As employers face a talent crunch in today’s tight market, workers have more bargaining power than they might think. A Robert Half survey finds only 42-percent of Houstonians negotiate their salary at all.
Robert Half Houston’s Metro Market Manager, Danann Smith said “that gives a lot of room to coach people to take the opportunity to negotiate a salary when you’re looking at new opportunities,” said Smith.
In terms of gender, 46 percent of men negotiated salary compared to 34 percent of women. Workers ages 18-34 (45 percent) are more likely to negotiate salary than those ages 35-54 (40 percent) and 55 or older (30 percent).
“Most employers understand and kind of expect some kind of negotiation of compensation,” said Smith.
Before you negotiate:
“Make sure you get things in writing. But, make sure that they’ve got an offer letter and then all of the points that you want are in there,” said Smith.
She says be professional and courteous as to not burn any bridges.
Among people in the 27 U.S. cities surveyed, those in New York (55 percent), Dallas (51 percent) and San Francisco (50 percent) were most likely to ask for more pay.
Legislation in many cities and states now prohibits employers from asking candidates about their salary history.