Now You Know you not only have to impress the hiring manager, but also the other influencers so they will want to have you on board. In addition you have to think about your likely competitors, and how you can convince everyone you meet that you are the best choice. During the interview, a job hunter may also think about salary.
When job hunters ask about salary negotiation, they usually want to know how to answer the questions What are you making now? and What are you looking for? We'll cover these issues in detail a little later, but it is more important to first look at salary negotiation from a strategic point of view. From the very first meeting, you can set the stage for compensation discussions later.
Most job hunters think about salary unconsciously and anxiously during their first interview. They think, I'm making $50,000 now (or $150,000), but I know this person won't pay more than $35,000 (or $135,000). Most job hunters try to get rid of the anxiety. They don't want to waste their time if this person isn't going to pay them fairly. So when the hiring manager mentions money, the job hunter is relieved to talk about it.
End of discussion. Another wasted interview. But there is a better way. Intend to turn every job interview into an appropriate offer. Overcome the company's objections to hiring you, and overcome your own objections to working there. If the salary or something else bothers you about the job, think about how you can change it. We'll see how later.
Think more consciously and more strategically. Intend to negotiate. Most job hunters don't negotiate at all.
- They don't negotiate the job. They passively listen to what the job is, and try to fit themselves into it.
- They certainly don't negotiate the salary. They listen to the offer, and then decide whether they want to take it.
We'll see how you can be more proactive rather than passive. The following guidelines will allow you to take more control and more responsibility for what happens to you. Following these steps will not guarantee you the salary you want, but you will certainly do much better than if you do not follow them. Remember the four steps you will learn here and pay attention to where you are in those steps.
Step 1 Negotiate The Job.
By now, you have already negotiated the job. You have created a job that suits both you and the hiring manager. Make sure it is at an appropriate level for you. If the job is too low level, don't ask about the salary upgrade the job. Add responsibilities until the job is worth your while. Make sure the manager agrees that this new job is what he or she wants. Don't negotiate the salary yet.
Step 2 Outshine And Outlast Your Competition.
By now, you have already killed off your competition. You have kept in the running by offering to do more than your competitors. You have paid attention to the progress made in your meetings, and you have moved the process along. For some jobs, it can take five interviews before the subject of salary is discussed. All the while, your competitors have been dropping out. Postpone the discussion of salary until they are all gone.
Step 3 Get The Offer
Once a manager has decided that you are the right person, you are in a better position to negotiate a package that is appropriate for you. Until you actually get the offer, postpone the discussion of salary.
Step 4 Negotiate Your Compensation Package.
Most job hunters hear the offer and then either accept or reject it. This is not negotiating. If you have never negotiated a package for yourself, you need to practice. Why not try to get some offers that don't even interest you, just so you can practice negotiating the salary?
It Works At All Levels
Once I did a salary negotiation seminar for low level corporate people. One person had been a paper buster for twenty five years: he tore the sheets of paper as they came off the computer. But because he had been at the company for twenty five years, his salary was at the top of the range of paper busters. He had the same kind of salary problem a lot of us have.
The four steps worked for him, too. He told hiring managers, "Not only can I burst paper, but I can fix the machines. This will save you on machine downtime and machine repair costs. And I can train people, which will also save you money."
Case Study: Kate, 1980
All four steps in action
I was earning around $60,000 in 1980. A search firm called me about a job that paid $40,000. Remember, search firms are a means for getting interviews not for getting jobs. Don't negotiate salary with the search firm. Simply decide whether you want the interview.
I asked the recruiter what the job was. "It's with an advertising agency," she said. "They're looking for a woman to supervise the secretarial staff."
I had an MBA, was making $60,000, and specialized in turning around troubled firms. A recruiter cannot negotiate job content but can give information. When she described the situation, it seemed to me that the company was in trouble and was using the wrong solutions to solve their problems. I told her I would like to meet with the president. She said, "You would?''''
I like situations where I know who my competition is: people who want to supervise secretaries for $40,000. I asked the president:
- How is your company organized?
- What are your biggest accounts?
- What is the profit margin on each?
- Do you have a cost accounting system?
- May I see your computer system?
- Did you know that certain reports would give you better profit control?
His eyes lit up. I was headed in the right direction and was killing off my competition while I created a job more appropriate for myself. I kept talking to him about his business and what we could do to turn it around. I was trying to move it along, move it along, move it along and kill off my competition.
After the offer, we got into the formal discussion of salary. At this point, I wanted
- the title "VP of Operations"
- to chair the executive committee so we could turn the company around
- easy access to the CPA firm. They would be my partners in this.
The actual salary was not a problem. But you can see that it would have been had I discussed it too early, when the president was thinking about a much lower level job. After we defined a new job and he definitely wanted me, we were in a better position to discuss a salary that was right for the new position.
"Salary negotiation" involves more than salary. Negotiate what you need to do the job well, and anything having to do with your compensation.
