In this market, many job candidates are desperate for an offer -- any offer. But even if you are new to an industry or have been unemployed for a while, is it smart to blindly accept the first number that an employer throws out? I don't think so.

    Once you are inside an organization, raises are small and promotions are often slow in coming, so you have to do what you can to maximize your salary and benefits package right out of the gate. But how can you do this when the employer has the upper hand and hundreds of qualified candidates?

    Lesley Gibson, a 30-year-old senior health-care professional in Boston, was nervous about overstepping her bounds when interviewing for a new job at the depth of the recession. 'The offer was less than I was making before, so I felt I should ask for more,' she says. 'But the work environment was different from what I was used to, and I worried that they'd hold that against me.'

    Justify Your Pay Request

    Ms. Gibson decided on a specific number she'd be happy with and in order to justify her request, wrote out a list of ways she intended to bring value to the position.

    'When I called the hiring manager to discuss the offer, she countered with the salary I wanted,' Ms. Gibson says. 'The advance planning made me feel a lot more confident going into that conversation.'

    Midcareer professionals often think they have to accept a lower salary because their industry or job experience isn't a perfect fit. 'You have to get out of the mindset that you're starting over,' says Elaine Varelas, managing partner of Keystone Associates, a career-management firm. 'However, you will need to convince potential employers why you deserve a salary closer to mid or senior level than entry level.'

    This means considering what your years of work experience will add to the organization and what you can do that will bring in more money today. Because functional skills are easy to pick up but problem-solving ability and business acumen are best honed over time, employers often prefer more seasoned candidates.

    Know the Field

    When applying for a job in a new field, understand what entry-level and upper-level positions pay by checking sources like payscale.com and having frank conversations with individuals working in the industry.

    Experts like Ms. Varelas agree that you shouldn't be the first to mention salary in the interview, but if confronted about it directly, you shouldn't hesitate. 'Tell them you're looking for compensation in X range and, at the same time, ask about the range for that position,' she says.

    Once you receive an offer, evaluate it realistically. Be aware that public-sector organizations compensate differently than private-sector ones, and that you are unlikely to replace your past salary 100%.

    Also remember, however, that employers will expect negotiation and are likely to go up from the original number. If you're not entirely satisfied with the end result, see if the employer will agree to revisit compensation at six and 18 months of service.

    在就業(yè)市場(chǎng)上，許多求職者都急于找到一份工作，甚至任何工作都可以。但即使你是新進(jìn)入一個(gè)行業(yè)，或是失業(yè)已有一段時(shí)間，那是不是就應(yīng)該無(wú)條件接受雇主一開(kāi)始給你開(kāi)出的薪水呢？我對(duì)此不能茍同。

    一旦你正式開(kāi)始了工作，加薪幅度少得可憐，升職速度往往也慢如蝸牛，因此你必須在入職前盡最大努力提高你的工資和福利。但在雇主掌握主動(dòng)權(quán)，并有數(shù)百名合格的候選人可供選擇時(shí)，你怎么能做到這點(diǎn)呢？

    波士頓30歲的高級(jí)醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生專業(yè)人員吉布森（Lesley Gibson）就對(duì)在目前嚴(yán)重衰退的背景下，面試新工作時(shí)可能做出的越界行為感到緊張。她說(shuō)，這份職位的薪水趕不上我以前的工作，所以我覺(jué)得應(yīng)該多要一點(diǎn)。但是，這份工作的環(huán)境與我以往習(xí)慣的不同，我擔(dān)心他們會(huì)因此而拒絕我的要求。

    以理服人

    本文作者Alexandra Levit吉布森確定了一個(gè)她滿意的數(shù)字，為了說(shuō)明她的要求是合理的，她還列出了她打算給這個(gè)職位創(chuàng)造價(jià)值的一系列途徑。

    吉布森說(shuō)，當(dāng)我致電招聘經(jīng)理討論這份工作時(shí)，她不同意我提出的薪水要求。事先計(jì)劃讓我在交談時(shí)更有自信了。

    處于職業(yè)中期的專業(yè)人員常常認(rèn)為他們只能接受較低的薪酬，因?yàn)樗麄兊男袠I(yè)或工作經(jīng)歷并不十全十美。職業(yè)管理公司Keystone Associates的執(zhí)行合伙人威爾拉斯（Elaine Varelas）說(shuō)，你必須拋棄你是從頭開(kāi)始的思維。不過(guò)，你需要讓潛在的雇主相信，相對(duì)于入門水平，你為什么應(yīng)該得到更接近于中級(jí)或高級(jí)水平的工資。

    這意味著考慮你多年的工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)將給公司增添什么，你的哪些做法能夠創(chuàng)造更多的收入。由于技能本身很容易掌握，但解決問(wèn)題的能力和商業(yè)頭腦卻需要時(shí)間的磨練，雇主們一般都青睞經(jīng)驗(yàn)更豐富的候選人。

    知彼知己

    當(dāng)在新的領(lǐng)域求職時(shí)，可以通過(guò)payscale.com等網(wǎng)站或是與業(yè)內(nèi)人士開(kāi)誠(chéng)布公的談話了解入門級(jí)和更高一級(jí)職位的工資水平。

    威爾拉斯等專家認(rèn)為，在面試時(shí)你不應(yīng)該先提及薪水，但如果要直接面對(duì)它時(shí)，你也不要猶豫。她說(shuō)，告訴他們你希望的是某一個(gè)范圍內(nèi)的薪酬，與此同時(shí)，也要詢問(wèn)這個(gè)職位的工資范圍。

    在得到某份工作后，要對(duì)它做出現(xiàn)實(shí)的評(píng)價(jià)。應(yīng)該認(rèn)識(shí)到，公共部門的薪酬與私營(yíng)部門不同，而且也不可能完全同過(guò)去的工資一樣。

    不過(guò)，還要記住雇主預(yù)計(jì)將會(huì)出現(xiàn)討價(jià)還價(jià)，并可能在原有基礎(chǔ)上調(diào)高工資。如果你對(duì)最終結(jié)果并不完全滿意，可以看看雇主是否同意在任職6個(gè)月和18個(gè)月時(shí)再調(diào)整薪酬。