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Do you factor in bonus when negotiating a new job salary?

B

baydude

Senior member
If I've been consistently getting 20% bonus annually, how should I negotiate my next job's salary? Do I tell them my base + bonus and have that as my starting range?
 
yes

and I would not tell them what was base and what was bonus, I'd just give them a total amount range.

or if you're ICF you can say "nunya"
 
When they're asking how much I made, yes. When they're asking how much I want them to pay me, then no.

However, my bonuses aren't nearly as consistent as yours. I usually don't count it either way because it's not something that could be counted on.
 
Ns1 said:
yes

and I would not tell them what was base and what was bonus, I'd just give them a total amount range.

or if you're ICF you can say "nunya"
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Lulz. In this case, he is being asked the salary he is looking for, not what he is currently making. 🙂

OP, yes, add the 20% and another 5%-10% on top since you presumably want to leave for more money, right?
 
Not sure I will again. My current employer does this, and then the company as a whole couldn't meet the bonus goals. Just about every employee took a salary loss of between 6-10K this previous tax year.
 
it depends.

do I have my current job and I'm just looking for a new job for a pay bump? then yes, of course. I'd also factor in vacation time (eg: I might be willing to take a small paycut if a new company offered tons more vacation time)

am I unemployed and desperate for a job before the bank forecloses on my house and my car gets repossessed? then no, I probably wouldn't take it into account.
 
when your new job asks you how much you get paid, tell them it's none of their business.

and as much as companies want you to believe bonuses are 100% guaranteed, they aren't, which is why they are called bonuses.
 
What you make now is salary plus bonus. Do you want to make more, the same, or less? When it comes to pay its best to just lay it out, I make this much, get this bonus, and have this vacation level. You are not moving forward if they match salary and bonus and you lose a weeks vacation.

Awkward issues;

When your references are checked your old company may only verify a salary range, not bonus.

No matter what they say, your new company may not continue with any past bonus levels.
 
baydude said:
Of course, but would asking 25-30% more for new salary base be considered too high?
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You tell me -- I don't know where your compensation ranks for someone of your knowledge and experience (I don't need to know the number, but would you say it is fair currently?). If your current salary+bonus is fair compensation for your experience level, why leave unless you can get more money, perks, or benefits? Also, let me be clear -- do NOT tell them what you are currently making if they ask. What you currently make is irrelevant and can only be used against you -- no good can possibly come by revealing it (it is none of their business). What IS relevant is what you would like to make, which is entirely reasonable to tell them.

I was pressured to interview with a local company a few months ago and I thought "Aw, what the hell -- it is good interview practice if nothing else." It was a small company and I was pretty sure they wouldn't even come close to my pay, but I thought that maybe they'd have some sweet benefits or perks. I was wrong -- first of all, they talked about how everyone got 2 weeks of vacation to start. I told them that 2 weeks of vacation was a deal breaker and I wouldn't consider less than 3. They then showed me some book they created showing all the positions in the company, salary bands for each position, etc. The position they wanted me for would've been a 60% pay cut. I just laughed, thanked them for their time, and left despite their "sales job" of telling me how awesome their company was, etc. That's also when I found out that they only did $5 million in business per year, which is also too small to be worth my time. 🙂 The point of this story is to illustrate that you need to know exactly what you want and what you will settle for when interviewing.
 
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I factor in bonus and medical coverage cost from previous job. They do it to me so yes, I include it. This years review the gave me a piece of paper with salary, 401k contribution, medical and bonus. They lumped it all in one sum and basically said this was my salary, so, in the future, that sum will be my new starting salary.
 
ICF i would also LOL @ any place that gave me 2 weeks vacation. i'd LOL @ any place that wanted me and offered me less than what i have now, which is 22 days, and will be going up to 27 in 2 months.

well it's actually PTO, so sick + vacation i guess, but regardless, i can take either of them when i need to.

in fact, i think any company that has separate vacation/sick time would be a deal breaker for me because that pretty much means they are still stuck in the stone age benefits wise.
 
purbeast0 said:
ICF i would also LOL @ any place that gave me 2 weeks vacation. i'd LOL @ any place that wanted me and offered me less than what i have now, which is 22 days, and will be going up to 27 in 2 months.

well it's actually PTO, so sick + vacation i guess, but regardless, i can take either of them when i need to.

in fact, i think any company that has separate vacation/sick time would be a deal breaker for me because that pretty much means they are still stuck in the stone age benefits wise.
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I have it good now -- I pretty much don't have vacation limits right now so there is no way I could go to a place that only gives you 2 weeks of vacation. My wife's idiot friend went to a place that only gives her 5 days of PTO!
 
I get 3 weeks, but I always have to shuffle and take days at the end of the year because I never use more than 2. =( I also get virtually unlimited sick time (policy is literally: Don't abuse it) and the option to work from home (so I don't have to take a day when I have to stay home).

I can't imagine having more days off. Hell, even when I got 30 days off in the military and wasn't particularly happy at work, I still ended up selling back the maximum you could retain per year when I got out.
 
When they are asking how much you presently make, what they are really asking you is: How much will it take for you to join them?
So first figure that number out for yourself, knowing your present alternative, and the company.
If it will take them matching your bonus, include it. If it will take a 20% raise on top of that, include it as well. Then communicate it to them.
 
While bonuses are never guaranteed and they are part of variable comp - they are meaningful.

I'm on a 25% bonus plan - so if you don't have a Bonus plan then you will need to bump my salary to at least 75% of my Bonus amount.

I can afford to take a 25% reduction in my bonus/comp amount if I know the other 75% is guaranteed and it sucks getting your bonus once a year. Feels like you have to stay until that date or your leaving a lot of money on the table in the 2nd half of the year.

Negotiating benefits is a lot more difficult. I'm at 20-days PTO plus unlimited sick time (took 2-days last year) and would not expect a new employer to match that. Minimum of 15-days PTO plus a few sick is OK with me.

IIf you start nickel and diming over small numbers like healthcare costs and co-pays then your only reason to take a new job is more $ then I don't want you - we have a lot more to offer employees than just money and you will just jump ship once the next recruiter calls.
 
I include bonus and 6 weeks vacation. I can't have 6 weeks? Then I'll take 1 week of salary pay plus 20% added to base salary to balance it out.
 
Absolutely yes.

You have to factor in a bonus that quantifies the RSUs lost at the company you're leaving.
 
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