Negotiation Do's and DON'TS

Very few people have to negotiate on a regular basis. Sure, you may negotiate with a dealer to buy a new car every few years. But even that is a lower pressure situation since you are the customer and the dealer is most likely willing to do whatever it takes to close the sale. So if you're unsure about how to negotiate for the best compensation package, you're not alone. This is the subject I'd like to cover in this job searching tip.

Here's a negotiation question a job seeker sent in to us recently:

Asking for a higher salary doesn't get you a lower/negotiated offer. Instead, they just drop you from the running for appearing totally 'unreasonable.' Is there any way to get around this?
- Meredith

ANSWER -

Meredith,

Never discuss your salary until the very end! It's just another way for them to screen you out.

There is a golden rule in negotiation; the FIRST person to mention a number, loses.

That means only until the very end. when they finally are ready to make an offer.. should you even agree to "talk" about it.

Anytime they ask you about it, all you have to say is "ill have to do some research to find out what the industry is paying for my position, responsibilities and title... but we'll talk about that when we get there."

See what I did?

I deferred the question tactfully AND I ended the statement with an assumption that we will be interviewing later... WHEN they make me an offer.

If you didn't catch that, read it over...

Then when you really DO get to the point of negotiation, the most info you ever give them is "the last few companies I interviewed with were offering a salary range somewhere between $X and $Y."

And give yourself about a $20,000 range.

In other words, in the beginning stages of interviewing, one of your primary goals is to demonstrate value and keep the interviewer from screening you out. Most of the time, an interviewer will ask your salary range because they want to eliminate you from the running either because you're asking for too much or by making a negative assumption about you if you give a salary number that's too low. However, an exception to the no salary discussion rule can be made if NOT answering WOULD cause you to be screened out.

If you get the sense that the person you're talking to isn't a decision maker and they've been told to ask a certain set of questions before you'll be allowed to interview with the person who's actually making the decision, then you may have no choice but to answer the salary question up front. It is still best to provide a salary range, as described above, instead of giving a fixed number.

To find out more about effective negotiating in job interviews, visit this link:
http://www.jobsearchinfo.com/ebook.htm