This lesson suits upper-intermediate to advanced learners. After listening, scroll down and test your knowledge with our quiz.
Learning notes
Language objective
How to ask for more money from your employer
Different questions you can use to negotiate your salary
- Can you move at all on that figure?
- Is there any room for negotiation?
- Is that salary up for discussion because…?
- Maybe we could find a creative way to get to that number?
Different phrases to use for sounding confident during the negotiation process
- I'm excited about the prospect of working here, and I know I will bring a lot of value.
- I appreciate your offer, but based on the going rate for someone with my skills and experience, I’m looking for something in the upper end of that salary range.
- I'd feel more comfortable if we could settle on a higher base salary because I really feel that my experience and skills are worth that money.
- My salary expectations are in line with my experience and qualifications.
Vocabulary:
Salary, income and compensation are different words for the money you are paid for your work.
A wage is a fixed regular payment earned for work or services, typically paid on a daily or weekly basis.
Salary is also a fixed regular payment but typically paid on a monthly basis and often expressed as an annual sum, made by an employer to an employee.
To negotiate something means to discuss and reach an agreement on something.
Market value is how much something is worth on the open market.
A salary range is the minimum and maximum amount an employer will pay for a job.
A counteroffer is an offer we make in response to an offer.
Colloquial expressions:
Bringing home the bacon is another way of saying to earn a living.
If you are being paid peanuts, you are being paid very little.
Getting the short end of the stick means being disadvantaged somehow, finding yourself in a situation or with an outcome that is not as good as it should be.
Cultural information:
In Australia, you can access free and confidential legal help through several organisations.
The Employment Rights Legal Service in NSW can help you if you are being underpaid or being unfairly treated by your manager/supervisor (boss).
Job Watch provides legal assistance to Victorian, Tasmanian and Queensland workers. Job Watch can give you free, confidential information over the telephone and referrals about work rights.
In each state and territory, community legal centres give free legal assistance to people who need it most, particularly people experiencing financial hardship, disadvantage, discrimination, and domestic and family violence. Find the one closest to you through Community Legal Centres Australia
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