Negotiation
Negotiation
Steps and Considerations
You’ve been offered the job, now what?
Here are some steps to take and some considerations that can help you during a job offer negotiation:
ACKNOWLEDGE the offer: thank the employer and the opportunity to work for their organization. Communicate again how excited you are request the offer in writing (the offer letter). You don’t have to accept it right away unless you are 100% sure. You can request time to review it.
REVIEW the offer. Make sure it fits your interests, goals, values, and desired compensation. Be clear on the trade offs you are willing to make, think about what would you like to negotiate.
SCHEDULE a meeting to negotiate, keep everything positive, know where you’ll draw the line.
POSITIVITY is key. Start by stating once again how grateful you are about the opportunity being offered. Clarify anything that is confusing and needs more details. State the items you want to negotiate, for example “I would like to discuss the base salary, the start date, and a vacation I already have scheduled.” Explain one at time.
BE FLEXIBLE, listen to the employer’s answer and propose alternatives. Ask “How can we make it work?” Know your limits
GAIN CONFIRMATION, have the employer provide you confirmation in writing.
Negotiating only your salary and benefits is not enough. In the long term, negotiating your role (your responsibilities and career path) will benefit you more. You also want to consider your workload, the work conditions (location, travel requirements) and professional development opportunities.
Considerations:
Manage your emotions: some people are averse to negotiation, they see it as conflict, it stresses them. Negotiation requires emotional intelligence, recognize that your emotions are important. Then, think creatively about how can you obtain what you want.
Be assertive: speak for your own values and respecting other’s opinions. Have confidence, if you have something to say, you have the right to say it and the other person can say what they think too, you don’t have to agree.
Self-awareness: before a negotiation, be clear about who you are and what you have to offer. You are going for progress, improvement, not for perfection. The fear of failure, can stop you from trying. Unhealthy self-criticism can hold you back.
Be objective: provide data and facts, state what you know or have done, play the board not the player. Separate what you can control from what you can’t control.
Identify who is the negotiator and who is the decision maker. The negotiator has a mandate and knows the range (the ideal point and the walk away point), the decision maker is the strategy owner and can break the rules.
Learn to see negotiation as an opportunity to problem-solve, to get something that both parties want.
If you are considering competing offers, define from the start what you most want to achieve. Are you interested in becoming a leader, making a high salary, having work-life flexibility? Keep that goal in mind as you prioritize your negotiation.
Keep in mind if you are asking for something that is standard, or for them to make an exception, or creating a new initiative. Each will require a different approach to your negotiation but you always want to stress the value you’ll be adding and the reasons why you have those requests.
If you need assistance with your negotiation strategy, please contact me. We can work together. Let’s get started!
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