CAREER TIPS
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.
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.
Your dream deal
What’s in a dream deal? It’s that
combination of statistics and characteristics
that, taken together, make up your dream job.
- Learn the typical range of base compensation for your dream position in your industry, in your area.
- Find your fabulousness factor: where your compensation ought to fall within the market range, based on the unique contribution you can make.
- What benefits, bonuses, stock options, and other compensation elements are appropriate for someone of your background and qualifications?
- Find out all favorable starting logistics including relocation expenses, start date, a workspace or office that’s ready for you on your first day (a network account, business cards, a name plate, and nobody else’s "stuff" to inherit), orientation, training, etc.
- Get adequate time to consider an offer.
- Know your happiness factor: the time you need to have a life, the opportunity to be your fabulous self.
The company’s dream deal
Although the company may seem to be a lot
bigger than you are, when you sit down to talk
about salary, it’s usually just one-on-one.
And you’re not the only one who wants to come
away a winner - be assured that the company
knows the elements of its own dream deal. It’s
likely to look something like this.
- The spreadsheet factor: The company is probably aiming for 90 percent of the midpoint of the salary grade for the position in its salary grid, or less if possible. If it’s an early-stage company, it may want to pay less in cash compensation and more in non-cash compensation such as stock options.
- A standard benefits package for the salary grade.
- Nondisclosure agreements.
- A start date of tomorrow.
- The productivity factor: a quick-and-easy process that gets this job crossed off the task list.
The reality deal
In case you can’t get your dream deal, you
need a fallback position: your reality deal.
This is the minimum you are willing to accept
and still be part of the company. Be polite
but firm about your requirements; remember
that the company has a reality deal too. But
the minute a company decides it wants you,
your price goes up. They have a position to
fill. And it’s a seller’s market.
Be the dream candidate
To the company, the dream candidate has
many ideal qualities, including the ability to
negotiate. If a salary negotiation is
successful, both parties will be on the same
side at the end. Your employer - or
prospective employer - will want you to be a
tough negotiator on its behalf, so it expects
you to negotiate firmly for yourself. So
prepare thoroughly. Walk into the negotiation
like a winner. And understand the criteria
that would make a dream outcome for both
parties. If you can demonstrate in monetary
terms how the extra qualities you bring to the
table are worth more to the company, you are
on the way to negotiating a win-win.
No feelings
Niceness doesn’t help in a negotiation.
Don’t be mean, but keep a flat, unemotional
tone during the talks, to avoid giving away
critical information about your reaction to
what is being said. This is what they mean
when they say, "Never let them see you sweat."
Entrepreneurs have been known to hold out for
a little more from venture capitalists when
their electricity was about to be turned off -
a tactic that wouldn't work if the investors
could actually tell that the lights were
growing dim. Negotiate as if you have nothing
to lose.
No issues, no rush, no nothing
It is relevant to you, but not to the
company, that you have higher mortgage
payments, more dependents, or just "deserve"
more than other candidates. Give business
reasons - and business reasons only - to
back up your bid.
Be prepared to walk away if you have to, and
make sure that comes across. If you are
pressured during a negotiation, either
ignore it or directly question it.