You’ve landed the interview. You are SO excited. You’ve made it through the first three rounds, and then it happens! They offer you the job… at a much lower salary than you were expecting.

I want you to know that this situation doesn’t have to FEEL hopeless! It doesn’t have to be the end all be all.

There is a way to negotiate yourself closer to the value you were expecting to make in your new position.

And believe it or not, you can actually use THEM to help YOU in achieving these goals.

I was recently approached with this question by one of my VIP clients and I want to share this advice with you all!

The question is: how do I handle being offered something much lower than expected/deserved?

This is a great question and I’m sure we’ve all been in a similar situation. So how do we negotiate ourselves out of this predicament?

Ask yourself- Do I even really want this job?

The first thing you need to ask yourself is this: Do I even really want the job offer? Can I afford to not take it? If you’re not as interested in the job, ask if you can have a week or two weeks to mull it over and get offers from other job opportunities. Let everyone know that you have an offer from another company and that each one of them is their first choice. Don’t let it go, yet- use it to get the other offers up higher.

Accept the job, but not the salary

If you are in a situation where you NEED the job, accept the job, but not the salary. Let them know that you are so grateful to be accepting the job. Then, ask for THEM TO HELP YOU with this situation. Outline that the offer is x dollars below your previous job salary and you can’t take the job at that salary cut. Once they tell you why the salary was capped, acknowledge the reason and work their solution into your own (ie: instead of having a relocation and sign-on bonus, get that amount added to your base).

The bottom line: do not blame them or villainize them, ask them for their help to reach that higher salary point.

Find the true no

When you’re asking them to help you with your situation, you may need to ask them in a couple of different forms to help you solve this situation (with the low salary offer). You are going to need to figure out where the no is coming from. Anchor your response in their no- for example, if they tell you it’s because no one in that department is making that much money, you respond by asking how you can get to that next level in the business to be making that higher salary.

IMPORTANT: do not alienate them with your questions! Make sure it’s coming from a place of sincerity. Keep this goal in mind- how do I show HR that I am truly of this higher value

Going through this type of process alone is hard. These are skills that we don’t innately have. They are learned! If you had to read the steps above a few times, don’t sweat! My team and I help women through these steps EVERY SINGLE DAY! We teach and perfect these skills so women have the skills to push themselves ahead.

If you need help with negotiating a job offer — or heck, even figuring out what your dream career is or how to land that next opportunity — feel free to reach out to me and share your story!