Salary Negotiation Clinic
Learn how to negotiate your salary and benefits.
Everything is Negotiable
Be Your Own Agent
The Job You Want
Your Dream DealSalary History
Negotiating BenefitsNegotiating
Incentives
Raises and Promotions
The Performance Review
The New Salary Negotiation
Friday
The Job You Want
The Job You Want
If you're looking for the perfect job offer, you might as well stop right now: there's no such thing. But armed with the right information, you can get a good deal in a good place. Negotiating the job you want begins after you’ve learned how to be your own agent - after you’ve answered the tough personal questions and researched the company thoroughly.
Listen and answer first, ask questions later
Like the salary negotiation that follows it, the interview is a two-way process. The interviewer is gathering as much information about you as you are about the company. And a good interviewer will allow you to do most of the talking, so learn the difference between a quick question and one that requires a longer answer. In addition to listening to your answers, the interviewer may also be paying attention to how you budget your time in the interview.
In leading the conversation, the interviewer will cover essential information about the company, the responsibilities of the job, and other relevant material. Assume that the interviewer will answer most of your questions before you ask them, but ask your own questions at the end if anything is left hanging. Feel free to take notes and refer to them later.
Whatever you do, don’t talk about money until the prospective employer puts a job offer on the table. Until then, you have to convince them that you’re a hot commodity. Once they’re convinced, they will pay the fair amount it costs to get you. Let them make the first offer. Some interviewers will put pressure on you to disclose your current earnings, in the interest of determining whether they’re in the right range. As your own agent, you should just keep stalling - remember that you are never required to give a salary history. Money talk is the subject of Part 4.
Steer toward a better job offer
If, in the middle of an interview, you realize the job isn’t right for you, you have a choice. You could continue the interview, wasting both the interviewer’s and your time. Or you could cut the interview short, leaving halfway through, and going home wondering "what if."
There is a third alternative. You could always try to steer the conversation toward something closer to the job you want, or encourage the organization to restructure the job so that it will appeal to you more. You have nothing to lose, especially if your skills are highly in demand. Companies with an entrepreneurial culture are especially likely to be receptive to this kind of win-win maneuver.
Focus on your contribution
As the agent of your own career, keep your focus on the contribution you can make to an organization. In the selling stage of your conversations with a prospective employer, you have an opportunity to show how your work will help create more value for the company and its shareholders. Your contribution will stand out if, in addition to meeting the basic criteria for the position, you also have added skills or experiences. Examples include a well developed network of contacts, direct industry experience, and specific technical expertise.
Check the fit
You might want to do research to find out what a company is like. You can also see for yourself, once you get to the interview, whether the company walks the way it talks. One way to judge what kind of candidate a company is really looking for is to ask some pointed questions, like:
* What kind of management style is most rewarded in this environment?
* How can I be sure I'm achieving the company's objectives here, as well as my own?
* How do you view work/life balance?
* Why is this position open? What happened to the person who previously held the job?
* What is the turnover rate for the position or department?
* How does the company communicate to its members? How often?
* When can I expect a performance review? What is the process?
* What professional qualities are most valued in team members?
Turn them into a buyer
The goal of the interview process is to make the prospective employer conclude not only that they want to hire you, but that you are exactly the candidate they are looking for. Every answer that creates this impression - every point you score in an interview - makes you more valuable to that employer, and thus more expensive. The interview not only sells your candidacy, but also lays the groundwork for the salary negotiation.
Also check out our job offer assessing tool, The Job Assessor, in order to compare job offers.
If you're looking for the perfect job offer, you might as well stop right now: there's no such thing. But armed with the right information, you can get a good deal in a good place. Negotiating the job you want begins after you’ve learned how to be your own agent - after you’ve answered the tough personal questions and researched the company thoroughly.
Listen and answer first, ask questions later
Like the salary negotiation that follows it, the interview is a two-way process. The interviewer is gathering as much information about you as you are about the company. And a good interviewer will allow you to do most of the talking, so learn the difference between a quick question and one that requires a longer answer. In addition to listening to your answers, the interviewer may also be paying attention to how you budget your time in the interview.
In leading the conversation, the interviewer will cover essential information about the company, the responsibilities of the job, and other relevant material. Assume that the interviewer will answer most of your questions before you ask them, but ask your own questions at the end if anything is left hanging. Feel free to take notes and refer to them later.
Whatever you do, don’t talk about money until the prospective employer puts a job offer on the table. Until then, you have to convince them that you’re a hot commodity. Once they’re convinced, they will pay the fair amount it costs to get you. Let them make the first offer. Some interviewers will put pressure on you to disclose your current earnings, in the interest of determining whether they’re in the right range. As your own agent, you should just keep stalling - remember that you are never required to give a salary history. Money talk is the subject of Part 4.
Steer toward a better job offer
If, in the middle of an interview, you realize the job isn’t right for you, you have a choice. You could continue the interview, wasting both the interviewer’s and your time. Or you could cut the interview short, leaving halfway through, and going home wondering "what if."
There is a third alternative. You could always try to steer the conversation toward something closer to the job you want, or encourage the organization to restructure the job so that it will appeal to you more. You have nothing to lose, especially if your skills are highly in demand. Companies with an entrepreneurial culture are especially likely to be receptive to this kind of win-win maneuver.
Focus on your contribution
As the agent of your own career, keep your focus on the contribution you can make to an organization. In the selling stage of your conversations with a prospective employer, you have an opportunity to show how your work will help create more value for the company and its shareholders. Your contribution will stand out if, in addition to meeting the basic criteria for the position, you also have added skills or experiences. Examples include a well developed network of contacts, direct industry experience, and specific technical expertise.
Check the fit
You might want to do research to find out what a company is like. You can also see for yourself, once you get to the interview, whether the company walks the way it talks. One way to judge what kind of candidate a company is really looking for is to ask some pointed questions, like:
* What kind of management style is most rewarded in this environment?
* How can I be sure I'm achieving the company's objectives here, as well as my own?
* How do you view work/life balance?
* Why is this position open? What happened to the person who previously held the job?
* What is the turnover rate for the position or department?
* How does the company communicate to its members? How often?
* When can I expect a performance review? What is the process?
* What professional qualities are most valued in team members?
Turn them into a buyer
The goal of the interview process is to make the prospective employer conclude not only that they want to hire you, but that you are exactly the candidate they are looking for. Every answer that creates this impression - every point you score in an interview - makes you more valuable to that employer, and thus more expensive. The interview not only sells your candidacy, but also lays the groundwork for the salary negotiation.
Also check out our job offer assessing tool, The Job Assessor, in order to compare job offers.
Everything is Negotiable
Everything is Negotiable
It's all negotiable. Every new job - every performance review, in fact - is an opportunity to negotiate base salary, various kinds of bonuses, benefits, stock options, and other incentives that add to job satisfaction and provide financial security. Taking control of your job search before your job offer and conducting a smart search that takes into account more than just financial considerations can also lead to that elusive condition called happiness.
Are you prepared to negotiate for happiness? The negotiation process is an opportunity to define, communicate, and achieve what you want out of your job offer. But to get offered the right job that pays what you deserve, you'll need to do your homework. The first step in the
negotiation clinic is to understand the negotiation basics.
Negotiation requires gathering information, planning your approach, considering different alternatives and viewpoints, communicating clearly and specifically, and making decisions to reach your goal. In her book, Job Offer! A How-to Negotiation Guide, author Maryanne L. Wegerbauer describes how each party in a negotiation can fulfill specific needs and wants of the other party, a concept called "relative power." According to Wegerbauer, understanding your strengths and resources; being able to respond to the needs of the other party; and knowing your competition enable you to assess your bargaining position more accurately.
Learn the power factors
What is your power over the other side of the table? Relative power, Wegerbauer says, is a function of the following.
Business climate factors
- Overall state of the economy and the industry in which you compete
- Overall unemployment rate and the general employment picture
- Demand for industry- and profession-specific knowledge and skills
Company factors
- Profitability
- Position in the business cycle (startup, growing, stable, turnaround)
Hiring manager factors
- Urgency of the company's need to fill the position
- Decision-making authority
- Staffing budget
Applicant factors
- Other opportunities in the job offer
- Technical expertise, unique knowledge/skill set
- Resources (financial depth, networks, etc.)
- Level of competition/availability of other candidates
- Career risk of the job offer
Plan and communicate
A negotiation is composed of two major steps: planning (research and strategy) and communication (information exchange and agreement). In the planning step, get as much information as you can up front and, using both the company's written and unwritten signals, map your skills against what the company values.
Give it time
Timing is also important. Remember that the best time to negotiate is after a serious job offer has been made and before you have accepted it. Once you are clear about the initial offer, you can express interest and even enthusiasm, but ask for more time to consider the job offer. Wegerbauer suggests that this request is made "in light of the importance of the decision." Sometimes you can split up the negotiating session into two meetings: one to firm up the job design and responsibilities and the second to go over compensation and benefits. The key message here is not to make an impulsive decision. If they really want you, there's time.
Consider the alternatives
You should be prepared with a rationale for everything to strengthen your position. Counteroffers are an expected part of many negotiations, so be sure to remain flexible. Keep in mind that different companies can give negotiations more or less latitude. Smaller companies may be more flexible than large, bureaucratic companies. Unionized companies usually have very little room for individual negotiations.
Negotiate for a win-win
Remember that the negotiation is not about strong-arm tactics or win/lose. It is a two-way process where you and your prospective employer are each trying to get something you need. In a negotiation, you're both designing the terms of a transaction so that each of you will receive the maximum benefit from the final agreement.
Also check out our job offer assessing tool, The Job Assessor, in order to compare job offers.
It's all negotiable. Every new job - every performance review, in fact - is an opportunity to negotiate base salary, various kinds of bonuses, benefits, stock options, and other incentives that add to job satisfaction and provide financial security. Taking control of your job search before your job offer and conducting a smart search that takes into account more than just financial considerations can also lead to that elusive condition called happiness.
Are you prepared to negotiate for happiness? The negotiation process is an opportunity to define, communicate, and achieve what you want out of your job offer. But to get offered the right job that pays what you deserve, you'll need to do your homework. The first step in the
negotiation clinic is to understand the negotiation basics.
Negotiation requires gathering information, planning your approach, considering different alternatives and viewpoints, communicating clearly and specifically, and making decisions to reach your goal. In her book, Job Offer! A How-to Negotiation Guide, author Maryanne L. Wegerbauer describes how each party in a negotiation can fulfill specific needs and wants of the other party, a concept called "relative power." According to Wegerbauer, understanding your strengths and resources; being able to respond to the needs of the other party; and knowing your competition enable you to assess your bargaining position more accurately.
Learn the power factors
What is your power over the other side of the table? Relative power, Wegerbauer says, is a function of the following.
Business climate factors
- Overall state of the economy and the industry in which you compete
- Overall unemployment rate and the general employment picture
- Demand for industry- and profession-specific knowledge and skills
Company factors
- Profitability
- Position in the business cycle (startup, growing, stable, turnaround)
Hiring manager factors
- Urgency of the company's need to fill the position
- Decision-making authority
- Staffing budget
Applicant factors
- Other opportunities in the job offer
- Technical expertise, unique knowledge/skill set
- Resources (financial depth, networks, etc.)
- Level of competition/availability of other candidates
- Career risk of the job offer
Plan and communicate
A negotiation is composed of two major steps: planning (research and strategy) and communication (information exchange and agreement). In the planning step, get as much information as you can up front and, using both the company's written and unwritten signals, map your skills against what the company values.
Give it time
Timing is also important. Remember that the best time to negotiate is after a serious job offer has been made and before you have accepted it. Once you are clear about the initial offer, you can express interest and even enthusiasm, but ask for more time to consider the job offer. Wegerbauer suggests that this request is made "in light of the importance of the decision." Sometimes you can split up the negotiating session into two meetings: one to firm up the job design and responsibilities and the second to go over compensation and benefits. The key message here is not to make an impulsive decision. If they really want you, there's time.
Consider the alternatives
You should be prepared with a rationale for everything to strengthen your position. Counteroffers are an expected part of many negotiations, so be sure to remain flexible. Keep in mind that different companies can give negotiations more or less latitude. Smaller companies may be more flexible than large, bureaucratic companies. Unionized companies usually have very little room for individual negotiations.
Negotiate for a win-win
Remember that the negotiation is not about strong-arm tactics or win/lose. It is a two-way process where you and your prospective employer are each trying to get something you need. In a negotiation, you're both designing the terms of a transaction so that each of you will receive the maximum benefit from the final agreement.
Also check out our job offer assessing tool, The Job Assessor, in order to compare job offers.
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