Category Archives: Negotiating

How to get more vacation at your next job

Posted on February 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

One of our candidates was offered six weeks of vacation and personal time per year.  It wasn’t a matter of begging, pleading and negotiations.  It was just offered. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure she did anything special in the interviews.  She was just worth it to the company that hired her.

Put on the brakes and read that last sentence over. The way to get more vacation is to be so valuable to the company that they offer it.  I’m always pleased when a job offer comes in with three, four or five weeks of vacation. It means that the job and the candidate matched well at a highly skilled level.

Vacation is what you take when you can’t take what you’ve been taking any longer.  (The Lion)

A recruiter is the best person to get better benefits for you.  He can tell the company exactly what you currently have at the beginning of the process.  He can suggest an extra week of vacation will sweeten the offer.

With or without a recruiter, the time to negotiate for vacation time is after the company has decided to hire you.  If you ask for an extra two weeks of vacation in the first interview, you won’t have a second interview.  A key question you may be asked is, “What is your current compensation package?”  That means they want to know the full cost of hiring you.  It is a very different question from, “What do we have to pay you?”  When the company is asking about your current full compensation you can give them the whole story including pay, vacation, personal days, car allowance, 401K matching and healthcare costs.  Telling the HR person or the hiring committee in your second or third interview your full current pay and benefits is not threatening. Telling the first person you talk to that you need 5 weeks of vacation along with a 30% pay raise and every other Friday off is a mistake.

So, getting your recruiter to get that fourth week of vacation is the best idea.  The time for YOU to ask for more vacation is when the company already knows your current vacation time and wants to hire you.  Then you have some leverage. And the most important point is to make sure you are worth the extra vacation time.  If the company wants your skills enough, they’ll give you all the vacation you want.

Something to do today

Find out from your HR department what your full benefits package is worth.  You need to know vacation days, personal days, sick days, pension contributions, 401K matching, their healthcare costs and what exactly is your contribution to healthcare.  You can add your salary, bonuses and expense allowances to the list.  You may be surprised at the cost of your benefits, and it will be a great thing to know when asked in your job interview.

It is just about the end of the quarter.  Monday would be a great day to give your supervisor a list of your major accomplishments for the quarter and year so far.

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Later:                         Moth traps

                                    Slitting your throat with your own teeth

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Posted in Interviews, Negotiating

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3 ways to find out if you are underpaid

Posted on January 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

I got a call from three business analysts from one international company in the same month.  Each of them wanted to leave.  The first thing cited was their low salary.  When I said, “You can get a different job, but you will have to take at least a $10,000 per year pay cut,” they backed off.  It was the awful truth. Each one of them had golden handcuffs.  They were earning at least 15% more than any other local business would pay them. Of course the problem wasn’t their low pay, the problem was the unpaid overtime they were putting in.  At least they thought it was unpaid until they found out the pay cut they would have to take to move elsewhere.

Contract employees often tell me, “I want a salaried job, but I’m not going to accept less than I’m earning now.”  They want to stop traveling, have health insurance, a generous training allowance, and get into a secure job with a future in one company.  Yet, they want to be paid the same as when they had none of those things.  Contract employees often earn twice what a salaried employee earns.  It is for the simple fact that contractors have to take care of themselves.

Certainly some are vastly underpaid.  I had one friend, Joe, who went from $35,000 per year to $50,000 per year in one salary jump because he was underpaid.  Yes, it happens.  More often employees are within 5% of the market rate for their job.  If an employer pays less, they start losing people.  Either they raise salaries or I come in and steal all of their best people.  Then they are left with a bunch really poor employees and maybe one great person who hasn’t found out yet.  When that great employee leaves, the company may go out of business.

To find out if you are really underpaid, first look at your performance. Only superstars get superstar salaries. If you are just average, you should expect average wages.  If you are below average, your wages will be lower.

Now do what Joe did, ask your coworkers how much they are paid, if you can.  Joe didn’t do it for 5 years.  When he finally asked, he asked workers he knew were lower rated than he was.  When he found they were all earning more than he was, he had a right to get mad and get it fixed.

You can also look in the employment ads.  Just remember that ads lie.  A range of $50,000 to $60,000 does not mean you magically qualify for the high end.  It means if you are a superstar you may hit the high end.  It means an average worker will get the bottom number.  A poor worker will not get hired.

Next, put together your resume and send it to a recruiter who specializes in placing folks like you.  Ask for an honest opinion, “Can I expect a raise going to my next job?”  Follow that up with, “How is my current pay compared to others doing the same job?”  If the recruiter gasps and says, “I will have you three interviews tomorrow,” you are drastically underpaid.  If he says, “It will take a while, but I may be able to find you a job,” your pay is within 5% of the norm or possibly high.

The ways to find out if you REALLY are underpaid are:

  1. Ask coworkers rated lower than you are, “What do they pay you?”
  2. Look at job ads.
  3. Get a great resume to a recruiter and see how he reacts.

Find out where you stand, but be prepared for the “bad news” that you are paid about what you should be paid.  If you get the “bad news”, fix it.  Do the better work that will get you a raise, or get a job with a brighter future.

Folks who never do any more than they are paid for, never get paid more than they do.  (Elbert Hubbard)

Something to do today

Do you have the guts to find out if you are being paid fairly?  Then do it.

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Later:               Attracting change

Google to disaster

That loud sucking sound

How to tell who is great

55 gallon oil drums on the horizon

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Posted in Negotiating, Promotions, Raises, Recruiters

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Are women scared to negotiate salary?

Posted on December 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

So why DO women earn less than men?

I have a healthy skepticism of social surveys and experiments.  This paper takes a good look at questions like:

  • Do women negotiate as much?
  • When are men or women most likely to negotiate?
  • What if the job is sports related?
  • What if you explicitly say you can negotiate?

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Posted in Negotiating

4 ways to prepare for an interview to get ten percent more

Posted on November 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, In practice, there is. (Chuck Reid)

Every manager wants to find someone with:

  • Less experience
  • More raw ability
  • More talent
  • Bigger potential profits
  • Lower pay

Everyone is looking for the same magical person.  They get twice as much done, and you only pay them a little more. You can pay them 10 percent more than their peers and still be paying them less than they really and truly are worth. That means more profit and a bigger bonus for management.

Where is it determined to pay them 10 percent more? In the interview.

If you interview well, you will get paid more. It is just a fact of life. There are several places to get better interview skills:

  • Teach a class
  • Lead a group
  • Take an interview preparation class
  • Join Toastmasters.

Teach a class

Many schools and most churches are looking for teachers. It may be a one time one hour visit or a weekly commitment. Often they have a Teacher Preparation class or manual. Volunteer. Even if you do poorly the first time, you can get that teacher preparation book or course and learn to succeed. Teaching a class gives you experience speaking to groups and imparting your expertise. The smoothness you develop will help a lot in interviews.

Lead a group

The Elks Club, Rotary Club, youth sports, Boy and Girl Scouts, 4H, PTA, and every other organized group of people needs leaders. You can lead a small committee or the whole club. The experience you gain dealing with groups will make a big difference in your interview skills and how much you earn.

Take an interview preparation class

They may cost a hefty chunk of change, but they can make a big difference in how much you are paid and how much you earn. Sometimes they will have video recorded practice interviews, group evaluations and individual coaching.

Join Toastmasters

www.toastmasters.org is the best place to go to learn to deal well with groups. They develop your ability to give prepared and unprepared speeches. There are multiple clubs near you. Visit several of them and find a place you fit.

Something to do today

The first thing to do is check out Toastmasters. Then volunteer to lead a group or class somewhere. Develop your interview skills.

 

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Posted in Interviews, Negotiating

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Ten percent more in your next job – part two

Posted on November 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

Henry accepted 30% more salary for a job than he was initially offered.  Acme Corp. ended up paying 30% more. (Yes, the story is true, the names are changed.) Five factors affected it.  I mentioned four of them yesterday.

The five factors are:

  • The company’s finances
  • The other people available for the job
  • The resume
  • The interview
  • Patience

Here’s how it happened.

Acme is doing well financially.  Unfortunately finding highly skilled people for the job is difficult.  Mediocre people earn Acme half the profit that a highly skilled person earns them.  The resume proved that Henry was one of the top people in the country.  The interview confirmed it.  The initial offer was flat out rejected by Henry.  Acme looked around for weeks and couldn’t find anyone of that caliber.  In the meantime Acme was being hurt by waiting to fill the position.  Acme and Henry got together again and came to an agreement.

A very important step was proving how much Henry was worth.  First we used the resume, then the interview. The resume gave absolute, iron clad, irrefutable proof that Henry was one of the best in the country.  We gave verifiable production numbers as well as comparisons to everyone else in his old company.

In the interview the figures were repeated.  Henry also interviews extremely well.

Last of all, Henry rejected a low offer.  He waited without being offended.  After a few weeks it became obvious the company made a mistake.  Henry got his offer at a number he deserved.

You need to make a list of things you have accomplished that prove how much you can be worth to your next company.  If you absolutely prove you will be worth twice what anyone else is, you too will get a lot more money.

Tomorrow is about how to radically increase your interview effectiveness.  I’ll give you three things you can do to prepare for interviews.  Things that could get you 10% more money.

Something to do today

Can you prove how much you are worth to your company?  How many customers did you bring in or save?  How much profit did you generate?  How much money did you save the company?

Make a list.

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Later:              Get 10% more at your next job, interviews

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Posted in Accomplishments, Negotiating

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Ten percent more in your next job – part one

Posted on November 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

You have interviewed with five people at the company.  Your references have been checked.  The background and drug checks came in clean.  Your recruiter has more negotiating skills in his little toe than the whole management chain in that company put together.  Now to see how much money you will be paid for the job.

There is an upper limit you won’t get past.  It may be the first offer you hear.  It may be reached after a week of haggling.  There absolutely is an upper limit.  The best negotiator cannot get you more money than that limit. That limit was 50% more than the salary range for one position I’ve seen. But there is a limit.

What are the factors that set the limit?

  • The company’s finances
  • The other people available for the job
  • Your resume
  • Your interview

That’s it.  The first two are very complex, but you can’t do anything about them.  The last two are closely related.  Your resume and your interview work together to show possibilities.  They show how you might affect company finances. They allow you to be compared to those other people.

The next two blog posts will deal with what information you need to get to your future bosses, and how to radically increase your interview effectiveness. They are about how to get that 10% more.

Something to do today

Make a list of the topics covered in your last job interview.  Tomorrow we’ll see if you covered the most important information.

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Later:              Get 10% more at your next job, 2 more parts

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Posted in Negotiating

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Texas Hold ‘em salary negotiations

Posted on October 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Some people object to my open and honest style of negotiating.  They tell me that Texas Hold ’em is the ultimate negotiating style.

Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards.  I got a full house and four people died. (Steven Wright)

In this salary poker game you have some cards only you can see. You share some more cards with all the players.  You put on a personality at the table.  You try to look as harmless or intimidating as possible. When you get your cards you do your best to give small signals of fear, lust, greed or anger.  You design your signals to stampede your competition into doing something foolish.  If you have a great hand you try to appear weak so others will bet stupidly high.  If your hand is weak you consider bluffing and making others think you are much stronger.  Or you fold and stop betting.  You wait for a better hand.

In poker there is only one winner.  You are out to defeat everyone else and amass all the chips.  It is a game for the proud, powerful, greedy, deceptive and analytical folks.  Sure, it can be played for penny ante with friends, but that is not how the game of legends is played.

Do you really want to start a job with those attributes pinned to your shirt?  My biggest objection to poker style negotiating is that someone starts out losing.  Someone starts out feeling like they pulled off a quick trick on the other guy.  What’s next?  Do you want to pull another trick?  Stick it to them again? Bluff them?  Intimidate them?

I don’t gamble.  I don’t like tricking the other guy.  I put all my cards on the table and try to figure out what will work best for everyone.

Remember, the way you negotiate is the way you will be perceived by your new boss.  Do you want to come in as a poker player who always hides his cards, bluffs when he can and goes for all the chips?  Or do you want to come in as a team player?

Place your bets and play your cards.

Something to do today

How about starting salary negotiations where you already work?   Time to write your accomplishments for the week and month in your job journal.  Make a report for your boss that gives him all the information he needs for his reports to his boss.

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Tomorrow:     A crippled ace

Later:              An ace who learned

My former boss is killing me

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Posted in Counteroffers, Negotiating, Raises

What if all I want is more money? Getting it.

Posted on October 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money.  (David Richerby)

Getting more money.

Some people need a new job to get more money.  Others just need a new attitude. For more money, often you just have to ask.

I get calls from people with golden handcuffs occasionally.  They are paid so well or have such great bonuses that all they can get is a drop in pay if they switch jobs.  Often they don’t appreciate it.  I have to honestly tell them what the job market is like and ask them if they want to earn less at a new job.  Only one in twenty says, “Yes, I’ll take a drop in pay.” The others get a quick lesson on either growing where they are at or being content at being overpaid.

Others are underpaid or paid their market value and want to earn more.  Changing jobs for a 3% raise usually makes no sense.  You could easily get that in the next year just by being patient.  Often you could get a raise like that in a few weeks by presenting your case to your boss and his boss. So try that first.  Present your accomplishments and a list of things you have done in the last few years.  Prove you are worth more and give them 3 months to react.

If you really can get a 10% raise or more by leaving the job, the problem is different.  You still need to present your case to your bosses.  They may give you the raise and solve the problem.  Give them 3 months to work on it after you present an air tight case that includes your specific contributions, not just your responsibilities.

During those 3 months keep your eyes open for a new job.  Check out what the market really is like.  After 3 months go back to your bosses and ask if you are going to get a raise.  This is an important step so that they know you are serious.  If they say, “No,” then start looking for a new job.

Some people really do need a new job to get more money.

Something to do today

Thinking about getting a new job?  Call a recruiter who specializes in your field or in your geographical area.  Ask them what the going rates for someone like you are..

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Next:   Okay, here’s my reply: Texas Hold ‘em negotiating

Later:              A crippled ace

An ace who learned

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Posted in Negotiating, Raises

Negotiating salary, vacation, perks, and benefits at a new job – really negotiating

Posted on October 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

Some prices are just too high, no matter how much you may want the prize. The one thing you can’t trade for your heart’s desire is your heart.  (Lois McMaster Bujold)

Really negotiating

Negotiating is the art of getting what you want, while giving up what you want less.

A good recruiter can help you negotiate.  He can find out all the details before the offer is given to you and get important problems fixed. He can give away the things you care less about.  He can negotiate for you before the final offer is put on the table.  A good recruiter can put pressure on a company that you will never see.  If you have a recruiter be blunt and honest with him.  Don’t lie and say I need $80,000 when you are hoping for $60,000.  Tell the recruiter the truth.  Then accept or reject an offer based on its merits, not on your greed for more.

If you don’t have a recruiter, you have to do exactly the same thing, only directly with someone at the company.

   Find out all the details

   Talk about details before a final offer is on the table

   Give away the things you care about less for the things you want the most

   Pressure.  Let them know your priorities and what will make you walk away

   Be blunt and honest

   Tell them what you really want

   Accept or reject an offer on its merits, not based on your greed

Every one of those points is about communication.  Negotiating a salary is about communicating.  Go at it with the desire to understand and inform and you will come out ahead.  If you go in with a desire to rape and pillage, you will lose.

Something to do today

Get the book, How To Win Friends And Influence People.  It may be the best practical book on communicating that was ever written.

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Next:   All I want is more money, vacation and benefits

Later:              A crippled ace

An ace who learned

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Posted in Negotiating, Raises

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What to do the first time salary is mentioned

Posted on October 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Will you work for minimum wage?”

Not a winning question when negotiating salary with an engineer.

“Give me all your money!”

Probably not a wise gambit for any job interview.

At some point in your job exploration the question of money has to come up.  Asking a recruiter what the job pays is fine.  Asking what your pay will be in a phone or first interview is a mistake.  They may have been given strict instructions to only mention $50,000, but have been told that they can go to $60,000 for the right candidate.  That happens all the time.

When THEY ask you how much you must make to switch jobs, THEY are nervous.  So are you.  Here is an answer that works.  It doesn’t get you eliminated for asking for too much.  You won’t get paid too little for being too meek.  It leaves room for negotiating.  It gives them the information they need to make you a good offer.

The answer has 3 steps:

  1. the compliment
  2. the money
  3. the rules.

First the compliment.  This job and your company interest me.  I’d like to go to work for you.

Now the money.  Last year I earned a total of $70,000 and just had a raise to $73,000.

Finally the rules.  I certainly wouldn’t want to earn less.  I would like to be able to entertain your best offer.

This works for minimum wage jobs and CEO salaries.  If they ask a second time, tell them the same thing.  Let them know that you feel it is the company’s job to make an offer, not yours.  You just tell them the facts about what you are earning.  That’s all.  You can negotiate AFTER they have decided to make you an offer.  Then you will have some leverage.

How to think about salary – do this.

Write down three numbers.

First, what are you earning now?  Obviously you would take your current job for that much money.  You did.

Second, what do you really think you would be paid in a good but realistic situation if you switched jobs next month?  It should be a raise.

Third, if the ideal job came along, with you doing, learning and being exactly what you really want, with a great company and future, what is the least you would take to go there?  Is it a drop in pay?

You now have three different numbers you would work for.  So why should you demand to know what a job will pay before you find out which of the three possibilities it is?

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Tomorrow:     Negotiating a salary at a new job – really negotiating

Later:              All I want is more money, vacation and benefits

A crippled ace

An ace who learned

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Posted in Negotiating, Raises

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