You're Hired! Now How Do You Get More Money?
Feb. 10, 2006 — -- DEAR WOUNDED: What are the best ways to negotiate your salary in a job interview? It's come up a few times in job interviews and I never know what I should say, or not say.
ANSWER: A woman recently told me that her boyfriend had cheated on her. I asked how she knew. She told me that she'd seen her old boyfriend with his new girlfriend in a mall only two weeks after he'd moved out. "She wasn't wearing any makeup," she observed. I looked confused. She continued, "No woman would be seen with a guy after only a few weeks in public without wearing makeup."
Just as I learned there are rules about wearing makeup in public, there are also rules about negotiating your salary during a job interview. And these rules will loom large in your getting the paycheck you deserve or coming up short. I've summarized the questions you should ask yourself below. For more, check out Dick Bolles' classic "What Color Is Your Parachute?" (Ten Speed, 2005).
Do you understand how the salary game is played? According to Bolles there are five stages in salary negotiation: 1. Who are you? 2. We like you. 3. We love you. 4. We must have you. 5. We got you. It's too early to start negotiating your salary when you're in the "like you" stage. And it's too late when you're in the "got you" stage. When are you in the strongest position to negotiate? When you're in the "We must have you stage." The right timing can mean thousands of extra dollars in your pocket.
Do you avoid discussing salary for as long as you can? The dumbest thing to do is bring up salary too early. The second dumbest is to talk about it when they've brought it up. You've got to try to stall on salary as long as you can. Whether it's just a simple "I need to find out more about the job before I can talk about dollars," you need to learn how to deflect the salary questions.
Can you avoid being the first to mention a dollar amount? Very few absolutes in life, but you've got to let them throw the first number on the table. Why? Because if you are too low they will get you too cheaply. And if you are too high you just might knock yourself out of consideration.
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