Career Negotiations Podcast

Salary Negotiation Myths - Most Common Salary Negotiation Misconceptions Debunked

• Brandon Bramley

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➡️ My free Salary Negotiation Guide: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/salary-negotiation-guide 

Are salary negotiation myths holding you back from earning more? In this episode, I break down the top 10 most common salary negotiation misconceptions, explain why they're wrong, and share what you should actually be thinking when you receive a job offer.

That way you have negotiation advice that is based on hundreds of salary negotiations and actually works when you're sitting across from a recruiter.

SALARY NEGOTIATION TOOLS MENTIONED

SALARY NEGOTIATION MYTHS RESOURCES

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WHO AM I

I'm Brandon, the Founder and Lead Negotiator at The Salary Negotiator®. As a former corporate negotiator, I now help employees increase their compensation. Through hundreds of salary negotiations, I've helped career professionals secure over $200 million in additional compensation. My expertise is backed by more than 150 five-star reviews from career professionals on Google and Trustpilot.

Why People Avoid Negotiating

Brandon

If you've ever received a job offer and thought, I probably shouldn't negotiate, I don't want to risk it, you're not alone. Look, a lot of people skip negotiating because they believe things that simply aren't true. In this episode, my goal is to break down the top 10 most common salary negotiation myths that I see so you can approach your job offer discussions correctly. I'll first walk through the biggest misconceptions about salary negotiation, including whether companies will actually negotiate and if you have leverage. That way you understand what's really happening behind the scenes. Then I'm going to break down each of the top 10 myths that I hear and explain why they're wrong and why you should be thinking differently instead. That way you don't fall into the trap of accepting the offer first too quickly. And I'll close out the episode by helping you reframe how you think about salary negotiations so you can confidently advocate for yourself and actually secure competitive compensation in your career. So let's dive right into

Who I Am And How I Help

Brandon

it. Hey everyone, welcome back to the channel. If you're new here, my name is Brandon Bramley and I'm the founder and lead negotiator at the salarynegotiator.com. As you know, I provide professional job offer negotiation coaching, salary negotiation courses, and tools to professionals like you to help you navigate the negotiation process and secure competitive pay. I'm not just a career coach or recruiter giving out generic salary negotiation advice. There's already a ton of bad advice online. Instead, I've actually led hundreds of negotiations across various roles, helping my clients secure hundreds of millions more in calm. My background is actually in the strategic negotiations, and my goal is to debunk the bad advice you may have gotten out there to give you proven strategies that will actually work. So if you're a career professional looking to earn competitive pay, subscribe here to get my actionable tips. And when you're ready to take your negotiations to the next level, visit thesalarynegotiate.com for my coaching courses and tools that are designed to help you earn more in your career. Salary is one of the most important factors when deciding whether to accept a job. I get it, right? It impacts not just your current income, but your long-term earnings, future raises, and even the pay in your next job offer. But despite how important it is, a lot of people either skip the salary negotiation process entirely or go into it with the wrong mindset or the wrong advice. That usually comes from advice they've heard from friends, mentors, or online forums. It sounds reasonable, but in all reality, it actually doesn't work and it doesn't reflect how the hiring team and the compensation decisions actually work in most companies. So I want to talk through my top 10 myths that I hear from people that keep them from negotiating their pay package when they get a new offer.

Myth 1 To 3 Refusing Leverage

Brandon

The first one and my first myth is an employer will refuse. One of the biggest fears people have is that the company will just say no or shut down their conversation entirely if they try. In reality, most companies expect you to negotiate your salary. So if you've received an offer, then they've already decided you're the person that they want in the role and they're willing to adjust if they need to. That means they're usually open to working with you and to get the deal that makes sense on both sides. In fact, in our experience, the majority of salary negotiations were sold in some level of improvement in the offer, so it's a no-brainer. So based on our data, you have a higher probability that they are going to increase the offer versus not doing it. So it's always worth having these discussions. The second myth is people saying they don't have leverage. A lot of candidates feel like the company is doing them a favor by extending an offer, which makes them feel like they don't have any negotiating power, right? But it could not be further from the truth. Companies invest a significant amount of time and resources into hiring you, okay? They don't want to start that recruiting process over, and the hiring manager wants the person they selected, which is you, in that seat. So you, if you've received the offer, then you have a ton of leverage. And it makes far more sense for them to work with you and negotiate rather than to go back to square one in the recruiting process. On to my third myth, right? The recruiter says they can't budge. So you might hear something like this there's no room to move or we don't negotiate from your recruiter. It's important to remember that the recruiters represent the company and part of their role is to manage costs and deter you from negotiating salary. So these comments are perfectly normal, but it doesn't mean that it's true, right? That doesn't mean that the offer truly can't change. So in many cases, there's still a ton of flexibility and it's always worth still going through the salary negotiation process in a professional and strategic way to ensure you have the best

Myth 4 To 5 Offers And Ranges

Brandon

package possible. And my fourth myth, you need another offer, okay? This is silly. A lot of people think that they need a competitive offer to get the company to negotiate salary. I've released another episode on this and it could not be further from the truth. Well, having another offer can, in some situations, help. It's not required to successfully negotiate salary. Most successful salary negotiations, I lead, take place with just one offer on the table and we're still successful. The company's already chosen you for the role and they want to give you the best package possible to make sure you're happy, okay? So you're in a strong position, you don't need other offers, and you just need to go through the process. And the fifth myth, right? The offer is already good enough. That is silly, okay? Sometimes the offer comes in higher than you're expecting, or it's higher than what you currently make. And you might feel like you shouldn't push for more. But that's usually just means your expectations were unfortunately too low at the beginning. Or you're looking at their compensation correctly and you're not looking at the total compensation versus what some of the other components are. So companies have set pay ranges for every level and role that they hire for, so they don't pay everyone the same within those ranges. Salary negotiation is geared towards ensuring that you're paid actually at the top end of those pay ranges. So if the compensation data shows that they pay more for that role, then you should always negotiate for better pay. That way you're coming in at the top end of the pay ban. The sixth myth I

Myth 6 To 7 Pulled Offers

Brandon

hear. The offer will get pulled. This is probably the biggest fear people have. The reality is that companies do not pull offers just because you ask for more pay, as long as you're negotiating the salary professionally. Okay, in hundreds of negotiations, we've never seen that happen by following our strategies. Yes, they could always rescind an offer if you negotiate aggressively or incorrectly or if they change their hiring decision, right? But it's not gonna happen if you negotiate the salary in a professional manner. The worst case scenario is they say no to your request, but more often than not, they're gonna come back with a better package and you're gonna be much happier making more in your career. And our seventh myth, you're already at the top end of the range. Even if you're told that your offer is at the top end of the range by a recruiter, that does not mean there's no room to improve the overall package. It's usually just a recruiter tactic to deter you from negotiating and make it so you feel have a competitive offer. So you still should be negotiating and doing your compensation research to see realistically where the pay should be. It also doesn't hold you from negotiating sign-on bonuses or other perks to increase the offer package. So do not fall into silly recruiter tactics and tricks

Myth 8 To 10 Confidence

Brandon

like that. The hate myth, talking about money is gonna hurt the relationship. Okay, some people worry that negotiating compensation will create tension or make them look difficult. In reality, most hiring teams expect these conversations and often view candidates who advocate for themselves as confident and prepared. So as long as you approach the salary negotiation professionally, it's usually gonna strengthen how they perceive you, that they hire the right person for the role rather than working against you. At the end of the day, if your hiring manager cares about you and wants you on the team, they want you to be happy and paid competitively. So just don't skip the conversation. And the ninth myth salary negotiations are stressful or confrontational. Look, salary negotiation does not have to be awkward or uncomfortable, and it definitely does not need to be aggressive. Most of these conversations are collaborative and straightforward if done correctly. That's why, even with the negotiations I lead in my course, in my coaching, in our templates, the tone is always in a friendly tone, like you're talking to a friend that's helping you feel comfortable with the move to the new company. So if you prepare in advance and approach it with the right tone, it can actually be a very smooth process and you'll find out actually that your recruiter or your hiring manager actually will work with you and wants you to get paid competitively. And my final myth, the tenth myth, you need to be an expert negotiator. Look, you do not need to be a professional negotiator to be successful. Everyone has the ability to negotiate their job offer. The key is understanding the right salary negotiation approach and avoiding common mistakes that can hurt your position. So you really don't want to lead on bad advice from friends or generic career coaches or recruiters. Instead, you want to find a proven source of knowledge in salary negotiations that's actually gonna help you confidently have these discussions in a friend and professional manner. If you do that, you're gonna be an expert and you will get a better package.

The Real Takeaway And Leverage

Brandon

The biggest takeaway here is that salary negotiation is not optional if you want to make competitive compensation. It's a standard part of the hiring process and companies expect it. So don't let myths get in the way that keep you from negotiating because the people who do negotiate salary end up earning a lot more over time, while those don't leave a ton of money on the table without even realizing it. At the end of the day, most people avoid negotiating come down to the myths that aren't true, right? Once you understand how the process actually works, it becomes much easier to approach with confidence. So if you receive a job offer, take the time to negotiate it properly. It's one of the highest impact things you can do for your career earnings, and it's an opportunity you don't want to miss because you have the most leverage in these discussions when you get a new offer before you start the new role.

Get Help And Final Ask

Brandon

So if you want help navigating your salary negotiation or a confidence board, I highly suggest you don't go into the salary negotiation alone. Head over to salarynegotiate.com to either work with me directly as your salary negotiation coach or check out my salary negotiation courses and tools. You'll find all the links in the episode notes below. And if you found this episode helpful, I'd appreciate it if you'd subscribe, leave a comment for me, and share it with someone who might have fallen into some of these myths and needs advice in their career. So thanks for tuning in and good luck with your offer negotiations.

Brandon

Free Salary Negotiation Guide: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/salary-negotiation-guide Are salary negotiation myths holding you back from earning more? In this episode, I break down the top 10 most common salary negotiation misconceptions, explain why they're wrong, and share what you should actually be thinking when you receive a job offer. That way you have negotiation advice that is based on hundreds of salary negotiations and actually works when you're sitting across from a recruiter. SALARY NEGOTIATION TOOLS MENTIONED • Salary Negotiation Coaching: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/ • Salary Negotiation Templates & Scripts: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/salary-negotiation-templates • How to Negotiate a Job Offer Course: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/job-offer-negotiation-course • Salary Calculator: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/total-compensation-calculator SALARY NEGOTIATION MYTHS RESOURCES • Salary Negotiation Myths Guide: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/resource-center/salary-negotiation-myths • How to Counter a Job Offer: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/resource-center/counter-offer-salary • Sign-On Bonus Negotiation: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/resource-center/how-to-negotiate-a-sign-on-bonus • Best Salary Negotiation Resources: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/best-salary-negotiation-resources • Job Offer Comparison Tool: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/job-offer-comparison-tool • Video Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTs8I91ZijA

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Brandon Bramley

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