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How to negotiate a salary for an entry-level social media community manager role?
The title text pretty much says it all. I’ve been working as a social media intern for this tech company for the past four months and my manager has expressed to me that they’re intending to offer me a full time position after I graduate.
I hadn’t really thought about negotiating a salary, but a friend of mine asked me how much I’d make and whether or not I’d negotiate that as a brand new hire. I’ve never had a salary based job, only hourly wages, and I’m not sure how to go about negotiating or what a normal wage would be for this kind of full-time employment. Any tips?
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3 Replies
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Do your research. Learn how much people in such a position get paid. Be sure to look in your local area. Glassdoor, Salary.com, and PayScale (along with LinkedIn) can help you get a decent idea what someone with your experience, location, and title should expect.
Then read up on negotiating. Remember that it’s not always just about money. If they’re not flexible on the pay piece, they may be on vacation time or other pieces. Remember that it’s about the entire package, not just pay. An extra week of vacation time can be worth $1000 or more in pay.
Negotiating can be uncomfortable for most. But you have to do it. You’ll lose out on millions (literally) in your lifetime if you don’t. $5k extra here means you start from a higher point pay-wise in your next position and the one after that. Even a little bump here can take years to make up from normal raises down the line. It’s worth the discomfort. Sadly, most don’t negotiate as they should (especially women).
There are plenty of good articles out there if you simply search for “how to negotiate salary”. Read up and be as informed as possible so that you know how to go about it. Let them make the offer and then go from there. It never hurts to ask for more. If they can’t do it, they can’t do it, but at least you tried, and most of the time you do get more.
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im a hiring manager (not in marketing) and i am always turned off when entry level candidates try to negotiate too much. at that level, i feel like you should be going to the best company u can to learn as much as possible regardless of salary. when u negotiate, ur telling me you dont actually value the opportunity much.
that said we always offer a “fair” salary.
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Already some good advice here, but something that has helped me – know your budget, and start defining some financial goals. e.g., What are your current expenses? Could you survive without your roommate, or if your rent goes up? Do you have savings? Are you ready to start a retirement account? When do you have to start paying for your own healthcare plans?
I use a Google sheet that I update regularly to keep track of all of this, to the best of my ability. Helps put things into perspective of what my minimums are.
Also, plug in some salary examples into an online calculator that accounts for your taxes to see what your take-home pay actually is. Surprise, taxes can take away a lot.
I completely lowballed myself on my first salaried job offer because I didn’t realize what it came to after taxes, healthcare deductions, etc. Plus, my roommate moved out the next year, so I had to ask for a significant raise, and felt silly for agreeing to such a low salary to begin with.
Congrats on the job offer, that’s great! Regardless, you may need to take the job out of need for employment, but you can always keep looking.
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