Three things you can negotiate in addition to salary

Allison Venditti -

Money is such an important part of the job offer, but is it everything? Absolutely not! When I work with people on salary negotiation I make sure that we look at the "whole offer" everything from vacation time, work hours, termination clauses, and benefits.

In 2021, Moms at Work helped women negotiate over $2M in raises through our classes, coaching, and education programs. Let me tell you about some of the other things we ask for.

  1. Days off. Vacation days can be hard to negotiate as HR departments often have a policy for vacation allotments based on seniority. But do you know when people get angry? When they find out that Dan has two times more vacation than they do. So we tend to keep it equal. What you can ask for is Paid Time Off, Personal Days, or Lieu Days. If the hiring manager doesn't flex on that, then I would go back and ask for more money. That way you can just take unpaid time off and it will be covered by that pay bump!
  2. Health Benefits that start right away, not after the three-month probation period. This is easy for companies to offer, and can make a huge difference for working parents.
  3. Signing bonus. I will say it again. SIGNING BONUS. We give them away like candy. Why? Because it is an easy one-time payment. Watch out though we will often drop in a clause that you have to pay it back if you leave before a certain date.
  4. Less hours per week. If they can't come up on salary, then you can ask for an adjustment of work hours. So, if they don't have more money - great then you can work 36 hours a week instead of 40. Maybe they can't afford you but you would love to work an 80% workweek.

Bottom line. Ask. As an HR person, I am not offended, and guess what - at a leadership level we want to see your negotiating skills - so let's see what you can do!

For more great salary negotiation advice, check out Moms at Work's offerings.