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At the November 18 Executive Network Group meeting, career counselor and author Jack Chapman informed and entertained nearly 100 ENG members with a lively discussion entitled, “Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute.” During his presentation, Chapman urged candidates to use five rules to maximize their negotiations with prospective employers. · Postpone all monetary discussions until you receive the job offer. · Always let the employer “go first” in compensation matters. · Once the employer mentions a figure or range, repeat either the figure or the top of the range, then (quietly) count to thirty. · Counter the employer’s offer with a “researched response.” · Clinch the deal, and then deal some more. Chapman illustrated his first rule by discussing how an ENG member might justify the purchase of a luxury vehicle. Re-allocating household expenditures (e.g., refinancing the mortgage or reducing entertainment allowances) can save enough money to permit the acquisition. Similarly, employers can often re-direct funds earmarked for other purposes to “sweeten” an offer to a desirable candidate. In his second rule Chapman showed that any method besides letting the employer introduce compensation leads to multiple unpleasant events: the loss of the offer itself (by the candidate’s mentioning too high a number), the loss of the candidate’s personal dignity (by failing to meet the employer’s expectations), or the candidate’s simply “leaving money on the table.” The third rule equalizes the dynamics of the moment. Chapman noted that, to this point, the employer’s bargaining power overshadows the prospect’s. By using silence as an effective negotiating tool, the prospect counter-balances the employer’s dominant role. Such “trial closing” questions as, “Are you offering me the job?” help establish a nearly-equal basis for further bargaining. With such equality comes an opportunity to introduce objective research to the discussion. During this phase, Chapman’s fourth rule urges using www.careerjournal.com, www.payscale.com, www.salary.com, www.salarynegotiations.com, and www.vault.com to buttress contentions favoring a higher offer. Chapman’s final rule recommends that the candidate explore often-overlooked areas of compensation. Fringe benefits and perquisites, the timing of an initial performance review, performance and signing bonuses, insurance, professional memberships, relocation and severance packages, stock options, and other matters can add substantial value to any offer’s worth. Chapman’s book, Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute, is in its fourth printing from Ten Speed Press. Contact information follows:
Jack
Chapman Telephone:
847/251-4727
-- By R. T. Jones (11/21/2004) |
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