One of the most difficult things to do in this part of the world is to negotiate for salary during a job interview. Most job seekers hardly negotiate for salary because they do not want to offend the employers with their figures as such they end up negotiating and settling for a lesser salary for that role. This is one of the reasons why most organisations in Nigeria (both local and multinational) do not have salary structure for various positions as such they take unhealthy advantage of job seekers thereby leading to surplus value. This is evident in the fact that in most organisations in Nigeria, candidates will be employed at same time for same positions but their salaries are different.

Here are some recommendations that will help you negotiate salary:

Have a Proper Understanding of The Job: Make sure you understand the responsibilities, requirements, and expectations for the position.

Have Little Knowledge on PAYE:  This will help you determine your take home pay (net pay) at the end of the month. No knowledge about PAYE or Personal Income Tax will sometimes make you to negotiate wrongly.

Educate yourself on the company: Ensure you’ve asked and understand how the company reviews employee performance as well as the process for pay raises and promotions (which is a good discussion to have with the HR person during the telephone screening interview).

Arm yourself with salary information: Spend adequate time conducting research to find out average salaries and salary ranges for similar jobs in the industry, and location.

Decide on an appropriate salary range: Based on your research of similar jobs in your location and industry, come up with what you think would be an appropriate salary range for the job. Your target salary should fall within this salary range.

Know your strengths and differentiators: What makes you special and unique from everyone else? Conduct a personal SWOT analysis to understand your differentiators and the special skills or experiences that could make you a more valuable employee. Ensure you have these differentiators written down as this information can then be used as leverage to negotiate a higher starting salary with the hiring manager.

Define your “walk-away” point: Now that you’ve determined your target salary and an appropriate salary range, think about the minimum salary you’re willing to accept and why you’d accept that amount. Then, consider the reasons why you’d be unwilling to accept a lower amount. Write these reasons down, as you may need to pull them out for your discussion with the hiring manager during the salary negotiation. Don't be scared that you will not be called if you define "walk-away point" as you will be employed if the job is meant for you.

Practice your negotiation skills: Ask a friend or family member to play the role of a hiring manager who has offered you a salary that is lower than what you want. Then practice what you’ll say and how you’ll say it to persuade the hiring manager to increase their offer.

One of my young friends was recently given an offer in Lekki, Lagos after salary negotiation which was not confidently agreed by him. He told me about the offer and I asked him if he is ok with the offer but he response tells me he was not ok with it. I told him not to accept and he did. Few hours later, he was given another offer that he likes. So do not hesitate to confidently negotiate your salary.

Source: http://www.careersnig.com/2017/10/23/start-salary-negotiation-job-interview/

Most times in Nigeria there's hardly a way to know the salary structure of a company, as nothing is put online and everyone who works in the place is super secretive about their pay.

It is always difficult to know the pay structure of most firms in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, you should always try as much as possible to ask questions from workers already in the company. So that when it is time to negotiate, you can be well balanced.

But you need to get an get an interview first before negotiating salary. If your CV isn't great to attract employers, let me help you.

You can contact me here.

Goodluck to all applicants.