re: Millennials: Not Negotiating Your First Job Offer Will Cost You (up to $0.5M)

I work for a large pharma corp and we only get raises once a year or if we get another position in the company at a higher pay grade. I tried to negotiate when I went from hourly to salary based on time there and performance, they gave me the same offer and pretty much said take it out leave it.

I'm almost positive that if I tried to negotiate, they would have shown me the door . Everyone makes the exact same when you come into our company (as an engineer). Merit based raises come after about year 2. I don't think I've negotiated any raise yet. I do however have a good relationship with all of my managers and feel like they all have a pretty good idea of what I expect when I take on new positions. I usually set a target in my head. Last two rasies, they've met it or exceeded it. I think once you are in a position, let your manager know what you think you are worth and feel them out. If they don't think you are worth it, then convince them. Then they'll know, and you should get what you deserve.