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Graduates considering job offers should "never take the first salary offered", according to one finance expert.

New graduates may well be so grateful to get a salaried job that haggling over the details is the last thing on their mind.

However, as reported in Money Week, Merryn Somerset Webb thinks that job applicants could benefit from doing a bit of research.

She recently advised graduates and other employees keen to increase their wages to research how much they should be earning in their field and relative to their experience.

Ms Somerset Webb said: "Be objective. Money has nothing to do with how much you feel you are worth. It's all about an objective view of your market worth."

She also suggested that when graduates and other job hunters are first offered a position, they should take the bull by the horns.

Ms Somerset Webb explained: "Begin as you mean to go on. When you get offered a job never take the first salary offered.

"Try to bump it up a bit instead. The higher a base you start from the faster your salary will rise.

"Start high and wait to be argued down."

Graduates should also take advantage of the benefits of good timing.

Research from Office Angels last year suggested that a Wednesday afternoon was the best time to ask for more money, as managers would be more receptive in the middle of the week.

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