Use the Internet to research how an interviewee or a current employee might nego
ID: 436352 • Letter: U
Question
Use the Internet to research how an interviewee or a current employee might negotiate better pay and/or benefits. Consider using a search term like “negotiating pay and benefits” or “how to negotiate with your boss”. Make a note of two to three of the best ideas you find on the question, and report them here. How might you use them in your own negotiations?Based on your Internet research, discuss two or three of the best ideas that an interviewee or a current employee might use to negotiate better pay and/or benefits. How might you use them in your own negotiations?
Support your response with information from the textbook or other academic source.
Explanation / Answer
. Negotiate. Yes, just by choosing to negotiate, you'll be raising yourself above most of your competition. How? A Society for Human Resource Management survey found that 8 out of 10 recruiters were willing to negotiate salary and benefits with job applicants. Yet only 33% of applicants surveyed said they felt comfortable negotiating. In our experience, the remaining 2 out of 10 who weren't prepared to negotiate with their recruits are either unattractive to work for, had unwisely started with their best offer, or will be forced to revise their thinking when they realize their true choice. 2. Trading. Use the "if / then" process of negotiation (otherwise known as "logrolling"). When an employer is insisting that you're going to have to make a concession, why not ask for one in return? For example, "If I accept this salary now, then would you be prepared to discuss awarding me a performance related bonus plus a performance review in 6 months instead of 12 months?" 3. Don't show me the money. So when should you talk about the money if not at the outset? At the end? No, but nearer to the end. If you leave salary for last, you're likely to have little to bolster your chances. Keep a few cards up your sleeve. When salary is mentioned you want to be able to trade these cards in, in order to achieve your higher pay package. So if they want you to start next month and to work longer hours, keep these cards close to your chest and say "yes" only when it means you'll be earning more for it. Practice saying "we can talk about that" and "that's possible" rather than showing your tender underbelly by meekly saying "yes" to everything they ask of you. 4. Get all offers in writing. You don't want to commit yourself or turn down other positions without first knowing exactly what is being offered. So don't make a decision before it's in writing. Remember that just because it's in writing, doesn't mean it's carved in stone. An offer in writing is a starting point for negotiation. Compare their written offer with your meeting notes (you are taking detailed notes at the end of each meeting, aren't you?). 5. BATNA. We said that negotiations should not merely be the choice of a binary yes or no decision. Give yourself options. In negotiations this is often referred to as your BATNA - a term first coined by Harvard's Project on Negotiation. The worst thing you can do is to interview for your dream job or that high rate position - and no other positions. The more job offers you have on the table, the easier it is for you to say "no thanks", or to negotiate without being hijacked by your emotions. So if 2 options are too few, is a hexadecimal range of choices too many? Probably. Have at least 3 attractive options, whilst having more offers is only going to strengthen your negotiating position, you will stretch your time researching each job and attending the interviews. Having other potential options at the time of the interview is the greatest source of power at your disposal, and gives you room or latitude within which to negotiate. If they really want or need you, they're not going to let you waltz into the arms of their competitors, are they? 6. Set your sights high. Are you aspiring high enough? Most geeks don't ask for enough, this is a sad fact of today's marketplace. Agencies and employers typically make an offer, waiting for the IT professional to argue for higher salary, only to be surprised with a meek acceptance. This is usually the symptom of low aspirations. So raise your own price and you're guaranteed to achieve a better result. At first reading, this may sound like a contradiction, we know. Think about this for a moment: one of the most significant ways in which employers judge your ability is through your confidence. If an employer is presented with 3 candidates with roughly similar CV's, and 1 says that he's worth more, who are they going to trust the high risk all important project responsibilities with? A higher aspiration communicates confidence, and confidence inspires confidence and with it higher salaries.
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