Negotiating an Offer
After you have "determined your worth," it's important to
decide how you should negotiate and finalize an employment offer.
One of the best ways you can protect yourself from falling victim
to a disadvantageous employment offer or outright discrimination
is by educating yourself and being prepared to negotiate before
accepting an offer. In Getting to Yes, by Roger Fisher and
William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a method of
negotiation explicitly designed to produce wise outcomes
efficiently and amicably is recommended. The following
suggestions are grounded in their approach.
In preparing for negotiation with a prospective employer, it
can be helpful to outline your point of view alongside what you
perceive is the employer's point of view. Such a comparison may
look something like this:
|
Job Candidate's Perspective
|
Employer's Perspective
|
| Costs have increased, so I need to earn more to
maintain my standard of living. |
The cost of running our business has increased, so I
need to cut expenses wherever possible. |
| The salary data I collected shows that people earn even
more than what I expect to be paid. |
The salary data shows that many people earn even less
than what I am willing to pay. |
| The retirement package is not as portable as what many
other employers offer. |
We are offering more vacation time than our competitors
offer. |
You should also take the time to identify the
interests you and your potential new employer share before you
enter into the negotiation. These might include:
- I want to work for this employer and the employer wants me
to accept the position
- We are both interested in establishing a good
relationship
- We both want my compensation to be fair and
justifiable
You also might identify some differing but complementary
interests:
- The employer wants me to start next week. I am excited
about this opportunity and would be happy to start any time in
the next month.
After considering your interests, you need to prepare to enter
into the discussion with a number of specific options that would
meet your interests, but remember to keep an open mind. Try not
to become rigid in pursuing any particular solution; be flexible,
but persistent. Although each person's needs and the options
relative to a specific offer vary greatly, there usually are a
variety of ways to achieve your bottom line:
- I will accept $44,000 a year if I can set my own
appointments working from 7:00 to 3:00 p.m. This way I can pick
up my children after school and I won't incur after school
child care expenses.
- I could work 9:00 to 5:00 if I earn $50,000 a year, which
will cover the additional cost of afternoon child care.
- I could work 9:00 to 5:00 if I earn $47,000 a year and am
reimbursed for my ASHA membership and certification fees and
have my expenses covered to attend the ASHA Convention and my
state association meetings.