Just as finding the job meant learning about yourself, the company and the job, and persuasive communications, to negotiate effectively you'll need information about yourself, this employer, and the negotiating game. The good news is that now you have a head start. Obviously, you're persuasive. You've convinced this employer to meet you and offer you a job. Negotiating is a specialized form of persuasive communications. In both cases, you're convincing others to do what you would like them to do.
The word 'negotiations' sounds intimidating, evoking images of silver-haired diplomats in pin-striped suits, conferring around a massive table in an elegant salon. But negotiating, like persuading, isn't foreign at all. It's something we all do every day-working out little common-sense agreements that make our lives livable. It's deciding how you're going to spend your day off with your friend, or which movie to see on Saturday, or figuring out what your family wants for breakfast.
Negotiating Consciously Is Advantageous
You've negotiated all your life, probably without thinking about it too much. By consciously playing this game and adjusting your behavior accordingly, you'll not only get better compensation for this job, but you'll improve your results in other situations as well.
Once again, knowledge is power. The more you know in advance about yourself, them, and the process, the better, Preparation: Know Yourself Your Needs You're back at the beginning: self-knowledge. Start by analyzing your own situation, especially your financial and emotional condition.
Your financial situation. Ask yourself:
- What do I want?
- What do I need?
Take a piece of paper and list your financial obligations on the liabilities side. Then list your assets on the other side. Look at your total monthly expenses and determine what you need to earn.' It's good to know what your basic, immediate needs are, but don't limit yourself to these costs.
Consider your age and assets also. Even though you may be in your thirties, it's not too early to begin thinking about how much you'll need to retire and how much you'll have to save now to achieve that sum. Don't forget that the salary you negotiate now is the basis for all your future financial arrangements with this company. Regardless of how hard you work and how much you accomplish, any raise you get-usually a percentage increase-will be based on your starting salary. Today, you're their number one candidate: don't sell yourself short.
On the other hand, if you've had a good income and have accumulated substantial resources, like Ben, the 60-year-old lawyer, you may not need such a high income at this time. Only you can determine what you really need.
How much you want, of course, is another matter. You might want the moon, but will your credentials rocket you there? Assessing the contribution you will be able to make in this position and how quickly you can make it will help you determine your value to them right now. Will you be productive immediately-or will it take 6 months of training before you can have much of an impact? How directly is this job related to the company's profits?
Your emotional and other needs. Money, of course, is not your only need. Your emotional needs may be more pressing. If you're terribly unhappy in your current job or are unemployed and feel it's urgent that you get something, you're not, of course, in a strong negotiating position.
Your attitude and self-confidence are critically important here. How much do you value yourself and what you have to offer? You may be a gem-brilliant, talented, and blessed with extraordinary abilities. But if you don't think you're worth much, they won't either. It's like the dusty old painting in the attic that was discarded because the owners thought it was worthless. It took someone else to recognize its value and appreciate his rare find. Unless you have a benefactor, you have to be the one to recognize your own value, How would you feel if you didn't reach an agreement? To a large extent, your strength or "relative negotiating power" depends on "how attractive ... is the option of not reaching an agreement."? How urgently do you need this job? Are all your hopes pinned on this offer? Or do you feel that you can find (or have found) something equally good-or better? The standard advice is: Don't quit one job until you have another.
You'll not only feel more in control; you'll look better to employers. It's a cliché that when you're employed, you're more employable. In fact, many recruiters will not even consider you unless you are employed. But that may not be an option for you right now. If you're unemployed, the best way to gain a sense of control and negotiating power is to get several job offers. That's why using the Employment ''Insurance''' approach is so valuable.
