Looking for the first job after college? Here’s how to negotiate your salary for more cash in hand

Are you a fresher who is in a dilemma on how much salary you would get when you are placed at an organisation? Suppose you receive two offers for the job. The first company gives you Rs 2.5 lakh per annum whereas the other company gives a salary (CTC or cost-to-company) of Rs 4 lakh which further includes a signing bonus of Rs 1 lakh and a performance-linked incentive of up to Rs 1 lakh.  Which one would you choose?

To make your head clear about the salary components, let’s dig deeper to know which offer you should choose:

Bonuses 

IT companies and tech start-ups hire a lot of freshers. Picture this, a teamlease report revealed recently that companies’ main intention to hire fresh graduates from college surged by 7% in July-September 2021.

Sometimes, you choose the wrong option in a hurry and regret it later. It’s not only your mistake but the company’s mistake too as some of them don’t reveal the exact break-up details and just give the CTC numbers. The fresher gets impressed by the overall number which looks very attractive but he/she fails to understand that pay in hand will be quite lower.

Even experienced professionals also fall for this trap. It is therefore important for you to know that the salary offered does not include larger variable components as it reduces the in-hand pay.

Take-Home Pay

The most important thing for a fresher to focus on is the take-home salary which is the actual amount that will be credited to your account. Then you need to calculate your monthly spendings and then you can easily determine how much are you going to save post your regular spending.

Higher Basic Salary 

One of the key things to focus on is basic salary. It should be always higher as that would eventually define your future or retirement. It should be less than 50 percent of the total gross remuneration which will further make sure that a higher amount is credited every month in your employees’ provident fund account. Generally,  employers cut 12 percent of your basic (and dearness allowance, if applicable) as your contribution to EPF every month and it happens equally from the employer's side too.

Notably, you should not get swayed by the attractive CTC packages and must focus on the nitty gritty of the package so that you understand how much you are being paid in hand.

Even the Code of Wages promises that your basic salary should be at least 50 percent of your total CTC.

Insurance Benefits

Many companies come up with life and health insurance covers that are non-negotiable as you can’t bargain much on that. However, it is advised to not get confused with health covers and be clear to know what exactly it offers. Don’t get lured just by the amount that is being shown in your package. Know in detail. 

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