Negotiate For Extra Benefits

Before we accept a job offer, we all know the importance of negotiating salary. But a new hire package comes with many other benefits that are up for negotiations as well. These benefits may include paid time off, parental leave, commuter benefits, professional development opportunities, tuition reimbursement, and many more. There are so many things you can consider when assessing an offer, and understanding the full range of options available to you can be particularly helpful, both when you’re accepting a new position and when you’re trying to find wiggle room within your current one (especially if your boss isn’t able to give you that raise you asked for).

Benefits You Can Negotiate

1. Amount Of Paid Time Off Make sure to ask for work-life balance perks you care about, like paid time off. Many companies will offer a limited amount of paid vacation time. But if you’re coming from a company where you had more, you can negotiate for them to match that number. Some places will be willing to match that number in order to make sure they don’t lose a potential new hire.

2. Your Hours Having a flexible work schedule can be invaluable, depending on your situation. If you want to negotiate for one, you can always say that you plan to be in the office full-time for the first few months to familiarize yourself with the space, build relationships, and learn the business inside and out. Then, you can mention that you’re at your most productive when you work slightly different hours, maybe you have kids who you want to take to school every morning, or maybe you just like waking up early or staying up late. Demonstrate to them that you’re committed to the job (hence spending the first few months in the office), and that you feel you can add more value to the company if you’re allowed a more flexible schedule.

3. Work From Home Working from home is becoming increasingly popular, and it’s a completely reasonable ask for most jobs. Just be sure to negotiate for it appropriately. Don’t just drop in out of nowhere and ask your boss if you can work from home every Wednesday; make the ask after you’ve finished a great project, or frame it in a way that benefits the company. One example: "Every week, I end up with a lot of paperwork that I can’t get done due to office distractions. I know I could get more done if I was able to work from home every Wednesday."

4. Repaying Students Loans Many college graduates leave school with student debt to pay off, and many companies can afford to offer student loan repayment programs to their employees. Most of these programs offer $100 per month; while that might not seem like a lot, it can certainly add up over time.

5. Money For Grad School If tuition reimbursement for graduate or other programs is important to you, ask about it, and tell the employer why it matters to you. Remember: The worst they can do is say no. But if you don’t ask for it, you’ll never know what the answer is. Plus, if you’ve researched the company to familiarize yourself with their values and understand what benefits they offer, you should be able to make a strong case for yourself.

6. Professional Development Opportunities If you’re interested in professional development, it can be worth asking if your company would be willing to offer a stipend or reimbursement for training, certification, membership dues, or industry conferences.

7. Parental Leave Many employees struggle when they see the blanket benefits package a company offers, because it’s not customized to their lifestyle. If you expect to have children soon (or even if you just think they’re on the way eventually) it’s worth asking about paid maternity and paternity leave policies. Find out what they currently offer, and see if you can negotiate for the policy that works best for you.

8. Child Care Costs Parental benefits—like child care reimbursement, have gained popularity in recent years. If this is a must-have for you, bring it up. It’s worth negotiating for benefits if having them will make you happier and better able to achieve work-life balance in the long run.

9. Health And Wellness Benefits If you care a lot about health and wellness, you can always try negotiating for relevant benefits, like gym pass reimbursement, work showers, or the option to use a standing desk.

10. Work Phone or Laptop Depending on where you work, you might need technology to get the job done. Will the company provide you with a laptop? A cell phone? Any other relevant device?

11. Moving Costs (if you’re relocating) If you’re taking a new job that’s far away from where you currently live, ask about relocation assistance. Some employers offer this automatically and have set allowances built into their budgets, but others might not—you might need to negotiate to get it on the table.

12. Commuting Costs If you’ll have a long commute, there are plenty of benefits you should consider asking for. For instance, you could request that they provide you with an automobile to use. If they won’t do that, maybe they could add your car to the company insurance policy, cover a certain portion of your automobile expenses, or share the cost of a leased vehicle.

13. Severance Package Guidelines One perk to consider is asking for is a severance package written into your contract. This package would activate should the company be acquired or should you be laid off due to no fault of your own, and it can help you ensure that you’re prepared in case things go awry.

14. Better Title Sometimes, non-monetary benefits can translate into greater value than a simple raise can. For example, negotiating for a more senior-level title or office is an obvious way to create non-monetary value for yourself. Plus, your ability to innovate and create bilateral benefits might impress the prospective employer, as well.

15. Signing Bonus One form of monetary negotiation that people often forget: bonuses. These can and should be negotiated (even annually, during your performance review). You can negotiate for a sign-on bonus or relocation bonus when you first accept an offer, and you can also negotiate for other kinds of bonuses, ones you earn if you excel at your job.

16. Stock Options/Other Long-Term Incentives You can always ask about stock options or other long-term incentives if you’re at the management level. Many companies reserve some of these benefits for certain levels, but it never hurts to ask if it hasn’t come up.

Final Thoughts

It’s crucial to take the time to understand the scope of benefits and then to tackle negotiating them wisely and strategically. When you’ve received an offer, you have the upper hand, and while you may not get all the requests you make, this is the one time that your prospective employer is ripe for negotiating. Plus, you may find that while there’s no leeway for negotiating a higher salary, benefits adjustments are easier to accommodate.

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