New Job Negotiation Tips?

[lawmax]

Hi,

Do any of you have good tips regarding negotiating a new job offer? How have you been successful in negotiation salary, benefits (don''t seem negotiable due to corporate fairness), vacations already planned, other? I have an offer and will have to answer ASAP. The salary came in way low and the HR person wanted to go back and ask for more. She left a message saying she had good news for me and I should really call today.

I appreciate the wisdom of your experience!

lawmax

 

[caligal]

Laxmax-

Well congrats first of all on a job offer in this struggling economy! I think it completely depends on what type of work you are doing, and where. Good news... you are often able to negotiate some if not all aspects of your job. I''ve negotiated salary most, as in higher education vacation is set (and a TON at approx. 30 days a year!). So, what I would recommend is to look up comparative salaries for your line of work in the same area with experience (ie if you have more than what is expected- you have another bargaining chip). Two, look at opportunity for more vacation or flex time or telecommuting. This is esp. crucial if they won''t go up in money. Third, don''t accept right away. Tell them you need to think about it- then call back the next day with re-negotiating or an acceptance. Good luck!

 

[robbie3982]

I need some help in this area also. I just received a job offer and the salary came in a lot lower than I''d expected. How much room is there for negotiation. I looked up the job on salary.com and the median range for the area is 135k, but they offered me 25k. I know there''s no way i''ll get it close to what salary.com says, but how much do you think i could get? The job descriptions match perfectly except for the 10 years experience. Is that really worth a 110k drop in salary?!?! Help!

 

[Allisonfaye]

Date: 7/19/2006 3:44:39 PM
Author: robbie3982
I need some help in this area also. I just received a job offer and the salary came in a lot lower than I''d expected. How much room is there for negotiation. I looked up the job on salary.com and the median range for the area is 135k, but they offered me 25k. I know there''s no way i''ll get it close to what salary.com says, but how much do you think i could get? The job descriptions match perfectly except for the 10 years experience. Is that really worth a 110k drop in salary?!?! Help!

I think it depends on your field. But that is quite a range between the two numbers. Are you by any chance living in a small town? Also, may I ask what state you live in? In my experience, pay ranges were much lower in the south. What type of work do you do?

 

[robbie3982]

The job is for a Marketing Director position at a nursing home in a small town. I live in OH, but the job is in PA. Salary.com is supposed to account for where jobs are. Either it doesn''t, or this is a really really bad offer. This would be a big step up from my last job which was also in a small town, but would be more than a 10k drop in salary. Sigh.

 

[hoorray]

Date: 7/19/2006 8:16:41 AM
Author:lawmax
Hi,


Do any of you have good tips regarding negotiating a new job offer? How have you been successful in negotiation salary, benefits (don''t seem negotiable due to corporate fairness), vacations already planned, other? I have an offer and will have to answer ASAP. The salary came in way low and the HR person wanted to go back and ask for more. She left a message saying she had good news for me and I should really call today.


I appreciate the wisdom of your experience!


lawmax

My experience is that the bigger the company, the more fixed they tend to be within guidelines. However, no hiring manager ever puts their best and final offer on the table first. The trick it so find out where they have flexibility, especially in the context of what is important to you. One of the often forgotten areas that hiring managers often have some leeway in is a starting bonus. Often salary and benefits have to fit within corp ladders, but a starting bonus can be a nice, but one-time, perk.

good luck!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 7/19/2006 4:16:50 PM
Author: robbie3982
The job is for a Marketing Director position at a nursing home in a small town. I live in OH, but the job is in PA. Salary.com is supposed to account for where jobs are. Either it doesn''t, or this is a really really bad offer. This would be a big step up from my last job which was also in a small town, but would be more than a 10k drop in salary. Sigh.

all of the salary guides on the net that i''ve used have been really off too. i would say ask. all they can say is no. also, since you are taking a drop in salary use that to your advantage.

 

[ephemery1]

In my experience, average salaries in a field like marketing are very difficult to estimate based on location alone. Just imagine the difference in responsibilities between the marketing director of a company like Apple vs. the marketing director of a small chain of drugstores (my current title within the family business). I would certainly expect the person at Apple to be making close to 7-figures... while I do my job part-time! It really has to do with how many people you''re supervising, proven track record within the company, non-profit vs. corporate, and a million other things beyond official title and location.

As for negotiating benefits... flex-time (working 4 10-hour days, or 11-7 instead of 8-4) is one "negotiable" factor that may be a benefit to the employee but doesn''t take $$ out of the pocket of the employer... might be worth asking about if you''re interested!