The Review: Salary Negotiation in Job Interviews ( T & P Series on Wednesdays: 19)

Freshers find salary negotiation very awkward. In the Indian context, a fresher is very much happy to be on board and does not like to ask these questions to employers. Employers are also too proud in this case thinking that we are throwing something to munch on. This attitude leads to the exploitation of youths. Well, I have seen engineering graduates being offered as low as Rs 8000/- in cities like New Delhi as their monthly salary. That is very disturbing as you won’t be able to maintain a decent living with that little money. Frankly speaking, it is ‘peanuts’.

During my college days, I often heard the stories of people who went to Banglore to work in IT companies. They lived in a shared apartment and even could not afford a ticket back home because of low pay. Some were so ashamed of themselves that they did not even come or called anybody to meet there. They used to waste their productive years in those cities and eventually would come back home. By the time they start doing something, it was almost late and that was the end of the story.

Well, things are changing. Now a day, most of the companies coming to the placement drives in colleges come with a pre-declared package which is mostly gross annual salary. But, you will not receive this salary because it undergoes various deductions such as professional tax, PF, etc. After deductions, you will receive a net salary which is your takeaway salary. You can further break it down to a monthly basis.

In interviews, you can expect a question on salary. This does not mean that you have gotten the job. Anyhow, you are to respond to it wisely. So, when you go for a job opening, you should research the payment range for that particular position in that city. You can research it online or can ask anybody regarding that. Otherwise, you will go blank and nod to whatever is being offered to you. Later on, when you come to know that you are being underpaid, you feel cheated. You become unhappy. Eventually, you look for jobs in other places. Frequent job changes look bad in your CV.

Salary negotiation for a fresher is never easy. A fresher has a few leverages, unlike the experienced ones. In my career, I had been asked twice regarding salary expectations. But, I was lucky because the employers were offering higher salaries each time.

One of my friends told me a story regarding salary negotiation in a private engineering college. After post-graduation, my friend was looking for a job. He approached an engineering college at Guwahati, Assam. He was called for an interview. The college authority was very much interested to have him. He was offered the position but with a very low salary. But, he went prepared. He had already enquired about the current payment rate for that position in the college which was Rs 40000/- in 2011. So, it was hard to deceive him. He countered them with a range of Rs 35,000 to Rs 45, 000 for the position.

It was all a cat and mouse game. But they were not budging in the interview. He politely thanked them for the offer. He also mentioned that he thought very highly of them and how much he was interested to work there. But, he apologized for not being able to work there since the payment rate is not enough for his sustenance as a post-graduate from IIT. He had turned down the offer.

After a few days, he got a call and they agreed to pay him Rs 40000/- per month as he aspired. Well, he could do that because he was from IIT with a post-graduate degree. In those times, a post-graduate in engineering was a rare commodity in the market.

Now, if you observe this story minutely, the key points to be noted are

(1) Research the job profile and current rate of payment

(2) One needs to be ready for negotiation with a polite tone.

(3) Always one needs to be ready with the minimum agreeable amount.

(4) Always talk in the range such as ‘35 K to 45 K’ keeping your expected sum in the middle.

(3) If the negotiation fails, you have to let the gameplay out itself.

Many a time, the interviewers become adamant and say that they cannot pay more. In that case, you can ask for other benefits such as house allowance, traveling allowance, healthcare, etc. Even if you are not getting your desired amount in terms of salary, you are trying to bridge the gap through these facilities.

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