Q & A Table of Contents
If I'm Offered A Promotion, How Should I Negotiate My Salary
From: Angela, Bogota, Colombia
Question: Currently, I am applying for a promotion in another department.
How may I negotiate the salary, knowing that for the director's position in
general the bank has several salary levels. In other words, how should I
approach the question in case of being promoted?
Response: If there are different salary levels for people with similar job
titles in your bank, clearly you need to find out what salary is normal in
the department into which you hope to move. If you have applied for an
opening created because another person has left the position, try to find
out how much they have been paid.
If the previous person holding the job was there for a long time, it may not
be realistic to expect to receive the same level of pay they were getting --
at least when you start. It may be that peoples' salaries increase by a
predictable percentage for each year on the job.
If you are applying for a new position, it may be more difficult to find out
the normal pay range for persons holding that job. You should learn all you
can about the general salary levels for people at the bank holding the job
title for which you are applying. If you can talk with some of them to find
out whether their salaries reflect education, experience, age, or other
characteristics it may be easier to develop an idea of how much is
appropriate for yourself.
You should also take a look at your new job situation: your new salary
should reflect the responsibilities of the new position -- will you have to
work longer hours? will you be responsible for overseeing the activities of
more people? will the job require that you work with different kinds of
assets or with assets that have a greater value/price than those with which
you currently work?
What about your situation as an individual? How much money do you need to
feel that the pay reflects your new value to the bank? Do you have
financial needs you hope the new salary will reflect -- rent, education
costs, other lifestyle issues?
Once you have added all these factors together, you should have a better
idea of the range of pay that will satisfy you. In other words, unless they
offer you more than X, it may not be worth changing your job.
Having settled on a salary range, when you are asked how much pay you want,
you should offer your boss (or whoever makes the salary decision) a range.
For me it is easier to think in US dollars, so that is the example I'll
offer: Say you want to make at least $25,000 per year. When you are given a
chance to tell the boss how much you want to be paid, you should say you are
interested in 'something in the high 20s'. The 'high 20s' is between 25,000
and 30,000. That gives the boss some negotiating room -- yet sets the
minimum level at a rate which you find acceptable. If the boss responds by
saying, "I was thinking in the low 20s (20 to 25)," then you will need to
negotiate quite carefully to make sure the final figure is at a level that
you can accept.
I hope this is helpful to you and wish you good luck.
Steve
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