Be Ready to Job Negotiate Your Job Offer to Get What You Want

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Photo Credit: US Mission Geneva

 

Now that you have survived all the interviews, the company may make you an offer. It is time to prepare to negotiate your compensation.

Many people are afraid of negotiation because it is unfamiliar, it can be intimidating, and they don’t want to lose the offer. Consider these points:

By the time you get here in the hiring process they want you, which gives you leverage.
It costs the hiring company money to get you to this point in the process, therefore if they lose you they are throwing money away.
Companies expect negotiation so they have a range in mind, even though they will offer you single dollar figure.
The hiring manager wants you to be satisfied in your role so you can use your skills to the best of your ability, and if you feel you are underpaid you will not last long there.

Negotiation is not a winner take all situation; it is a give and take in an agreement. When negotiating, you are not “win”, you are trying to get what you are worth. Ignore what you see on TV about negotiation. It is nothing like this.

In a previous job interview, I negotiated an extra week of vacation and $2,000 more than what they originally offered (that is a 12% increase in income from my last job) in a down economy. I pushed them and they pushed back. It was not contentious at all, just firm discussions.

When I went to work for the company there is no mention of my salary or the negotiation and I am good friends with my manager whom I negotiated with. Everybody is happy.

2 Replies on “Be Ready to Job Negotiate Your Job Offer to Get What You Want

  1. In my past, I’ve been that guy behind the scenes making salary decisions for the team I was building. Obviously employers always go in low. Don’t be afraid to negotiate, as long as it’s done respectfully and intelligently.

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