14-Day Salary Negotiation Challenge: Preparing for the Interview
When you’re preparing to interview for a new job, one area to work on is the salary negotiation aspect of the process. This challenge will provide you with activities to help you succeed in your salary negotiation.
During this challenge, you’ll take 14 days of consistent action focused on activities in these areas:
- Conduct Salary Research
- Assess Where You Are Now
- Prepare for the Interview
- Mindset and Role-Playing Your Salary Negotiation
- Grab Bag
This challenge will give you 30 possible daily actions to choose from — you will complete one activity each day (see the list below for ideas).
This challenge will reward effort, not results. But results will come when you take consistent action day after day. You can choose your activity based on the amount of time you have available. Some actions will take five minutes or less — others may take 15 minutes or more. Some of these are “timed” actions (i.e., you spend a certain amount of time doing something — like “Spend 20 minutes conducting salary research”) or you will be completing a specific task (i.e., “Prepare three specific accomplishment statements that demonstrate your value.”) You can change the number or frequency of the action — the list provides suggestions, but ultimately, it’s up to you.
For best results, enlist an accountability partner to help you complete the challenge. Ideally, it will be someone who wants to achieve a similar goal (negotiating salary when interviewing for a new job), so you can keep each other accountable and on track. Check-in with each other daily.
You can choose either the Challenge Calendar or the Challenge Planner to plan and track each day’s activities. Write down the activity you will do and put a big red ‘X’ on each day you complete the challenge activity. You can conduct this challenge for 14 consecutive days, or complete as many of the activities as you can within a 30-day period. If you choose to do it within a 30-day period, you want as many spaces marked off as possible on your Calendar.
It’s up to you!
If you’ve already started sending out résumés and applying for positions, you will want to complete at least one activity per day so you are ready when you start to schedule interviews.
Don’t Forget – Negotiable Non-Cash Benefits
Non-cash benefits can add 30 to 40 percent of your total compensation package.
Other benefits and negotiable items may include:
- Health insurance
- Vacation and sick/personal time
- Retirement plans
- Bonuses and/or incentives (including a signing bonus and profit-sharing plans)
- Tuition reimbursement
- Stock options
- Flexible schedule (telecommuting)
- Other insurance (dental, life, accidental death, disability insurance)
- Company-supplied equipment (laptop, cell phone)
- Company car (or car allowance or other transportation expenses)
- Health club membership
- Association dues
- Relocation expenses
- Discount on company products
- Expense account
- Child care expense reimbursement
- Salary reviews (negotiating more frequent reviews and/or raises based on merit or performance vs. cost-of-living)
- Space (i.e., an office with a window)
- Overtime policies (if it’s available, and you want to work it, to increase your pay)
- Severance package
Completing the 14-Day Challenge
At the end of the 14 days, you’re ready to make your salary negotiation request. You’ve done the work to prepare yourself — now it’s time to make the ask.
Next week, I will detail suggested activities for you to get started
