Are They Glad They Negotiated?

Question:  Are they glad they negotiated? 

Answer:   Most say "Yes."

Over the many years, and thousands of clients I have worked with during their job searches, I have asked this question at the conclusion of their successful search:

Are you glad you negotiated? 

The overwhelming response is "YES!"

Most say Yes!  Most clients say, that even if they experienced nervousness and anxiety beforehand, they are glad that they bit the bullet and negotiated their offer.  

Benefit 1:  They found that they emerged from that final part of the interview process with more in the way of $ $ $  and/or benefits than they would have had they not negotiated.  In some cases lots more; in others a little more. 

Benefit 2:  They came away from the negotiation with a mutual better understanding of each other and a higher respect level for each other.  Not a bad way to start off a new association!

Their bottom line is that they came away with more by trying their hand at negotiating their offer.

I also asked this question looking to the future:

Would you negotiate in the future - your next job offer?

Absolutely . . . . "YES!"

For additional information on marketing yourself and your capabilities, please refer to the many articles found under the Articles tabs of the AJC–Career Strategy website.
For individual coaching for your job offer negotiation, feel free to contact us here at the AJC to schedule a consultation.  
 ____________________________________________________________________________

nancy@ajcglobal.com              www.ajcglobal.com             AJC - for Your Career Path

  Linked In:  www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-c-gober/6/14b/965        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

Negotiation Begins the Moment You Say Hello

You've got less than 30 second to make the RIGHT 1st impression!

The initial information you choose to reveal about your experience and your accomplishments begins the negotiation and influences your offer.  Since this is the information initially offered in your resume and marketing materials, and your initial phone screens and interview, that means . . . . . that the negotiation begins with your first contact with a firm --- as you say hello!

The early comments you make, and information you reveal, are important.  Be cautious about revealing too much too soon, because you:

• May lower your compensation or benefits, 
• May reduce your chance of hiring in at a higher level,
• May eliminate yourself as a viable candidate.

Why?  Because the information you share about your experience and accomplishments places you at a compensation level in the interviewer’s mind --  right off the bat!  It also indicates to them the level of responsibility you could assume in their firm. So be cautious about revealing too much too soon. 

Negotiation begins the moment you say hello.

Your early communications (such as resumes and e-mails) and initial talks (such as your interview phone screen) set the stage for how you are perceived.  Those early perceptions set in the interviewing team's mind your levels of competence, authority, and compensation.  They influence your future offer.  In other words, you are negotiating and the negotiation began the moment you said hello. 

Manage your 1st impression
As you choose the information you initially reveal about yourself, you set the stage for the make-up of your potential offer.   Plan and practice how you will reveal and discuss your experience, accomplishments, and  expertise to convey the right first impression of you.  While future discussions may correct some incorrect early perceptions, it is far easier to get it right . . . . . right off the bat.

Impressions are formed in under 30 seconds of meeting
Psychologists say that people you meet form an initial impression of you in the first 30 seconds or less of meeting.  They form impressions of and make judgements about your level of education, level of experience, status in society, trustworthiness, power, friendliness, competence, fit with their circle of friends or associates.

Now translate this fact into meetings with prospective employers.  Recruiters, hiring managers, and networking contacts are making decisions about you right off the bat.  With a cursory look through your resume and cover letter, and after a short initial phone screen conversation, they decide the following:
- Are you knowledgeable?
- Are you competent and capable?
- Will you fit their organization or one which your network contact is considering referring you to?
- Would you be easy to work with?
- Do they want to work with you?
- Are you well enough educated to interact in their organization with employees and clients?
Their impressions may be correct - or not.  But it is still their first impression of you, and impressions once established are hard and take work to change.  Your job as a job seeker is to manage that first impression.  Here's how:


(1)  Be careful about the information you choose to initially reveal because that information about your background, affiliations, interests, attitudes, outlooks, goals and aspirations, not to mention experience,  and accomplishments, begins the negotiation.  It places you at a compensation level and authority level in the interviewer’s mind.  It also indicates to them the level of responsibility you could assume in their firm. 

(2)  Do some homework about the climate and culture of the organization, and conduct yourself accordingly.  Rely not only on internet sources, but talk to people who know about the firm or work there.  A formal company culture might require a more formal dress, demeanor, and way of presenting information about yourself.  An informal company culture would allow you to conduct yourself in a bit more relaxed manner.

(3)  Be cautious about revealing too much too soon.  It may lower your compensation or benefits, reduce your chance of hiring in at a higher level, or eliminate you entirely as a viable candidate.  A technique to use is to answer a question briefly - a few sentences will do-, gauge the interviewers re-action (Is it positive or negative?), and then either continue to reveal additional information (if positive) on the topic, or ask the interviewer what he or she would like you to amplify.

(4)  Be careful about the information you share on social media.  It affects and projects your professional image!  If information shared does not fit, or conflicts, with the image, product message, or mission of a company with which you are interviewing, you may be deemed a poor fit, not contacted for an interview, and eliminated before you ever said hello!

Do an informal inventory
In summary, do an informal inventory.  Assess yourself and decide how you wish to be perceived in the

employment marketplace.  Conduct an informal survey with members of your network and ask how you come across.  Use this information to present and manage your professional image.  You next job may depend on it!


For additional information on marketing yourself and your capabilities, please refer to the many articles found under the Articles tabs of the AJC–Career Strategy website.
For individual coaching for your job offer negotiation, feel free to contact us here at the AJC to schedule a consultation.  
 ____________________________________________________________________________

nancy@ajcglobal.com              www.ajcglobal.com             AJC - for Your Career Path

  Linked In:  www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-c-gober/6/14b/965        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

Nancy's 9 Tips and Truths for Negotiating Your Job Offer

Thoughts of negotiating any deal creates jitters in the best of us!  It's right up there with public speaking and fear of snakes!  As with so many things that cause a case of anxiety, though, knowing more is key.
Understanding what negotiation is and how to go about it will allay the fear and calm the jitters.

Negotiation is simply a skill, and skills can be learned and practiced.  The more practice we do, the better we get!  While negotiating may not ever rank among your top 10 favorite things to do, you may find that with knowledge and practice you become pretty proficient and find yourself emerging from such discussions with more of what you want from a deal.

If you would like to try your hand, here are some tips and truth to get you started on the right foot!

1.  Negotiation begins the moment you say hello.
The information you choose to reveal about your experience and accomplishments begins the negotiation.  Since this is the information initially exchanged in your resume and marketing materials, and your initial phone screens and interview, that means that the negotiation begins with your first contact with a firm - as you say hello!

The initial comments you make and information you reveal about your experience and accomplishments place you at a compensation level in the interviewer’s mind --  right off the bat!  It also indicates the level of responsibility you could assume in their firm.  Be cautious about revealing too much too soon.  It may lower your compensation or benefits, or eliminate you as a viable candidate.

2.  He or she who speaks first loses. 
Over the years, as I have conducted interviews, I have watched candidates talk themselves right out of the job by speaking before they knew what to choose to say!

• Don't assume you know the other party's needs.  
• Don't assume you know what to say. 
• And don't start speaking too soon. 
• Allow the interviewer or your network contact to tell you about the organization and its requirements and needs overall, and about the job's specific needs and requirements.   
• Then you can match your comments to their needs; and poignant you can select relevant experiences and accomplishments to share.

3.  EVERYTHING is negotiable.  
At the beginning of a negotiation, everything is up for grabs!  Salary is the first thing to come to mind, but it's just the tip of the iceberg.  You can negotiate anything from work schedules to vacation benefits to starting dates to resources to memberships to bonuses.  The list is just about endless.

Give careful consideration to what it will take for you to be a happy and productive worker in the organization for which you are interviewing, and what will make the employer happy with your performance.  (Please refer to my article What Items Can You Negotiate For?  Here's a List)

4.  EVERYTHING is fair game!
When you receive your initial offer, you are in the most powerful position you are likely ever to be with the hiring firm.  They want you and are willing to pay for the privilege!  It's your time to push the envelope -- within the realm of reason.

Determine what you need to do the job, and to be happy doing the job.  Be courageous but be cautious and within the realm of reason.  For example, don't like sitting in an interior cubicle from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m..   Now, it's not reasonable for a mid-level manager to ask for the corner office; but what about negotiating for a small office with windows, or an exterior isle cubicle where daylight can be seen?  Or, fly constantly to customers?  It may not be reasonable to argue for first class seating, but what about negotiating for business class on all your 5+ hour and overseas flights?

Being reasonable when you push the envelop and demonstrating how your request equates to superior job performance can get you more of what you want.

5.  Know your own bottom line - that line you draw in the sand which you can not cross.
It has always been surprising to me the number of job seekers who have no real idea what their cost of living truly is.  If you don't know the amount of money you need to run your household, and your life style, you don't know how much salary is enough or not enough for you to consider a position.

Ask yourself the tough question: What is the lowest I can go in salary and compensation package before I will have to walk away?  Sort through your “wants” and “needs” - 2 different things entirely.  You may be surprised!

What is the lowest I can go before I will have to walk away?

6.  Know at what point you will walk away. 
This is a critical bit of knowledge to possess, and there is power in knowing it.  There is something powerful about a person who knows what they will and will not accept.  It exudes competence and confidence.  Please note that this DOES NOT MEAN cocky or arrogant.  It just means that having done your homework, you know your value to an organization and seek to work at that standard.

Knowing there are conditions and things you will not accept helps you negotiate more keenly as you discuss, ask questions, and make requests.  Not every job is the right one for you, even if it appeared so initially; negotiation helps you sift through information to make the determination if this is the right job for you.  Much as you want a job, you don't want a bad job, or a bad fit that will not work out.  Negotiation helps you know when an opportunity is just not for you.   And know too that another, better one will come along.

7.  Prepare.  Learn about negotiation.
We generally fear that which we do not understand, and that is often the case with negotiation.  Learn how to listen and how to offer information on your own behalf. 

8.  Prepare.  Know what you are worth in the marketplace.
Research your profession, and the firm with which your are interviewing.  Learn the “going rates” for your skill set, level of experience, and amount of education.  Know your $$$-worth in the marketplace.

Know what the firm, or at least the profession, offers as a fair compensation package. Then decide, based on your qualifications, if you desire the going rate or can justify to your interviewers a compensation amount higher than the going rate.

9.  Practice, practice, practice.  Then practice some more.
Practice delivering information about your capabilities, and dry-run a discussion, i.e., negotiation about your offer.

Some folks will always shy away from negotiation.  It's not for them!  But if you would like to try your hand at negotiating that next offer, and are willing to do the preparation, you may be pleasantly surprised to find out that you are a negotiator!


For additional information on marketing yourself and your capabilities, please refer to the many articles found under the Articles tabs of the AJC–Career Strategy website.
For individual coaching for your job offer negotiation, feel free to contact us here at the AJC to schedule a consultation.  
 ____________________________________________________________________________

nancy@ajcglobal.com              www.ajcglobal.com             AJC - for Your Career Path

  Linked In:  www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-c-gober/6/14b/965        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

For additional advice on smart and strategic job searching, please refer to my many articles in the AJC--Career Strategy website.  
____________________________________________________________________________
Nancy@ajcglobal.com             www.ajcglobal.com                        AJC - for Your Career Path

Negotiation . . . . ahhh, It's Just a Conversation

A negotiation is a conversation.  It's as simple . . . and as complex . . . as that!

Negotiation is just a part of life.  We negotiate everyday, whether we realize it or not.  We are negotiating when we discuss a  . . . . .
     - a personal issue - discussing with your spouse if you will watch a sports or gardening TV show;
     - a community issue -  discussing with your neighborhood homeowners' association whether you should re-pave the roads or hold off;
     - an on-the-job issue - discussing whether you can take an extra week of vacation and still complete the report;
     - OR . . . . a job offer - discussing with your prospective employer their and your needs for the work to be done and compensation to be offered.
It's ALL negotiation!

Negotiation is really just a conversation in which 2 (or more at times) parties have different wants and needs, yet enough shared commonalities, to make it reasonable to sit down and have a conversation.  The goal is to arrive at a workable solution, or compromise, that is acceptable to both parties. 
 
The key to successful negotiation is that the more satisfied both parties are with the solution, the better off each will think they are.   No one gets everything they want, but each gets enough to feel they got a good deal!  

It is really what's meant by a "Win-Win solution." 

A Win-Win solution is the goal
 A win-win solution is always the goal of a sincere and well-intentioned negotiation.  Both parties in the negotiation have wants and needs.  The win-win is derived from a conversation, called a negotiation, in which both parties discuss their own wants and needs and arrive at an agreement of what is fair for both parties.

The goal is for each party to come away from the negotiation satisfied that they got as much of their own needs and wants satisfied as possible without doing harm to the other party(ies).  The more satisfied both parties are with the outcome, the better, and longer lasting, the solution will be for them and for everyone involved.

It's a choice
Some folks will always shy away from negotiation, particularly if they equate negotiating with arguing -- volatile arguing.  But, negotiation does not have to be like that.  If thought of and conducted as a conversation aimed to achieve a "win-win" solution, it's not only a choice, but a good choice!

For additional information on marketing yourself and your capabilities, please refer to the many articles found under the Articles tabs of the AJC–Career Strategy website.
For individual coaching for your job offer negotiation, feel free to contact us here at the AJC to schedule a consultation.  
 ____________________________________________________________________________

nancy@ajcglobal.com              www.ajcglobal.com             AJC - for Your Career Path

  Linked In:  www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-c-gober/6/14b/965        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

Negotiation is Not for Me . . . . or Is It?

Should I negotiate?
      I don't know . . .
I don't think negotiation is for me!
      What do you think?
Over the years, I've heard multiple job seekers wonder if negotiation is for them.  And, over the years, I've had this conversation with multiple clients who wondered if they could actually negotiate a job offer.

If you don't try, you'll never know!
To fail to at least try to negotiate an offer upwards means you never know if you could have increased the amount of $$ or benefits you were offered.  The point is . . . If you don't try, you'll never know.   Please refer to my articles   If You Don't Negotiate . . . . . You Lose! The Initial Loss - Part 1 and If You Don't Negotiate . . . . . You Lose! The Multiplier Effect - Part 2 to learn about the reasons negotiation is in your best interest.

Knowing and Doing are 2 different things
However, understanding what is at stake if you negotiate an offer and doing it are 2 entirely different things.  The choice to negotiate is entirely up to you.

Job seekers fear the loss of the offer
Job seekers fear the loss of an offer if they attempt to negotiate.  They fear the employer will simply pull the offer back and the job seeker will be without a job.  This is not the case.  In fact, employers not only are not surprised if a candidate for a position negotiates, they expect it.   But, knowing this and engaging in negotiation are 2 different things.

Negotiation takes a bit of nerve; you really don't know what the outcome will be.  It is possible that the 2 parties in the negotiation (employer and candidate) are too far apart in their needs and wants, i.e., their requests; this could result in a decision not to hire.  That is why it is important to do your homework:  Know your worth in $$ in the marketplace, and think through your requests for additional $$ and benefits so that they are reasonable and clearly relate to the performance of the job.  Importantly, know what your own bottom line is - the line at which you will not go below, and are prepared to walk away if not met.

The decision to negotiate your offer really depends on you.  Stated in the vernacular:  Do you have the stomach for it?  Some job seekers do; some don't.  Only you can decide - and no one should decide for you.

Decision to negotiate - How to decide

• Scenario 1:  Negotiate --  If thinking about negotiating creates a feeling of a few "butterflies" in your stomach, know that that's normal.  Every negotiator feels those butterflies.  But if you have done your homework, and you know what are acceptable salary requirements and benefits for the position, you should negotiate.

• Scenario 2:  Don't Negotiate --  If thinking about negotiating paralyses you, creating feelings of nausea, excessive nervousness, and verbal constraints/impairment, negotiation is not for you - at least not at this time.  In this case, accept the salary as offered, and just enjoy knowing that you have won a new job in a tough employment economy.  That's an achievement in and of itself!

Negotiation is not for everyone.  Some can do it, some can't at this time, and some never choose to negotiate.  To help you make the decision of whether "Negotiation is for You," read through the helpful and informative articles on this topic in the AJC website to gain a perspective.  Talking with a knowledgeable career coach can also help you sort through the issue.  Feel free to contact us here at the AJC to help you decide whether negotiation is for you.  

For additional information on marketing yourself and your capabilities, please refer to the many articles found under the Articles tabs of the AJC–Career Strategy website.
 ____________________________________________________________________________

nancy@ajcglobal.com              www.ajcglobal.com             AJC - for Your Career Path

  Linked In:  www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-c-gober/6/14b/965        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub