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Nearly One-Third of Employers Willing to Negotiate Salary Increases for Current Employees for 2011, CareerBuilder Survey Finds

-Half of employers open to salary negotiations for new employees in 2011-
-Employers share most effective ways to negotiate better compensation-

CHICAGO, November 10, 2010 - With 43 percent of employers reporting concern that their top talent may leave their organizations when the economy improves, workers may have more leverage in compensation reviews. Thirty-one percent of employers said they are willing to negotiate 2011 salary increases with current employees. Half (51 percent) plan to leave some negotiating room when extending initial offers to new employees, with 21 percent willing to extend two or more offers to the same candidate. The nationwide survey from CareerBuilder was conducted between August 17 and September 2, 2010 and included more than 2,400 hiring managers.


Workers in certain industries may find their bosses more open to bargaining than others. Forty-five percent of IT employers say they are open to negotiating salary increases with current employees for 2011 followed by 39 percent in retail, 38 percent in sales, and 41 percent in professional and business services. Employers cited the following as the most effective ways for current employees to negotiate better compensation:

  • Highlight specific accomplishments and results you achieved (48 percent)

  • Know the range of salary you want and have justification for the increase (39 percent)

  • Show an understanding of what is important to the company (37 percent)

  • Come prepared with your history of performance reviews (26 percent)

Employers also recommend having other options in mind that you’ll take in place of a salary increase. Employers who are unable to provide raises said they are willing to offer the following perks:

  • More flexible work hours (42 percent)

  • Bonuses (29 percent)

  • Training (23 percent)

  • Vacation time (21 percent)

  • More casual dress codes (17 percent)

  • Academic reimbursement (14 percent)

  • Title change (14 percent)

"While it is undoubtedly an employer’s market, many recognize the added responsibility workers have had to shoulder without the added pay," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder. "While we don’t expect salary levels to change significantly, the willingness to negotiate better deals with current and potential employees is a positive indicator for the employment recovery."

Whether negotiating an initial offer or an increase to your current compensation plan, Haefner recommends the following:

Know your market value: arm yourself with as much information as possible by checking out industry Web sites for your occupational and geographic areas and others that specialize in salary information, such as www.CBSalary.com, or the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sell yourself: outline your role in helping your current and previous organizations meet goals. If there's ever a time to toot your own horn, the time is now. Quantify results whenever possible.

Look at more than the paycheck: Some jobs that may not pay as well may be rich in learning opportunities and experience or may offer an ideal work culture. Consider the whole package.

Have realistic expectations: inflated opinions of what should be earned won’t be taken seriously. Consider the industry, the economy, your experience and the competition from other coworkers.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,457 U.S. hiring managers (employed full-time; not self-employed; non-government) ages 18 and over between August 17 and September 2, 2010 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 2,457 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.98 a percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 32 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world’s top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 9,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder’s proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com