When you have decided that the conditions of the job offer are acceptable and this is the position you want, place a phone call to the person who offered you the job. Be sure to follow up this conversation with a letter in exactly the same format as the phone call:
- Be enthusiastic.
- State the details of the offer you are accepting.
- Express anticipation.
- Restate your appreciation.
The work is not over yet. Write a thank-you note to everyone who helped you in your job search. People like to hear the good news, especially if they were helpful in getting you appointments or interviews.
If, on the other hand, you have decided to decline the job offer, do so in a timely manner. Be respectful and considerate. Call the person who made you the offer. Express your appreciation for his or her consideration, and inform him or her that you have decided that you will not be accepting the offer. You will also want to contact any other supporters who may have helped you in this interview process to inform them of your decision.
Women and Salary Negotiations
Latest salary reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics report that women are paid less than 80% of what men are paid for the same kind of work. There are a number of theories about why this is so. However, certainly one of the causes of this phenomenon is that women enter jobs at lower salaries due in some part to their reluctance to negotiate salary.
Why do significantly fewer women than men negotiate pay? Some psychologists postulate that women are reluctant to enter into any form of negotiation. Yet, negotiation is a part of women's daily lives: negotiating what movie to see, what restaurant to patronize, or where the family will go on vacation. More aspects of living are negotiable than most women realize. In fact, most things in life are negotiable if you look at it that way. Look at the success of eBay (whose CEO is a woman).
Nevertheless, many women think that they are just not born to be good negotiators. However, negotiation skills -- like writing skills, public speaking skills, and listening skills -- can be defined, taught, and learned by anyone who commits the effort. The first step is to understand what is holding you back from being a successful negotiator with regard to salary negotiations.
First, many women do not see a job offer as something that is negotiable. Instead it is viewed as a yes-or-no proposal. Do I want to accept this offer or not? Women who have this view do not put themselves in a position to negotiate. As a result they do not do the preparatory work that provides a competitive edge in the salary negotiation process.
A second point: More women, when they do negotiate, do so with a view toward what they need to bring in as income, versus what they are worth. The blame for this attitude may not rest solely on the shoulders of women. Even today in business, women are offered less pay when their income is seen as a second family income. But many women also view their income in this light and therefore do not demand what the market should pay for their services. They may not appreciate what the market should pay because they have focused on what they need to earn.
Time and again, women get caught in a cycle dictated by what they earned in their previous job. Instead of framing salary negotiation in the light of what the market is paying for a particular position, many women, when they do negotiate pay, base the negotiation on their previous compensation package. They would be better served by comparing the responsibilities and requirements of the two jobs and determining a fair market salary for the new position.
Often, women do not relate to negotiation styles that have been modeled for them. Since women in general have historically shied away from negotiating, the role models most women have the opportunity to see are men. But very often, a man's style of negotiating is not something to which women can relate, thus reinforcing the cycle.
Businesswomen who are also raising families often place less importance on salary than on other forms of compensation such as a flexible work schedule or extra vacation. There is nothing wrong with this. However, as women, we must remember that what gets left on the table generally is never recouped. The impact of accepting even a couple of thousand dollars less per year, multiplied over a career, can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages.
Another reason women may be reluctant to enter into salary negotiation is that they are concerned about the impact of their actions on the relationship. They do not want to be seen as pushy or aggressive. The irony of this is that an effective negotiation can strengthen the relationship and create greater respect between the two parties.
No matter what the reason, businesswomen must break the cycle and take a more assertive, confident role in salary negations. Once they have done so, they will find that negotiating is an exercise in empowerment that will bring greater success and satisfaction to their lives and careers. As Mahatma Gandhi avowed:
"You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result."
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