Being a good negotiator is a critical success factor for climbing the career ladder. But, unfortunately a lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea of negotiating.

Now ask a question to yourself, based on your experience, industry norms and the qualification you have what salary do you deserve then compare the salary with your monthly or yearly expenses along with any savings plan if you have. Now, what if you have been offered a lower salary than you expect? How would you meet your expenses and save for your dream car, or dream house?

I am sure, you don’t have answer to that. Don’t be shy to ask for what you deserve. Although few people have more natural ability when it comes to negotiating, anyone can learn the skill – all it takes is a little research, confidence and some practice.

Let’s see how you can get the salary you deserve:

Understand the Job Completely: Ensure you understand the responsibilities you would be bearing, requirements you have to fulfill, and expectations of the company from you in the position you are being offered.
School Yourself about the Company: Ensure you’ve asked and understand how the company reviews employee performance as well as the process for appraisals and promotions (which is a good discussion to have with the HR person).
Arm Yourself with Salary Information: Spend time to conduct research on average salaries and salary ranges for analogous jobs in your area, industry, and country. There are many websites that provide salary information.
Know Your Strengths and Differentiators: Why are you unique and special from everyone else? Do a SWOT analysis about yourself to understand your differentiators and the special skills or experiences that could make you a more valuable employee. Write down the differentiators as this information can be used as leverage to negotiate a higher opening salary with the hiring manager.
Determine How Much You’d Like to Make: Now compare both your past experiences, qualification you have, the results of your online research about the salary, and the outcomes of your SWOT analysis to determine the salary range you would like to make.
Decide on an Appropriate Salary Range: Based on your research of similar jobs in your country, state and industry, get a hold of what you think would be a suitable salary range for the job. Your target salary should plunge within this range.
Define Your “Walk-away” Point: Now that you’ve decided your target salary and a fitting salary range, think about the least salary you’re ready to accept and why you’d admit that amount. Then, think about the reasons why you’d be reluctant to take a lower amount. Write down the reasons, keep all those reasons in your mind while you talk about the salary with your hiring manager.
Practice Your Negotiation Skills: Request a friend or family member to conduct a mock interview with you in the role play of a hiring manager who has offered you a lower salary than what you want. Then practice what you will say and how you will say to him in order to persuade him to increase their offer.
Remember that it’s in the hiring manager’s best interest to cautiously decide the salary offers they make to new employees. This is for the reason that he or she needs to ensure that their compensation offers are internally and externally viable and that they don’t offer too high or too low a salary, given the education, experience levels, and productivity of the employees presently working in the same or similar positions. In most of the companies, a lot of research and analysis goes into every salary offer, prior to the job offer is ever made.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t negotiate for a higher salary – by all means, go for it if you believe you have good reasons for the negotiation. This is particularly correct if you have specific skills or training that are in short supply or worth more to the company you are going to join.

Most hiring managers don’t involuntarily try to low-ball salary offers, but they will more often than not begin with an amount that is lower than what they are willing to pay, for the reason that they believe the candidate will try to negotiate upward. So keep in mind, negotiation is a skill you can sharpen up. But, it’s up to you to get what you want and what you be worthy of.