The Three Legs of a Salary Negotiation

By Marty Nemko

Think of salary negotiation as a three-legged stool: to stay up, you need all three legs. Leg 1: Comparable salaries--written evidence that your desired salary is consistent with the market. Leg 2: Assertions that you'll be doing more responsible work in the coming months. If you can't say that, renegotiate your job description or postpone asking for a raise until your job tasks justify it. Leg 3: Plant the idea that, without the raise, the employer risks losing you. See if another employer might be interested in hiring you. If so, tell your boss, or get a colleague to leak, that another employer is wooing you.