Use Exact Numbers When Negotiating Your Salary

Negotiating your salary, whether it’s a raise or a new salary for a new position, is never an easy conversation. That said, once you’ve decided on the salary you’re going to ask for, Forbes recommends changing that number slightly so it’s not a round number.

Picture: Evan Jackson/Flickr

The idea here is that when you name an exact number, like $94,500 instead of $95,000, hiring managers will see you’ve done your homework to come up with a precise calculation. If you name a round number, it sounds more arbitrary. The other benefit is that when you’re actually negotiating it might change the increments the negotiation moves in:

Mason says the best strategy is to start with a high number that is not round, like $94,500. Apply that to a salary negotiation and a hiring manager may be inclined to talk you down to $93,000. That’s much better than if you asked for $95,000 and the person on the other side of the table wound up getting you down to $90,000. “We often think a higher anchor is the way to go,” Mason told the Journal. “But you risk upsetting people if you’re too extreme. We found that you could be less extreme if you were precise and still do better in the end.”

It’s a pretty simple little trick to use that could end up netting you a bit more cash, and certainly doesn’t harm the negotiation at all. Check out the full post on Forbes for a bit more about how to use this strategy effectively.

A Quick Trick for Getting a Big Raise [Forbes]