Top 9 Salary Negotiation Mistakes to Avoid to get Higher Salary

Salary negotiation is a difficult process. Unless you are well prepared for salary negotiation, the offered salary will likely be less than the average entry level salary for a particular position.

There are several salary negotiation mistakes to avoid during a negotiation process. You need to be prepared. If not, the employer is going to hire you at a bargain rate.

Do you know how to negotiate for salaries? If not, continue reading this article.

As far I know, most of my friends who got jobs didn’t really have any clue about salary negotiations. Most of them were just happy to get the job offer and get employed.

Most of the students, including myself, did a few mistakes during the salary negotiation process. However, following some of the best practices and practicing them mentally will help you get involved in salary negotiations with much more confidence.

Remember – preparation is the key in salary negotiations.

Salary Negotiation Mistakes to Avoid

Entry level students who are in OPT status are very desperate to find a job and employer to sponsor their H-1B Visa.

Usually, it will take 4-6 months to get a job. But if the student starts the job search process well before graduation, then within a couple of months, the student should find an entry level job.

Most students start looking for jobs only after they graduate. OPT is valid only for 1 year from the date of graduation. But with new OPT rules, you have 90 days to find a job.

When you get a job, don’t accept the offer without even negotiating the salary. Some of you might accept any job offer given to you immediately.

So the next logical question is, why didn’t you negotiate your salary? Here are some possible reasons for not negotiating:

1. I really don’t know how to negotiate salary.
2. I was reluctant to ask for a higher salary.
3. I was overwhelmed with the job offer and just accepted the offer.
4. I was expecting a lower offer, but got 5k to 10k more.
5. During the interview process, the HR said, salary is non-negotiable.
6. I didn’t know how much was the average salary for the job being offered in that particular city.
7. Salary offered was less, but they are sponsoring my H-1B Visa and I was content with that.
8. I didn’t know that salary negotiation is actually possible.
9. Salary offered was less, but I will take this offer with H-1B visa and after 1 year, I will find a higher paying job.

Try to understand the process and try not to make any of the above mistakes.

You have options to negotiate not just for the salary, but to get additional perks like paid vacation, etc. If the company is not willing to increase the salary, ask for an additional week of vacation or other similar benefits.

One of the best salary negotiation tips you can find online is from Ramit: