Despite some peoples’ notions to the contrary, nobody is born with a price tag on their back or is “owed” a certain amount of compensation from the job market.  The amount of money any given professional can command is based on society’s determination of the value of certain occupations and the solutions they provide – combined with the supply/demand of candidates in any given field and how easily a company thinks they can replace an employee, should they choose to depart.  This is why, right or wrong, a software engineer typically makes a lot more money than a teacher — and electricians tend to make considerably more than custodians, admin assistants, prep cooks and customer service professionals.

This being said, these dynamics only really apply at a macro level.  There are certainly other factors that can influence matters, too, such as the region of the country in which somebody works, the size of the benefits package offered, and whether factors like unionization, government subsidies, and/or tipping come into play.  But again, on the whole, economic forces have largely dictated the ballpark compensation range any given professional can expect and these rough estimates can be quickly validated by sites like www.glassdoor.com, www.payscale.com, www.salary.com, and others.

But what about at the individual “micro” level?  Even when staying within the typical range of compensation for a role, how can a job hunter maximize the pay they receive – or leverage multiple job offers against one another to ensure they can write the largest number possible on their W2 form?

In the past, I’ve written extensively about common negotiation scenarios such as how to handle salary requests on job applications and how to respond to salary requests in interviews, but in terms of whether or not to extend a counteroffer — once you reach the final goal and receive a written job offer — there’s no one-size-fits-all answer that works.  Every situation is different and it comes down, largely, to analyzing your situation closely, determining how much risk you’re willing to take, and evaluating who has the greater “leverage” between you and the employer in question.

On that note, if helpful at all, here’s a quick checklist to help determine who likely has the upper hand in any given employment negotiation.

Factors that suggest YOU have strong leverage as a candidate:

  • The job has been open for a long time and the employer seems desperate to fill it
  • The company (or a recruiter) contacted you about the lead; you didn’t seek it out, yourself
  • The hiring process seems accelerated; it didn’t drag out across weeks or have multiple delays
  • The job involves dealing with a time-critical challenge or opportunity
  • The employer hasn’t mentioned any other candidates during the interview process
  • You were given a tour during the interview and they seem to be trying to “sell you” to some extent
  • The employer is already talking about you in the future tense as if you’re a member of the team
  • You’re currently employed and/or have a viable source of income; you can comfortably walk away
  • You’ve been getting lots of other interest from other employers during your search to date
  • You enjoy negotiating and tend to have a high risk tolerance, in general

Factors that might signal the EMPLOYER has the upper hand in terms of leverage:

  • The job was only recently advertised; they’ve only just begun screening candidates for it
  • You’re in a high-supply field where you know you’re up against significant competition
  • You initiated the conversation by responding to an ad or approaching the company directly
  • You’re changing careers to a certain extent and don’t have a proven track record of results
  • The company seems to be waffling over whether or not the job is really needed
  • The employer doesn’t seem emotionally vested in you and/or has mentioned other candidates
  • The recruiter has to constantly check back with the “powers that be” during the hiring process
  • The interview process seems sloppy, haphazard, and/or unnecessarily drawn out
  • You’re missing some key credentials for the job – or employer has expressed reservations about you
  • You’ve been out of work for a while and really need income (and the employer knows it)
  • You dislike negotiating and tend to be a “go with the flow” kind of person

Again, this is just a cursory breakdown of some of the factors to consider in these situations, but hopefully this list will help you think things through and determine “who has more to lose” in a given offer scenario.  If the balance of power seems to favor you, the candidate, that would suggest you can ratchet up your negotiating tactics and present a fairly aggressive (although never rude) counteroffer – and that the employer will likely decide to sweeten the pot, versus walk away.  On the flip side, if the majority of factors on the second list ring true, you might just accept the offer as it stands or put forward a very mild counteroffer with fairly modest demands.

Again, at the end of the day, there are certain compensation norms in play that no individual candidate is likely going to be able to break, outside of very unusual cases.  But in most cases, I’ve found there’s about 10-20% wiggle room in any given offer scenario that a savvy professional can secure for themselves if they play their cards wisely — and understand the leverage they can bring to bear in the situation!