Many people forget that you can negotiate for more than just your salary – here are 15 negotiable items for your next job.
Some of these items listed here will be a lot easier to negotiate than others. I think it’s important to have your eye on all the things that are negotiable even before you start the interview process. This will help you to do research on the organization as well as give you great questions that you can ask about in your interviews.
These 15 negotiable items should help you in your negotiating process of your job search.
(Related: Career Chat with The Public Health Millennial)
Introduction
Too often we forget that a job is more than just a job title and a salary. There are many . When thinking about negotiating – whether for a new position or for a promotion – there are many things that can be negotiated.
You should be thinking of a job negotiation as a whole deal situation.
Most of us are going to be giving 40+ hours a week of our lives to a specific job. Thus I think we have an onus on ourselves to negotiate for the best overall deal to help with your work-life balance.
Granted not all organizations would not be willing to negotiate all of the terms in this article. But it should not be lost on you to go about and advocating/negotiating for the things that will be important for your work-life balance.
During the interview process, you should strive to find out what is fixed vs negotiable before going into negotiations. You’d be best off knowing what is negotiable so you can think through what would be worth negotiating in your circumstance.
1. Salary
Your salary is probably the first thing that comes to mind when going through negotiations. Do research on other comparative job salary ranges before negotiating. Look at sites like Glassdoor, Salary.com, and Payscale. If you are comfortable, you can also reach out to persons working in that part of the filled to ask them what a good salary range would be.
Key tip: if an organization ask you to choose an expected salary and you have no idea what to say. I’d start by saying that “I’d hope that your organization would have equitable and competitive salaries – what are you expecting to be an equitable salary range for this job?”
When thinking of salary when changing states/countries think about the tax implications of the move. For example, moving from Florida where there is no state income tax to North Carolina where there is one. This essentially means that a job with a salary of 60K in Florida will give you a lot more cash in your pocket than that same salary in North Carolina – thank you Uncle Sam!
2. Starting Date
Starting date is also a negotiable item to keep in mind. Job offers come with a starting date, but these are typically moveable. You can negotiate to move your starting date closer or try to push it back further. Reason to want to start earlier could be one for enthusiasm, it could be a need for payment or even for health insurance. Two reasons to push back your start date could be to help with moving or you just want a break in between jobs.
I would not recommend pushing your starting date back too far. This is especially true during COVID-19 where jobs are a lot harder to come by. But it is something to think about.
3. Professional Development/Dues
As a professional and especially a young professional, it is paramount that you get professional development. This could be going to conferences, meetings, continuing education courses, online course, etc. Professional development is hugely important to your success in the public health field.
I would highly recommend you figure out what sort of professional development budgets are set aside for you. Find out what professional organizations you will automatically be a part of from joining your new organization. Find out if they will cover cost for professional development sessions you think would be important.
Negotiate your professional development – it is a great way to develop your professional self and strengthen your knowledge and networks.
4. Vacation Time/PTO
Vacation time or paid-time-off are also important considerations for job negotiations. This plays into the importance of work-life balance for yourself. I will admit, this isn’t always the easiest thing to negotiate especially as many of the current employees are probably already in some sort of tiered vacation system based on time spent at the organization. I.e. First year working get 12 days, then 3-5 years get 15 days, etc.
If you aren’t able to negotiate your vacation time/PTO, I suggest that you negotiate your accumulation of PTO hours. That is, many organizations say you have to be there 90 days before you get access to benefits to PTO – perhaps you could negotiate to have those hours/days pro-rated beforehand.
5. Job Title
Job title is also something that isn’t spoken about a lot that can be negotiated. If you think your job title does not do justice to your role and the work you will be doing, then why not negotiate for a new one? A job title can say a lot about your role and you would want one that encapsulates what you’re doing as well as making it as cool as possible.
A simple example of this would be to be called a “Executive Assistant to the CEO” rather than a “Secretary” as it conveys a stronger role at the organization.
6. Flexible Schedule/Remote Work
A flexible schedule or remote work is something that can also be negotiated. This becomes easier to negotiate as you go further into your career. However, going back to that work-life balance, a flexible schedule can be a game changer in allowing you to life the life you want. This flexible schedule can contain remote working days. Or it could be that you work four days a week for 10 hours or are able to have flexibility to work on your own time no matter where or what time it is.
7. One-Time Sign On Bonus
A one-time sign on bonus is also something that can be negotiated. It is a lot less common in the public health field (as far as I know – please share if you know different). Nonetheless, find out if there is a possibility for a sign on bonus from HR and shoot your shot. Negotiate a sign on bonus when possible, your bank account will thank you.
Additionally, you could also negotiate bonuses based on performance. Just remember to over perform!
8. Company Sponsored Recreation/Wellness
Not only is company sponsored recreation and wellness good for your health, but it is a great thing to bring up in an interview process. It shows that you care about your wellness as well as having an eye on this type of team-building activities. Not all organizations offer this, but it is a great point to bring up or even ask about to see if you can negotiate around it. If there is no wellness plan, then perhaps you could suggest activities throughout your interviewing/negotiating process.
9. Transportation Reimbursement
Transportation reimbursement may not be necessary if you don’t travel much for work or if this is already covered in company policy. However, I would ask about this early on in the interview process to find out if it is something that you will need to negotiate around. Many organizations will reimburse travel for employees at the Federal gas mileage quota. Others will straight up rent cars for you to get to events so may not be a necessary negotiable item.
10. Housing Subsidy
Housing subsidies seem to be a rare expense your organization will pay for. The most common cases of housing subsidies are if you are in the military or working abroad. Other than this, it’s very rare that you would find an organization that will give housing subsidies. In hopes of this article being useful to the broadest populations – consider negotiating for housing subsidy to help cover those cost.
11. Tuition Reimbursement/Loan Subsidies
Tuition reimbursement/loan subsidies aren’t as common as we’d all like them to be. But there are a good number of organizations that will offer this. Everyone wants to continue to grow in their professional lives as well as in their personal lives and having a tuition reimbursement/loan subsidies can be great way to get this.
This can be for more formal school degrees (like paying for your Masters) or for certifications and other educational series. See professional development point. The organization stands to gain from your additional knowledge acquisition and thus its a great idea to negotiate (or even just talk) with employers on how they can support you to be more valuable for the organization.
12. Wardrobe Allowance
I will admit, I have never thought about negoting a wardrobe allowance. But hey if its a suggestion on Google, it must have some validity.
Negotiating for a Wardrobe Allowance may be something that just isn’t part of the negotiation process. However, it could be a great way to cut down on expenses for starting this new role. Check to see if the employer would be open to talking about a wardrobe allowance – let me know how this works!
13. Childcare/Daycare Reimbursement
As unfortunate as it is, childcare and daycare are HUGE issues in the USA. Being able to talk to your future employer about how the can best accommodate you with this expense is imperative. I’m not sure if many organizations would reimburse, but if you don’t ask you’ll have lost either way! So ask about it and see if childcare/daycare reimbursements are going to be something that you can have the employer support you with.
Until we have some huge changes around childcare in this country, this should be an important negotiation item. Even if you’re not a parent yet, but plan to be soon, have this conversation when negotiating.
14. Guaranteed Severance Package
As the pandemic has clearly shown, the work place is very volatile. Especially for nonprofits without sustainable funding streams or that are being devastated by many causes of COVID-19. That being said, it may be in your best interest to see if you are able to negotiate a guaranteed severance package. There are many reasons why organizations are failing and to protect yourself, negotiating a guaranteed severance package can help you ease a lot of stress in the future.
This is just an assurance to protect yourself. But it also makes the organization think twice about firing you after you do get the role.
Bonus
The bonus item you can negotiate could be your phone bill. Many times we have to use our own personal phones for business use (unless your organization gives you a business phone). This can be a great cost savings if you are able to negotiate your entire phone bill or even a percentage of it to be paid for/reimbursed by your employer.
Conclusion
These 15 items you can negotiate for your next job position. I hope thinking about these 15 items when you are going about negotiating the terms of your new role.
- Salary
- Starting Date
- Professional Development/Dues
- Vacation Time/PTO
- Job Title
- Flexible Schedule/Remote Work
- One-time Sign On Bonus
- Company Sponsored Recreation/Wellness
- Transportation Reimbursement
- Housing Subsidy
- Tuition Reimbursement/Loan Subsidies
- Wardrobe Allowance
- Childcare/Daycare Reimbursement
- Guaranteed Severance Package
- Bonus
Remember there are many ways that you can negotiate your deal for your new job or promotion.
