You can help achieve a win-win agreement-where you get the compensation you want and they're satisfied that the agreement is fair. By being empathetic and flexible, you can help make that happen. You're communicating that you're part of their team, searching for a mutually satisfactory agreement: "I know you'll want to pay me what I'm worth. Because you're prepared, you're confident and calm. Your achievements and the benefits you will bring strengthen your case.
Focus on what's important to you and be flexible about the rest. For example, they want you to start in one week but you would prefer to remain at your present job for a month or two, although there's no compelling reason to do so. You could resolve the difference in favor of your current employer. That means giving them at least two weeks' notice and doing everything possible to minimize the disruption your departure will cause.
Your new employer will understand when you explain why you cannot start in less than two weeks, emphasizing your responsibility to your employer. That's quite different from saying it would be more convenient for you to start in a month or two, apparently disregarding their urgent need.
Preparation: Know Them Compensation Information about Them and the Marketplace
What do you know about compensation for comparable work in this organization? Their competitors? For a national perspective, ask your librarian for the American Almanac of Jobs and Salaries? Occupational Outlook Handbook? and American Salaries and Wages Survey? In addition, many professional and other organizations do salary surveys of their memberships and publish the results in appropriate journals. Information about librarians' salaries, for example, is published in the Library Journal.
These national figures will give you a solid base of information, but regional and local cost-of-living differences should also be taken into account. Talk with knowledgeable people, including recruiters and people in the industry, to get up-to-date information about this kind of job. Ask about salary ranges, benefits, and special incentives, like sign-on bonuses.
Whatever you can learn about this particular company-salaries and what kinds of benefits are negotiable-will give you a big advantage. If you've been offered an unusual position, getting reliable information might require some sleuthing. Bill, a young dentist, had just created a unique position for himself as the head of a proposed dental services unit for a health plan. A practicing dentist, Bill had spent an entire year developing his proposal and getting the requisite approvals.
Now they were ready to dance. But because this position was just being developed, there was no job description, and no title. Bill didn't know what to call this job, what compensation to expect, and how to respond to their forthcoming offer.
The significance of his title went way beyond ego. Bill's status and reporting relationships in the organization, as well as his compensation, depended on whether he was a director or a manager. He felt strongly that the level of his position was crucial to the success of his proposed unit. Happily, the information Bill needed was available, indirectly, from some recruiters of medical executives and he was able to negotiate the entire package successfully.
Objective facts are invaluable. They can be your star witnesses as you make your case for a good compensation package.
Their Needs
Hiring authorities have needs too. Even in a buyers' market, their negotiating power, like yours, depends on how attractive the option of not reaching an agreement is? How urgently do they have to fill this particular position? And how well do you fit in? Hiring decisions reflect the decision maker's personal needs, as well as those of the organization. Do you know exactly why you were selected for this job? Was it your expertise? Your connections? Because the boss likes you?
It could be timing, and the fact that you asked for the job. Ron, a new systems engineering manager, had been interviewing people for months, and the many candidates he had seen were starting to blur in his mind. His boss was fretting about the time Ron was spending and worried that he was incapable of making a decision. Ron's colleagues were anxious because they needed the new hire to help meet an upcoming deadline with their most important customer. By the time you interviewed, almost everyone was questioning Ron's managerial ability.
You were qualified. Not more qualified than the others, to be sure. But you were there when Ron felt he had to choose. By asking when he would like you to start-next Monday or the first of the month-you made his decision easy! Now he had what he urgently needed: proof that he was decisive. And you had your offer. By presenting clear options, you helped him make that tough decision and showed him how valuable you are. In general, the company's negotiating position depends on the avail ability of people with your particular skills in the marketplace. Are they in short supply? Knowing about the company's time frame, how well you fit in, and the availability of people with comparable skills will help you negotiate.
