Salary Negotiation Tips For Everyone
Hi Everyone,
I decided to start a new thread to share some thoughts, advice and guidance on salary negotiations and juggling multiple offers/interviews for everyone, in response to an earlier thread. Read if this interests you but please note, I do not intend on providing further advice and comments on here as I do lead a busy life.
Thanks are appreciated.
Disclaimer: I am in no way a certified expert or trainer - speaking on personal experiences and own education. This thread is intended only to serve as a guide. While the topic of discussion is more suited for people with a lot of experience, many of these concepts can be applied to people with only very little experience - this is dependent on the value you bring to the table. For fresh grads, these concepts can also be used as well, considering what school you are from, what designations you have, GPA, co-op or internship experience, etc.
My Credentials (as of 2017): Managing Director at a Global Consulting Firm with an income in the top 1% of earners in Canada.
Original Thread:
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/juggling ... s-1054977/
Some other things you're going have to realize is that if you approach them NOW, after they have presented an offer to you, your power to negotiate is not very strong. When someone first approaches you, or when you first interview with them, you should always tell them up front that you are considering other options but you are very interested in this particular opportunity - which is TRUE (you're not just shopping at 1 store now are you?). As the process continues, be sure to offer them the status of your other discussions with competing companies. All this sets the stage for you to leverage this information later on, if you find yourself in a negotiation. Going to them NOW makes it look like you are bluffing - which in many cases, people try to do in a weak attempt to squeeze more money out of the employer. Most employers will budge a little bit - others will stand firm stating this is the most they are willing to pay. Employers recognize it is very common for candidates to try and negotiate for the best they can get. Of course, if the employer already came in at your expectations, then you really should not negotiate any further. There are other leading indicators that you can do, to create a sense of urgency and a sense of demand for your particular skill sets. Of course, this can only be *sold* to prospective employers if you have an impressive resume that makes it believeable that you will be in a situation where you will get competing offers. Sure, you can always tell the employer last minute that the "situation" has changed but it lacks a lot of punch when you show up last minute like that - even if that is the truth.
If you are indeed a superstar, then getting multiple offers will come naturally anyway - it's just how well you communicate that process to prospective employers, so they can up their bids. When entering negotiations, you will be expected at some point to give up your position - how well you do this is going to depend on how much you're willing to gamble, take risk, and how much you're willing to walk away from it - it's going to be a combination of all of these.
My advice to you? Because you failed to communicate about the potential for competing offers to come your way (i.e. earlier tell them you are in the final stages of interview already but no firm offer yet), and because you did not lay the ground work earlier on in terms of numbers, it's going to be a LOT harder to raise the salary at this late in the game - the companies you have applied for have taken the first position, so you being in the second position is going have to fight hard to raise that number. The best you can hope for at this point, is a small, slight increase from the initial offer, if any.
Future advice? Be the first to do position taking - a lot tougher to do but with salary resources out there on the internet (e.g. glassdoor, careerbliss, etc), and you knowing the industry, the market, the demand, the appetite for the company and knowing what you're worth, it's all going to come down to an art and a skill.
There's a lot of misconceptions about what is out there on the internet about salary negotiations - what you read is true but what you don't read about is when to take the first position. Yes, you never reveal your current salary nor should you ever reveal your salary expectations - not early anyway. But there will come a point, futher down the line, where someone is going have to start talking numbers. When that happens, you take the first position by throwing a number out there. Now, there are other times when you may want to throw the number out there first, early on - Only do this if you are entering a new negotiation, and you already have talked numbers with another company and are expecting an offer soon. This gives you an extremely strong position to start with and you'll need to communicate how quickly that company will need to turn things around. Yes, companies want time to shop but if they find the right candidate, they can turn things around fairly quickly - regardless of the size of the company of their geographical make up. Of course, in this situation, you want to throw a higher number first, and see if they bite. This of course, is a lot more risky because it's sending a message that "if you want me, you're going have to fight for me". Consider whether or not that company can just as easily drop you and look for someone else - or if you are considered a rare commodity and that company really wants to hire you or not. Is the second company the one you REALLY want to work for? In that case, you may not want to take such a risky bet.
So, after all your ground work is laid out and you are presented with multiple offers - the one thing you're going have to be concerned with is the deadlines of each. From there, it comes down to the opportunity, the base salaries of each, the total compensation package, benefits, vacation, etc... by now it's just a matter of choosing which offer.
What a lot of people don't realize, is that the negotiation process should occur before the offer - not after. By the time the offer comes, it's pretty damn late to do much about it. But if you've laid the ground work and have negotiated some numbers earlier on already, and you get multiple offers that you're juggling with, you can go back to the one company you want to go with and throw a counter offer and state the grounds for it. Leverage the salary offers that you are getting from other companies - be sure not to expose the company name if you were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before offers are presented to you.
Hopefully, I've given everyone who's taken the time to read this a lot of food for thought.
I decided to start a new thread to share some thoughts, advice and guidance on salary negotiations and juggling multiple offers/interviews for everyone, in response to an earlier thread. Read if this interests you but please note, I do not intend on providing further advice and comments on here as I do lead a busy life.
Thanks are appreciated.
Disclaimer: I am in no way a certified expert or trainer - speaking on personal experiences and own education. This thread is intended only to serve as a guide. While the topic of discussion is more suited for people with a lot of experience, many of these concepts can be applied to people with only very little experience - this is dependent on the value you bring to the table. For fresh grads, these concepts can also be used as well, considering what school you are from, what designations you have, GPA, co-op or internship experience, etc.
My Credentials (as of 2017): Managing Director at a Global Consulting Firm with an income in the top 1% of earners in Canada.
Original Thread:
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/juggling ... s-1054977/
I've handled many salary negotiations in the past including juggling between multiple high profile offers. To successfully negotiate a higher salary you're going have to know some concepts of negotiation - i.e. what is their position and what is your position. What is at stake here? Are you being considered for a senior level position? Is the market in high demand with someone with your specific experience and skillsets? Is it hard to find someone like yourself? Is the employer willing to do what it takes to get superstars into their organization? Are you willing to walk away if the offer falls below expectations? Is the position that you're applying for have a very high value market demand? Have you already given up valuable information in terms of what you make right now and/or what your salary expectations are? You also have to know when to expose your salary figures (i.e. what you're making or what you're expecting - different strategies) depending on the type of negotation you want to do. There's also position taking as well - who comes up with the first number - remember, it's easier to come down on a number than to go up a number. One important factor is, knowing what the fair market value is for the industry you are applying for and where the company stands in terms of paying that value or higher. These are just some of the things you're going have to consider when negotiating for a higher salary - you have to look at what is the appetite for negotiation here.rofl wrote: ↑It seems everytime I'm looking for a job, I go through a dry spell for a month or two. Then all the offers and interviews come at once. Right now, I have 2 offers on the table and I have 3 or 4 interviews on the go. I know I should just settle on one but both offers are just what I would expect interms of salary. How should I leverage these offers/interviews to get a high salary without the offer getting pulled back?
Some other things you're going have to realize is that if you approach them NOW, after they have presented an offer to you, your power to negotiate is not very strong. When someone first approaches you, or when you first interview with them, you should always tell them up front that you are considering other options but you are very interested in this particular opportunity - which is TRUE (you're not just shopping at 1 store now are you?). As the process continues, be sure to offer them the status of your other discussions with competing companies. All this sets the stage for you to leverage this information later on, if you find yourself in a negotiation. Going to them NOW makes it look like you are bluffing - which in many cases, people try to do in a weak attempt to squeeze more money out of the employer. Most employers will budge a little bit - others will stand firm stating this is the most they are willing to pay. Employers recognize it is very common for candidates to try and negotiate for the best they can get. Of course, if the employer already came in at your expectations, then you really should not negotiate any further. There are other leading indicators that you can do, to create a sense of urgency and a sense of demand for your particular skill sets. Of course, this can only be *sold* to prospective employers if you have an impressive resume that makes it believeable that you will be in a situation where you will get competing offers. Sure, you can always tell the employer last minute that the "situation" has changed but it lacks a lot of punch when you show up last minute like that - even if that is the truth.
If you are indeed a superstar, then getting multiple offers will come naturally anyway - it's just how well you communicate that process to prospective employers, so they can up their bids. When entering negotiations, you will be expected at some point to give up your position - how well you do this is going to depend on how much you're willing to gamble, take risk, and how much you're willing to walk away from it - it's going to be a combination of all of these.
My advice to you? Because you failed to communicate about the potential for competing offers to come your way (i.e. earlier tell them you are in the final stages of interview already but no firm offer yet), and because you did not lay the ground work earlier on in terms of numbers, it's going to be a LOT harder to raise the salary at this late in the game - the companies you have applied for have taken the first position, so you being in the second position is going have to fight hard to raise that number. The best you can hope for at this point, is a small, slight increase from the initial offer, if any.
Future advice? Be the first to do position taking - a lot tougher to do but with salary resources out there on the internet (e.g. glassdoor, careerbliss, etc), and you knowing the industry, the market, the demand, the appetite for the company and knowing what you're worth, it's all going to come down to an art and a skill.
There's a lot of misconceptions about what is out there on the internet about salary negotiations - what you read is true but what you don't read about is when to take the first position. Yes, you never reveal your current salary nor should you ever reveal your salary expectations - not early anyway. But there will come a point, futher down the line, where someone is going have to start talking numbers. When that happens, you take the first position by throwing a number out there. Now, there are other times when you may want to throw the number out there first, early on - Only do this if you are entering a new negotiation, and you already have talked numbers with another company and are expecting an offer soon. This gives you an extremely strong position to start with and you'll need to communicate how quickly that company will need to turn things around. Yes, companies want time to shop but if they find the right candidate, they can turn things around fairly quickly - regardless of the size of the company of their geographical make up. Of course, in this situation, you want to throw a higher number first, and see if they bite. This of course, is a lot more risky because it's sending a message that "if you want me, you're going have to fight for me". Consider whether or not that company can just as easily drop you and look for someone else - or if you are considered a rare commodity and that company really wants to hire you or not. Is the second company the one you REALLY want to work for? In that case, you may not want to take such a risky bet.
So, after all your ground work is laid out and you are presented with multiple offers - the one thing you're going have to be concerned with is the deadlines of each. From there, it comes down to the opportunity, the base salaries of each, the total compensation package, benefits, vacation, etc... by now it's just a matter of choosing which offer.
What a lot of people don't realize, is that the negotiation process should occur before the offer - not after. By the time the offer comes, it's pretty damn late to do much about it. But if you've laid the ground work and have negotiated some numbers earlier on already, and you get multiple offers that you're juggling with, you can go back to the one company you want to go with and throw a counter offer and state the grounds for it. Leverage the salary offers that you are getting from other companies - be sure not to expose the company name if you were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before offers are presented to you.
Hopefully, I've given everyone who's taken the time to read this a lot of food for thought.
Last edited by Coke355mL on Jul 1st, 2011 10:01 am, edited 1 time in total.