3 Things You Need When Negotiating A Job Offer (and 1 Thing You Don’t)
By: Robert Merrill
Tags: Interviewing, Recruiting, Negotiations

I was in on a discussion about offer-negotiation the other day at work, and some things came to mind I thought about sharing.

First of all, setting the scene, negotiations is highly stressful. Job changes by themselves are stressful enough, but the fear of rejection or of negative opinions being formed by your soon-to-be boss can be overwhelming.

So, here’s three things you need to have ready in order to negotiate well in your job offer process.

A Cool Head.

Taking a new job is like marriage, not dating. Things get really serious really fast. Gone are the conversations about the food in the cafe and the new, modern work environment or flexible time off package. Now it’s time to talk some long-term turkey, and you’re best not to flirt with this unless you have your head screwed on tight. Cooler heads prevail as the stakes get higher in any situation.Combat this by remembering why you started looking for a job anyway? Or, better stated, what are your key drivers for why you would or wouldn’t take a job?

Interestingly, many people don’t take the time to list why they want a new job. They just go with their gut on it which, like flirting, isn’t the best way to keep things straight when its time to make real decisions.List out your reasons why you would/wouldn’t take a job andprioritize them. You should have some “Must-Haves”, “Important”, and “Plusses” as well as some “manageables”, “Prefer Nots” and some “Deal-Breakers” in the mix.Having these items handy in the negotiation phase will help you. For example, if flexible schedules is more important to you than base-salary, you can use that as a negotiation point (aka “leverage”). If so-called long-term compensation (most-often, this is stock but could be deferred cash compensation) is more important to you than a cash bonus every year, perhaps you can get a bigger stock grant by leaving your bonus money on the table?You may or may not get all your wishlist items in your new job (hint: you probably won’t), but it’s good to be exactly clear on why you want the new gig and what your deal-breakers are otherwise you might find yourself in that new company’s modern-slash-slightly-retro cafe eating your grass-fed beef burger, scratching at your neck and hating yourself for being duped into working in a place with Turtleneck-Tuesdays… again! A Realization that You Are (Pretty) Safe*

Negotiating pros will tell you that youneedto be willing to “Walk Away” from an offer before you can fully negotiate with gusto. While I agree with this — andyoushould be willing to walk away if it goes sour — there is one key thing for you to keep in mind:The company already offered you a job at a certain level. They’re not really going to rescind the offer just because you asked for more here or there. The offer that they have given you stands. All you’re doing is trying to bend the finer points of the offer in your favor, if you can.Anyone who has been on the other end of a job-offer process at a company will tell you that there is usually a lengthy process to go through to get the job offer to the point they will talk to you about it.Think of all the things they’ve done on your behalf already:

Companies rarely give their very best offer right out of the gate. A little negotiation is often expected of you. Just don’t be a jerk or crazy about it.*

They have probably interviewed 5–10+ other people and you’ve survived all that.

They have negotiated internally and secured budget to hire you instead of any of the other candidates or any other alternative.

They are trying desperately to keep their heads above water with their day job and are dying to know if you will help them fill the gaps.

Know Your Target and Minimum Salary Needs

This sounds funny, but so many times I ask people what they want to earn, and it’s as if this is the first time they have thought of it.You should know your target earnings and your minimum earnings cold. And be able to say it as simply as repeating your first name.Your new company will likely try to get the offer to fall in the range that you tell them. So, be ready for the offer to fall in the mark there somewhere. If you don’t give them a range, then the sky is the limit on what they might offer you (and, they usually won’t err on the side of “too much money”). What should your target be? Well, if the job is like your current job, then perhaps a 5% raise would be nice over your current pay. If it’s a level up or will be significantly challenging, try 10%.

And the one thing you should stop doing?

Stop Thinking “the Pie is Fixed”

Margaret Neale, a professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford knows how to negotiate. She says this is one of several pitfalls to avoid in negotiations.It means that you should stop thinking all of the parts of compensation (monetary and otherwise) on the table are the only pieces available to negotiate with. It means that, if you know what you really want (see the number-one above), you can ask for those things with confidence even if they are not explicitly outlined in the offer. Do this with tact and you may find them added to the pile, or better, realize that they’re already part of the offer — just implied (and they forgot to tell you).

Summary: All negotiations are really a dance of one kind or another. You need to know yourself and know your audience and then use both those “excellent people skills” and “verbal and written communication skills” I keep reading about on your resume to go out and make it happen!

Good luck!

By the way, it’s known by now that women don’t ask for more in their negotiations. However, if they are told that the offer is negotiable, a study from the University of Chicago shows that women negotiate well when they realize it’s allowed. And here’s the rub — it’s always allowed. If they tell you “no, this is our final offer”, then you should proceed with caution, but otherwise, ask away!

* Note that I have rescinded offers after they have been presented because of the negotiations going completely awry. Normally, these situations had something akin to creepy-stalkerish behavior, however, not negotiations between rational adults.

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