FIFTEEN RULES FOR NEGOTIATING A JOB OFFER: Job-offer negotiations are rarely easy. Consider three typical scenarios: You’re in a third-round interview for a job at a company you like, but a firm you admire even more just invited you in. Suddenly the first hiring manager cuts to the chase: “As you know, we’re considering many candidates. We like you, and we hope the feeling is mutual. If we make you a competitive offer, will you accept it?” You’ve received an offer for a job you’ll enjoy, but the salary is lower than you think you deserve. You ask your potential boss whether she has any flexibility. “We typically don’t hire people with your background, and we have a different culture here,” she responds. “This job isn’t just about the money. Are you saying you won’t take it unless we increase the pay?” You’ve been working happily at your company for three years, but a recruiter has been calling, insisting that you could earn much more elsewhere. You don’t want to quit, but you expect to be compensated fairly, so you’d like to ask for a raise. Unfortunately, budgets are tight, and your boss doesn’t react well when people try to leverage outside offers. What do you do? Each of these situations is difficult in its own way, and emblematic of how complex job negotiations can be. As a professor who studies and teaches the subject, I frequently advise current and former students on navigating this terrain. Every situation is unique, but some strategies, tactics and principles can help you address many of the issues people face in negotiating with employers. Here are 15 rules to guide you in these discussions. Rules Don’t underestimate the importance of likability: People are going to fight for you only if they like you. This is about more than being polite; it’s about managing some inevitable tensions in negotiation, such as asking for what you deserve without seeming greedy, pointing out deficiencies in the offer without seeming petty, and being persistent without being a nuisance. Help them understand why you deserve what you’re requesting: Don’t just state your desire; explain precisely why it’s justified. Make it clear they can get you : People won’t want to expend political or social capital to get approval for a strong or improved offer if they suspect that at the end of the day, you’re still going to say, “No, thanks.” If you’re planning to mention all the options you have as leverage, you should balance that by saying why — or under what conditions — you would be happy to forgo those options and accept an offer. Understand the person across the table: Companies don’t negotiate; people do. And before you can influence the person sitting opposite you, you have to understand her. What are her interests and individual concerns? For example, negotiating with a prospective boss is very different from negotiating with an HR representative. You can perhaps afford to pepper the latter with questions regarding details of the offer, but you don’t want to annoy someone who may become your manager with seemingly petty demands. Understand their constraints: They may think you deserve everything you want. But they still may not give it to you. Why? Because they may have certain ironclad constraints, such as salary caps, that no amount of negotiation can loosen. Your job is to figure out where they’re flexible and where they’re not. If, for example, you’re talking to a large company that’s hiring 20 similar people at the same time, it probably can’t give you a higher salary than everyone else. But it may be flexible on start dates, vacation time and signing bonuses. Be prepared for tough questions: Many job candidates have been hit with difficult questions they were hoping not to face. If you’re unprepared, you might say something inelegantly evasive or, worse, untrue. My advice is to never lie in a negotiation. It frequently comes back to harm you, but even if it doesn’t, it’s unethical. The other risk is that, faced with a tough question, you may try too hard to please and end up losing leverage. Focus on the questioner’s intent, not on the question: If, despite your preparation, someone comes at you from an angle you didn’t expect, remember this simple rule: It’s not the question that matters but the questioner’s intent. An employer who asks whether you would immediately accept an offer tomorrow may simply be interested in knowing if you are genuinely excited about the job, not trying to box you into a corner. If you don’t like the question, don’t assume the worst. Consider the whole deal: Focus on the value of the entire deal: responsibilities, location, travel, flexibility in work hours, opportunities for growth and promotion, perks, support for continued education, and so forth. You may decide to chart a course that pays less handsomely now but will put you in a stronger position later. Negotiate multiple issues simultaneously, not serially: If someone makes you an offer and you’re legitimately concerned about parts of it, you’re usually better off proposing all your changes at once. Don’t say, “The salary is a bit low. Could you do something about it?” and then, once she’s worked on it, come back with “Thanks. Now here are two other things I’d like.” Don’t negotiate just to negotiate: If something is important to you, absolutely negotiate. But don’t haggle over every little thing. Think through the timing of offers: If you want to consider multiple jobs, it’s useful to have all your offers arrive close together. So don’t be afraid to slow down the process with one potential employer or to speed it up with another, in order to have all your options laid out at one time. Avoid, ignore, or downplay ultimatums of any kind: Avoid giving ultimatums. My personal approach when at the receiving end of an ultimatum is to simply ignore it because at some point the person who gave it might realise that it could scuttle the deal and will want to take it back. He can do that much more easily without losing face if it’s never been discussed. Remember, they’re not out to get you: Tough salary negotiations or long delays in the confirmation of a formal offer can make it seem that potential employers have it in for you. But if you’re far enough along in the process, these people like you and want to continue liking you. Stay in touch, but be patient. And if you can’t be patient, don’t call up in frustration or anger. Stay at the table: Over time, interests and constraints change. When someone says no, what he’s saying is “No — given how I see the world today.” A month later that same person may be able to do something he couldn’t do before, whether it’s extending an offer deadline or increasing your salary. Maintain a sense of perspective: You can negotiate like a pro and still lose out if the negotiation you’re in is the wrong one. Ultimately, your satisfaction hinges less on getting the negotiation right and more on getting the job right. Experience and research demonstrate that the industry and function in which you choose to work, your career trajectory and the day-to-day influences on you (such as bosses and co-workers) can be vastly more important to satisfaction than the particulars of an offer. Deepak Malhotra is the Eli Goldston Professor of Business Administration in the negotiations, organisations and markets unit at Harvard Business School. (COURTESY-THE HINDU,14th May,2014)
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 07:29:44 +0000
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