YAIT: (Yet another interview thread) How to accept or negotiate their offer?

[RU482]

OK, I got called back for a second interview at a job I want. I got a good vibe from the HR person I talked to (she also was in charge of the 1st interview), and I know the range they want to pay for the position...which falls right in line with what I want and should get. But it's a broad range.

Let's say they come to me with an offer for x dollars/year...is it wrong to try to get more out of them? If not, how do I go about doing it? I know what my target salary is, and it happens to be about $5000/yr less than their range dictates. But, what if the offer me below what I want (and what my qualifications demand)? Is it like when you buy a house...can you just "counter" their offer?

any thoughts? questions?

 

[Garet Jax]

redly1,

Talking salary is very touchy. If you come across too greedy, you may lose the job. On the other hand, if you don't stand up for yourself you may not get the salary you want/deserve. Remember, once you agree on a salary it will be much more difficult to negotiate a raise than to do it up front.

There are a couple of ways to discuss this sensitive topic:

1) If they present you a salary, you can ask them how they reached this number (this is especially appropriate since they have put you into a range). From there, you can point out that you have specific skills that they didn't consider that may allow you to push for a larger salary.

2) If they ask you what you think you deserve, then I would say a couple of thousand above what you want as long as it isn't the maximum in the range. That way, you can give in (appearing reasonable), but still getting what you want or close to what you want.

Either way make sure you do not talk to the wrong person about the salary. Make sure the person is the person who can make or influence the salary decision. This is not necessarily the HR contact.

Good luck.

 

[Yossarian]

Garet Jax has some very wise advice there. If you can, find out how their pay structure works. If the company is large, they may have pay grades with a range within each. It's better to be in a higher pay grade than a lower one because you will have more room to "cap out"--for some reason they are reluctant to bump you up an entire grade.

Usually it's easy to get a couple grand more. It is very expensive for any company to recruit and they'd rather throw you a bone than go through the whole process again with someone else. Don't forget you can negotiate other stuff too--relocation, existing home sale, signing bonus, etc. Let us know how it goes!

 

[RU482]

thanks Garat, good words

I just wasn't sure how to not come off as too aggressive, yet I want all I can get. You've got a good approach.

 

[Armitage]

Good advice above ... it all depends on how confident you are with regard to the position. Don't get greedy, but asking for a few K more isn't like hurt, and shows confidence. My first job out of the military I took what was offered, mostly because I felt luck to be getting a hands-on tech job after 4 years of pushing papers. My latest job, I bumped a good offer by about 4K to make it a better offer and they accepted it.