Ever signed up for a webinar, not managed to catch it live and said to yourself you’ll watch it back soon…but you never do. Yep! Me too!
So you’re lucky I’m here to take you through the highlights of the latest VetYou Webinar on How to Ace Salary Negotiation with VetYou directer Dr Paul Horwood.
Once again, VetYou pulled it out the bag and produced a great webinar, giving heaps of tips and nuggets of wisdom for helping you improve your negotiation skills with a current or new employer!
So, according to Paul, it all breaks down into 3 main stages:
- Pre-negotiation preparation
- During the negotiation
- After the negotiation reflection
Before the negotiation
Before your salary negotiation or job interview, there was one thing that Paul stressed was absolutely crucial – research! According to professional negotiators, for however long you expect the negotiation to take, you should be spending double the time researching! Getting to know your worth is SO important.
So what kind of resources can you use?
- Job adverts for similar positions
- Other members of your team – check out my blog on why salary transparency can be an awesome
- SPVS Annual Salary Survey
- Your annual turnover figures (these should be made available to you if you ask!)
Next step is making a list of all the things you will need to negotiate on that make up you ‘package’. This can include: salary, location, holiday, rota, CPD allowance, bonus, funded certificate etc.
Now write down for each category: what you ‘would like to have’, what is an ‘absolute minimum’ and what is ‘must have’.
For example, I might say… I would like to have £43k, a 1 in 6 rota and 28 days holiday.
My absolute minimum would be £39k, 1 in 4 rota and 25 days holiday.
And my musts could be a funded certificate and a car!
Now we’ve got some ranges and boundaries you can start to negotiate within!
The next thing to ask yourself is what your employer wants. How can you make them want to give you this salary increase? Have you been taking on extra work or bringing new clients recently? Have you started doing a lot of the marketing and client evening responsibilities? Have you got additional qualifications? Solve their problems for them.
It costs approximately £15,000 to replace a vet – would your employer rather pay that or pay you the extra £2,000 you just asked for? Be brave and just ask!
Dr Paul Horwood
The negotiation starts!
#1 – Keep your emotions out of it. This is business and totally normal. A great insight Paul mentioned was that (especially for newer graduates), if you come across as someone who seems confident discussing money in front of the potential employer, it will give them confidence in your ability to discuss money with clients. And we all know that this is an every-day occurrence in practice.
To minimise the perception of a new grad shying away from money and under-charging for their time – being upfront and unembarrassed about pay can really pay dividends (pun intended!) for your chances of getting that job when fresh out of uni!
#2 – Get in there first with your proposal! You’ve got your fully researched figure in mind – say it! This will set the benchmark for where you and your employer negotiate around. If they start first with a lower figure, you’re already on the back foot and will find it harder to push it up!
#3 – Don’t give a salary range – say the top-end number of the range and then shut-up.
#4 – Finish on a positive. If you leave the meeting on a good note, your employer is more likely to go away and work out the details of your proposal in a positive light. A simple: ‘I would really look forward to working here with you and your team’, or: ‘I would really like to continue working here, as I think the practice is great’, could do the trick!
#5 – Don’t accept anything straight away! Say you’ll think about it and let them know later that day or tomorrow.
Negotiating an extra £2,000 for your first job, can add up to a £500,000 difference over the course of your career – that’s a house!
Dr Paul Horwood
Phew, you made it…
Set aside a little time for reflection afterwards. Paul really reiterated the importance of having some time to think through what you ended up negotiating. Outside of the meeting room, does it really sound so good? Do you actually need some clarification on something?
Nothing wrong at all with going back to ask them to clear up the CPD allowance for example. In addition, if you don’t like the sound of what you agreed to – you can then go back and say no or I need more. If you feel like you’ve totally nailed it, get back to them and say you’d like to confirm the offer!
Top tips to finish off!
- Saying ‘yes, if’ is better than ‘no, because’. It is hard to disagree or say no to someone who is saying yes!
- Make the first offer!!
- Don’t use ranges.
- Use silence to your advantage, don’t keep rambling and talk yourself out of the great salary you just asked for!
- Remember you and your employer need to win.
So there you have it and good luck to anyone embarking on salary negotiations! Know your worth and go for it!
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ThisVetCan 