10 executive coaches share their tips for negotiating pay

How many people do you know love their job so much that they’d do it for free? Unless you know a whole lot of independently wealthy people, chances are the answer is “not many.”

For most of us, pay is (and always will be) a fundamental consideration of working life. As such, negotiating your starting pay and asking for a raise are a critical determining factors when deciding to take a new job and feeling valued in an existing position

These 10 tips from executive coaches and other career experts can help you polish your negotiating skills and get the pay you deserve.

Make the first offer

“Don’t wait for [an employer] to mention a figure. Traditional advice says to never be the first to mention a salary target, in case they were planning to offer you more than your wildest dreams, but let’s be realistic—they’ll throw a low number out to see if you’ll take it, and once that small figure is on the table, it may be uncomfortable to go after anything substantially larger.” —Elizabeth Becker, client partner with PROTECH in Charlotte, North Carolina

To continue reading, visit http://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/career-coach-tips-negotiate-salary.