Salary Negotiation for Project Managers: How to Not Leave Money on the Table

Published On:

June 5, 2025

Salary Negotiation for Project Managers: How to Not Leave Money on the Table

Reprinted from the PML Tribe Community Newsletter. Sign up here to get it weekly: https://bit.ly/PML-Tribe

Did you negotiate your salary after your last job offer?

If not, you likely left a lot of money on the table.

One of the best opportunities to negotiate your income is when a new position or title change is presented. We’re going to cover why, when and how to negotiate your salary to get the best package you deserve.

Why Should You Negotiate Your Salary?

Did you know that by not negotiating, you can limit your income for the rest of your working career? Each future raise will be based on a percentage of a lower amount if you didn’t maximize your base, starting amount.

Let’s say you have a 5% increase in your pay annually. Now let’s say you accepted an initial offer of $75,000 instead of negotiating for $80,000. After just one year, your first raise would be $3,750 ($78,750) instead of $4,000 ($84,000). The difference will then increase exponentially each year since your raise will always be based on a smaller amount. After 10 years, you could have made an additional $62,889 just by originally negotiating $80K as your base salary.

Negotiation is expected. But if you don’t, they will gladly pay you the lower rate.

When Should You Negotiate?

If you already accepted the position, then you’re already too late.

Salary negotiation happens between when an offer is extended and the moment you accept the offer. There is a small window where you can take steps to maximize your earning potential.

First, you need to know this: If you receive an offer, it means YOU are the preferred candidate. They want you over everyone else. This is important for you to know because it means the ball is now in your court.

Once an offer is initiated, don’t immediately accept. Say something like, “Thank you so much for the offer. I’m so glad to hear that I’m a good fit and I’m excited about this opportunity. I’d like to take the rest of the day to consider all the details of your offer. Can I get back to you shortly?”

How Can You Negotiate Your Salary?

Determine Your Ideal Outcome – Define what amount you’re hoping for and what amount you’re willing to accept. Remember, negotiation is about coming to a win-win scenario and some level of compromise is expected.
Collect Salary Data – Ask what the salary range is for the position or research it online. You can estimate it based on similar postings that disclose the range and make some assumptions based on your years of experience.
Know How to Articulate Your Value – Remember, simply wanting more money is not a good enough reason for a company to offer you more. You need to understand what you’re worth based on your industry, your years of experience, and the value you will directly bring to the company. Be able to articulate how you will contribute to the growth of the organization and how your expertise and experience will support that growth. Be able to explain your value and provide examples of how you will demonstrate that impact.
Remember It’s More Than Just Salary – Consider other things like benefits, commute time, learning opportunities, vacation time, future growth, sign-on bonuses, moving costs, flexibility like working remotely a few days a week, etc.
Ask for What You Want (But Leave Room for Growth) – Leave some room within the salary range for future growth. Say something like “I greatly appreciate the work that went into developing this offer. I’ve had a chance to review it and would like to explore if there is some wiggle room on the salary amount and would like to counter at $(X amount). This leaves some room for future growth in the salary range while still recognizing (add your experience, value, examples, etc.) that I would bring to this position. I would love to be a member of your team.”

Effective salary negotiation is about finding a win-win scenario where the company gets the most qualified candidate who is the best fit, and you get what you’re worth. Ask for what you want. But remember, always be polite, professional, and enthusiastic.

Future YOU (and your bank account) will thank you!

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