If it seems hard to sell yourself to a new employer, remind yourself that these days it’s a seller’s market. And your work can command top dollar, if you aren’t too greedy and you negotiate honestly and fairly.
“I believe qualified applicants can write their ticket,” said executive search consultant Helene Fronteras. “If you bring value through the door to the company, you can negotiate almost anything.”
However, your strategy is critical. The way you bargain for higher salary or extra perks could have a lasting effect on your relationship with your new company.
“You have three tasks when seeking a job,” said Hardy Freeman of Hardy Freeman & Associates, a Chicago-based outplacement consulting firm. “The first task is to say goodbye to the company you’re at. The second is deciding what job to look for and finding it. The third is becoming part of a new organization. How you negotiate determines how you become a part of the new organization.
“When I see people when they get a job offer I usually tell them to rejoice first–and then separate conceptually the offer from the terms of employment,” Freeman said. “When a couple gets engaged, their friends and family rejoice first. But then the couple starts negotiating the terms. She may want a big wedding and he wants a small wedding. She may want to work after they’re married and he may want her to stay home. If they can’t negotiate the terms, they’ll go their separate ways.”
Once you receive a job offer, Hardy suggests you tell the employer you want to give the offer some thought. Then you can call back, not with a list of demands, but with “questions” about the terms of employment.
“Making demands instead of making inquiries is a whole different tone,” Freeman said. “Your attitude should never be, `I’m entitled to this.’ Don’t stick a gun in the ribs of a company. View the process as cooperative instead of adversarial.”
Knowing your strengths will make bargaining easier, Freeman said. “You have labor to sell, and the employer has work to be done.
“You should know the work you can do and whether your work is suitable to the company. You need to be capable of what needs to be done. The employer is interested in that as well, but you know better than the company whether you’re compatible,” said Freeman
Fronteras, of The Shorr Group on the Near North Side, believes honesty is the best policy when coming to terms with a new employer.
“You must have open and honest communications,” she said. “Be candid about what you want; don’t play games–the recruiter and the employer will remember it. Conduct yourself with honesty and integrity.”
Freeman agrees that gamesmanship is not a good strategy when negotiating terms of an employment offer. “I always tell my clients the employer should show you theirs before you show them yours,” he said. “Let them offer before you tell them what you want.”
But if the potential employer asks you how much you are making, just answer the question, Freeman suggests. “Now you’re free to ask, `Tell me, is there a salary range?’
“If the employer tells you the salary range is $45,000 to $55,000, don’t think you should be asking for $72,000. If they offer you $54,500 (near the top of the salary range) ask them if they would give the position a different title, which would put you in the low end of a higher salary grade.”
There are two things Fronteras said a job seeker should never do. “One shouldn’t appear greedy,” she said. “And I never, ever recommend one use a job offer to get leverage with one’s current employer. You may get the $5,000 to $10,000 salary increase now, but you’ve weakened your position down the line.”
Jean Kripton Durham of the River West personnel consulting firm JKI said candidates have more negotiating power if they’re confident and are good at selling themselves. “In order to negotiate, you need to do your homework,” Durham said. “Get a few interviews under your belt. Find out who the competition is.
“The candidate should always act as if he or she is in demand,” she said. Also, act as if you care about getting the job. “Often people don’t ask questions or make comments” that would suggest they are interested, Durham said. “Why would they hire you?”
Fronteras said some fields have more room to maneuver than others. “Those in the high tech, and surprisingly, the administrative support arena are in the strongest positions,” she said. “Applicants in the senior marketing level are in a very strong place. In middle management the focus is changing so much that they aren’t in as strong a position.”
And most companies have learned they need to be more flexible to attract the caliber of candidates they seek.
If the company likes you, a lot of things can be negotiated–including the duties of the job, the hours and the amount of vacation time, Freeman said. “Employers are more enlightened today and more flexible,” he said.
