Strategies to increase salary with job offers

Sometimes, it is a confusing fact that you only get a raise when you receive a job offer from another place, but you don’t really want to leave your current company? Try the “new job offer” tactic, but be very careful not to “play with a knife.”

Tactical benefits

First, having a job offer in hand obviously boosts your confidence. Even if you have no intention of changing jobs, it gives you more “leverage” in the negotiation.

Second, external job offers give you more information about the job market. Knowing more about standard earnings in the industry is a good way to gauge if you’re underpaid. Thereby, you consider the appropriate number for the proposed salary.

Third, it’s a good incentive for your organization to rethink the paycheck balance. Assuming your direct manager wants to increase your salary, the information about the job offer is a good basis to convince the HR department more easily.

Finally, the opportunity for a raise does not appear often. And when you say “I have another job offer,” it clearly gives the impression that your values ​​have changed.

Risks to watch out for

The biggest risk is that it turns out your boss doesn’t want to hold you back too much while you want to stay. So this card should only be played if you know well that you are highly appreciated in your current position. And the job offer should be impressive, for example, from a reputable company, for a position equal to or higher than your current position. At the very least, your boss must perceive the other company’s job offer as a credible threat.

Another risk is that by leaving the door open to job hopping, you can give the impression that the employee is disloyal. If your attitude makes your leader see you as ungrateful and uncommitted, feeling offended will cause them to let you go. Such a situation is no different from you “crossing the river to cut a bridge”, and it will be difficult to get a good comment when needed in the future.

You also have to think about the possibility of damaging your relationship with the company you’re applying for if you stay at your old company. Especially when you give the impression that you’re about to take the job where they’re going, and then end up refusing to stay. Your interviewer may have been internally persuading passionately to hire you. If that’s where you want to work in the future, your current decision could adversely affect that ability.

One sad thing is that due to gender stereotypes, when negotiating salaries with this type of leverage, female employees are often evaluated more negatively than male employees. A male employee is offered a job by another party for which a salary increase proposal may be taken for granted, but for a female employee, it may be seen as “overconfident”. Leaders will react more seriously, instead of looking objectively.

5 elements of negotiation tactics

According to CareerBuilder, consider the following factors in your negotiation tactics:

Who know me know: You must understand the company culture, anticipate the reaction of the boss. If the boss is always on the defensive and easily sees an invitation from another place as a “betrayal”, then this proposal will be difficult.

Affirm your commitment to the company: Instead of giving an ultimatum that says “if it doesn’t raise, I will go,” emphasize your interest in your current job and the company. For example: “A few parties have called me to ask about the possibility of changing jobs, but I am not interested”. This will ‘sound’ that you have alternatives (without appearing disloyal). Then say, “I like the job here, although it would be easier if the pay was better.” It’s better to let leaders automatically want to “solve the problem” than to intimidate them.

Use questions: “If there was something that prevented me from staying until the end of the project, how would you handle it?” – this kind of curious questioning that springs from a sense of responsibility is also a touching way to lead the story.

Through the voices of others: Try using the help of a trusted boss/colleague. Advocating for yourself is sometimes not as good as having someone advocate for your rights. For example, you might say to a senior or human resources person (whom you believe has goodwill toward you) that, “I have a job offer from this party and would like to ask your opinion whether I should consider how”. That way, that person can talk to your boss or someone else responsible for keeping you.

Don’t just focus on salary: Think about the bigger picture. It’s not always possible for a company to give someone a raise, but the opportunity to move to a better position, training or bonus opportunities, or even company stock are good options.

Remember that you don’t have to be upfront about asking for a raise, simply remind your boss that you have alternatives. There are cases where you just need to tell your boss that you are being invited for an interview by another company, and then get a raise without having to go to the interview.

Broader than job offers at this time: you should regularly update information about the human resource market to understand the benefits you deserve. As simple as on VietnamSalary, with salary survey data from more than 135,000 jobs, you can assess whether the current salary is suitable or not.

If you really love your job and don’t want to leave, proceed with asking for a raise in a subtle way.

Vinh Phu