Yes, you heard me right....more money is not always the answer.
We are brainwashed into believing that we should push for every extra penny we can get when it comes to the offer stage. This is certainly good advice on some levels. But have you ever considered the downside of doing "too good" of a job negotiating your salary?
The goal at the offer stage is absolutely to maximize your offer. But there is a big difference between pushing to get what you should reasonably expect and pushing to get every cent you can. There is a point where this aggressiveness can backfire on you.
Here are some of the clear and common disadvantages of pushing too hard/ too far for a higher salary...
- You turn off the employer and don't get an offer at all - It happens everyday. You overprice yourself during these discussions by shooting for the stars and all of a sudden the #2 candidate starts looking a lot more attractive to them; despite the fact that they have the lesser skill set. Bottom line: the company won't make you an offer at all if they don't think they can keep you satisfied. I hate to say it, but you'll end up coming across as the hot girlfriend that's really high maintenance. Even though she's beautiful and all, at the end of the day, she's just not worth it.
- You end up making more than equally skilled and tenured peers - Watch out at the water cooler because as soon as the word gets out that the company paid you more for doing the same job as someone else, tension and resentment will take over within the team. Salary should be kept confidential. But don't bank on this. Watch how differently your team treats you if they find out you make 10K more than them. Managers know this all too well which is exactly why they try very hard to keep salary levels fair and consistent across the department.
- You oversell yourself as being worth more and now have to live up to these high expectations - This is probably the biggest issue you'll have. If you push for excess salary, the company will be looking to get their ROI. It's a business...do you blame them? They will expect you to put in the extra hours, be the person with the right solution and will always expect you to outperform your peers. If you have pushed to make this business case that you are worth more, you best be prepared to back it up. This can lay a lot of pressure on a new employee to constantly be the one that's better than the others on the team. In many instances also, the hiring manager probably went to bat to push for this extra money for you. So when you end up demonstrating the obvious (that you are a mere "mortal" and not superhuman in your job) you will not only make yourself look bad, but your boss too.
- You come off as a money-grubbing pain in the a** - Seriously...are you really going to make a stink about getting your offer pushed up from 95K to 97K? That's perfectly OK, if getting to 97K represents a fair, industry-standard increase in pay off your current salary. However, if you currently make 85K and are simply pushing for 97K because it's what your friend makes in the same field, consider the consequences. It's definitely a judgment call, but I will tell you that a reasonable, fact-based rationale for asking for more money is a very different thing then arbitrarily asking for more money just because you want to see what you can squeeze out of the company. What you'll gain is 2K. What you also may gain is a reputation for being a "money-grubbing pain in the a**".
REALITY CHECK: Typically speaking, you should minimally shoot for anywhere between a 5-8% increase in your base pay. Of course, bonus programs and any other monetary vehicles should be similar so that the total compensation is in the same ball park and ideally gives you some type of financial incentive for taking this new job. Remember too that in a down economy = offers are lower and in a strong economy = offers are higher. You must factor the broader economy into the equation.
For more information on negotiating salary, search the "Salary Advice" category for all my past posts on this subject!
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