When Jasmine McCall was being interviewed at Amazon for the role of staffing manager in 2020, she successfully managed to get the tech giant to agree to a $54,000 (about Rs 46 lakh) sign-on bonus, on top of a six-figure salary and $100,000 (about Rs 86 lakh) in stock options. Now, the CEO of a career development platform, PayBump, believes that the sooner you have conversations about salary in your job interview, the better.
Speaking to CNBC Make It about her negotiation with Amazon, McCall said, "They initially pushed back, but because I was able to show them how much they would lose if I walked away. Two days later, they told me they found the budget to give me the full $54,000 I had asked for."
She also shared a few tips that could help other professionals understand how they can negotiate their salaries better.
1.) Make your value clear
"For Amazon, I didn’t just list my past experience on my resume. I framed it in a way that made my value clear," McCall said. "Some examples I used: I reduced onboarding time by 30 percent, saving the company $500,000 annually. I led a team that generated $2 million in sales in six months."
2.) Don't list your salary
"I learned from this experience to never list your current salary on an application. If they ask, say it is confidential. And when asked about salary expectations, tell them you need to learn more about the responsibilities of the job first," McCall told CNBC Make It.
3.) Don't focus only on base pay
When Amazon sent the first offer, McCall didn’t just focus on base pay. "The smartest negotiators look at the entire compensation package, including sign-on bonuses, equity, relocation packages and performance-based incentives," she said.
4.) Know what your counterparts are earning
"When I walked into my Amazon negotiation, I already knew that my counterparts at similar companies were making more. So I didn’t just negotiate, I aimed for the highest end of the range and structured my counteroffer accordingly," McCall told the publication.
5.) Don't show desperation
The career expert said Amazon had initially not agreed to her counter offer, but instead of panicking, she reminded them of her value and used silence as a tactic, knowing that most recruiters expect candidates to break first. She also informed them that she had other offers on the table. "Within 48 hours, Amazon came back with the full sign-on bonus and stock package," McCall said.
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