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Salary negotiations can be uncomfortable and a tricky field to navigate. To help you along, Fast Company recently shared nine words and phrases to avoid using during such discussions. These are based on advice provided by Josh Doody, author of Fearless Salary Negotiation.
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“A salary negotiation is a collaboration, and a key ingredient of a successful collaboration is good communication…It’s important to be very clear with what you communicate to avoid ambiguity, which could complicate things and slow the negotiation process,” explained Doody.

Here’s a preview of what not to say in a salary negotiation. See all the nine words and phrases here.

Sorry
Never apologize for negotiating. Doody empathizes, “negotiating is uncomfortable, and our natural tendency is to try to smooth the edges on a difficult conversation. Saying sorry could signal to the recruiter or hiring manager that you might be willing to back down, and that could be expensive.”

My desired salary is…
Don’t disclose your current or desired salary because it can result in offers being pegged to those numbers.

“If the health insurance offering, paid vacation, target bonus, or other aspects of the benefits package are underwhelming, the candidate can use those as reasons to ask for a higher salary to compensate,” explains Doody.

He suggests, instead, trying:

“I’m not comfortable sharing my current salary. I would prefer to focus on the value I can add to this company rather than what I’m paid at my current job. I don’t have a specific number in mind for a desired salary, and you know better than I do what value my skillset and experience could bring to your company. I want this move to be a big step forward for me in terms of both responsibility and compensation.”

No
Avoid negative language and focus on positive words. Rather than saying “No, that doesn’t work for me”, an alternative is, “I would be more comfortable with…” Negative language can build walls that hinder the negotiation process.

Later
Evade procrastinating details of your hire by choosing to address them after you join the company.

“Sometimes it’s easier to avoid uncomfortable parts of a negotiation by deferring those parts of the conversation until after you’re hired. That can be a very expensive mistake because you won’t have the same latitude to negotiate and improve your position once you’re in the door. Push through the discomfort and get the best possible result now,” advises Doody.

Find out the remaining words and phrases to avoid during salary negotiations HERE

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