This is our fourth and final post of our four part series on how to land your first data analyst job. In this section we will talk about things you should consider as you negotiate and determine whether you take a role or not. Some of things below you can negotiate, some you cannot, but you should consider all of them before saying yes or no. If you would like to read about the other phases please see the links below.
Negotiation Phase – See Below
What It Is:
This is the fun part! Once a company decides to make you an offer you’ll have another chance to dig deeper into the day to day if needed and hear about the pay and benefits. This is you chance to ask for more money, vacation days, bonus amounts, etc..
Key Considerations (For You):
Base Pay & Bonuses: Not much here that isn’t applicable to any job. You will likely be able to negotiate your base pay to some extent, bonus amounts may be harder but still worth an ask. I would suggest at least asking for a bit more on your base even if you are happy with it as they probably left room for negotiation and even if not they are unlikely to take back their offer just because you ask. If you are unsure if the pay fits the market you will need to do some research or you can setup time with me to discuss.
Vacation Days & Other Perks: Again not much here that isn’t applicable to other jobs. I would suggest negotiating your vacation days as well, especially if you are not right out of school. If not you may be taking a vacation day cut to move. The one thing that I would ask about here is off hours work. Will there be any and if so how does that affect the rest of your work week? Sometimes companies are not the best about truly making up for the time you spend outside of the 8-5. Ask about this, if they aren’t willing to give you back the time in some capacity I would be hesitant about taking the offer.
Day to Day Responsibilities: This is something that you should learn more and more about as you go through the interview process. What a job description says on paper rarely gives enough information to truly paint the picture of what your day will look like. Be sure that the day to day is something you can live with, if not you won’t excel in the role and it will delay your career further.
Growth Potential: This is a big one. Analytics is growing rapidly and with it bigger responsibilities are coming earlier in careers. Whether that be raises, promotions, leadership responsivities, or just greater responsibility in general make sure you understand what opportunities will exist. Smaller companies will likely let you see a wider variety of responsibilities earlier but probably won’t have as much growth potential. You can’t just think about what taking the job means for your pay tomorrow, you have to also consider what it means years down the road.
Learning Potential: Similar to growth potential this one will affect your long term earnings. If you are going somewhere using cutting edge technology and techniques then you’ll be learning a lot (while also dealing with a lot of ambiguity) but also setting yourself up for bigger pay days later. If the technology is older and more established it will be easier to learn with more resources to help you, meaning less risk of failure but lower earning potential down the road.
How to Get Through:
If you have an offer then you are basically through, it’s just up to you to determine if you want the thing. This can often be just as hard if not harder than getting the offer. There are so many unknowns that it can quickly turn into paralysis by analysis. The key is to be clear and honest with yourself about what is important to you. While it’s tempting to say that money is the main thing that thinking can take you down a road you don’t like. Make sure you know at least 2-3 other things that are important besides money so that you can make the best choice. The great thing about these roles is that they almost all pay great, so even if you don’t end up with the highest paying offer you are almost certainly still getting a wage that is more than comfortable.
Thank you for reading this series about getting your first data analyst job. Hopefully you came away with something that can help you in your career. Also please consider taking advantage of our free tools and services. They are 100% free with no obligation and can be real assets as you begin your job search.