49 per cent of U.S. workers don’t negotiate job offers

But 45 per cent of employers willing to negotiate: Survey

A failure to negotiate job offers means many workers in the United States are leaving money on the table, according to a CareerBuilder survey. Even though 45 per cent of employers are willing — and expect — to negotiate salaries for initial job offers, 49 per cent of workers accept the first offer given to them.

A new hire’s willingness to negotiate the first job offer usually comes with more experience — 55 per cent of workers 35 or older typically negotiate the first offer, compared to 45 per cent of workers age 18 to 34.

Men (54 per cent) are more likely than women (49 per cent) to negotiate first offers, found the survey of 2,076 hiring managers and human resource professionals and 2,999 workers.

Professional and business services workers (56 per cent) are the most likely to negotiate salary, followed by, information technology (55 per cent), leisure and hospitality (55 per cent) and sales workers (54 per cent).

If unable to meet a job candidate’s salary requirements, a majority of employers are willing to provide alternative benefits (though 38 per cent said they would not be able to provide anything):

•a flexible schedule (33 per cent)

•more vacation time (19 per cent)

•the opportunity to telecommute at least once per week (15 per cent)

•pay for a mobile device (14 per cent).

While 11 per cent of employers include wage or salary information in their job listings, nearly one-in-four (24 per cent) said they don’t reveal what the position pays until they extend the job offer. Nearly one-half (48 per cent) will discuss salary during initial conversations or during the first job interview, found CareerBuilder.

About one-third of employers keep track of what competitors pay comparable employees via job postings (33 per cent) or market average reports (34 per cent), but many (35 per cent) don’t factor in external compensation at all.

“Forty-nine per cent of hiring managers surveyed said job candidates have refused offers due to salary,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice-president of human resources at CareerBuilder.. “It’s critical that recruiters and hiring managers are armed with up-to-date compensation data. If you offer premium talent below market rates, it can be very difficult to fill vacant positions.”

Latest stories