According to an analysis of 145,000 positions across 200 industries, conducted by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry, the average base salary for a new graduate is $48,270 with technical positions paying above-average. The top five paying positions are engineer (29% above the average), software developer, actuary, scientist/ researcher, and environmental professional. Customer service representative is the lowest (34% below the average). All in all, entry-level salaries are 2% higher than last year.
Even if you aren’t in one of the higher paying roles, you can and should negotiate the maximum entry-level salary for your career choice. Here are four steps to take when navigating the salary discussion:
First And Foremost, Decide To Negotiate
Don’t just take the first offer. If you don’t ask for more, you won’t get more. I taught a salary negotiation class at a liberal arts college for several years, and one of my students negotiated a sign-on bonus that represented more than 10% above her initial salary offer. She was part of a large class of new hires, so she didn’t think she could negotiate the starting salary, but she decided to try anyway and it worked. Before you accept an offer, have you asked for more – base, sign-on, performance bonus, relocation money, other benefits?
Get Creative About How You'll Be Compensated
In the case of the above undergraduate, her sign-on bonus came as part of the relocation package that was customarily offered to new hires. In her case, she was “relocating” from Brooklyn to Manhattan! Brooklyn to Manhattan isn’t normally considered a relocation but this was the company’s way of giving her more without changing their internal compensation structure. Another example of creative compensation was a recent undergraduate who was recruited away from a company that offered graduate tuition reimbursement. Her new company wouldn’t match that specific benefit (they didn’t want to offer tuition reimbursement to their other staff) but they gave this new hire the equivalent of the tuition costs in a performance bonus. Companies have different pots of money for different items. How can you be creative about your offer – bonus instead of base, cash instead of benefits, time off instead of salary?
Remember That You Do Have Leverage
One of the most frequent arguments I hear from new graduates against negotiating is that they fear the company would just move on to someone else – as a newbie, they feel interchangeable with other newbies. Keep in mind that it takes time to hire – even at the entry-level. So if you were to decline an offer, the company would have to start the hiring process over again and this is a real cost and burden. That’s leverage for you. In addition, all hires are not the same – this is a human process after all. Even candidates with similar experience and skills are different in their personalities, work style, point of view, and fit to the company. The company selected you, and your uniqueness is another form of leverage. What leverage do you have to negotiate – are you able to start right away with little training? Do you know that industry particularly well – perhaps from an earlier internship?
Your Value Is More Than Just What The Market Says
You do bring value to the company, even as a new/ recent graduate. I once recruited an intern for a media company, and her web skills made her a very desirable hire for this particular department that was in the middle of a significant digital push. Even though interns at this company were not highly compensated (if at all – some worked unpaid, for credit only), this intern negotiated a 67% increase from the starting rate she was offered ($20 per hour, instead of $12). She ended up staying at the company for months after her internship was supposed to end. If she just negotiated against what the other interns made or how typical internships were structured, she wouldn’t have made as much or stayed as long. Yes, you want to pay attention to the market to give you an indication of what to expect, but you can negotiate beyond what is customary. Do you know what your market is paying, and can you make a case for why you should be paid more?
It’s useful to know what the market will bear – so review the Hay Group analysis and use it as a starting point for what you can expect. But plan to go beyond this and look at your specific skills, experience and circumstances to see how you can negotiate for more.
