After you have “determined your worth,” it’s important to decide how you should negotiate and finalize an employment offer. One of the best ways you can protect yourself from falling victim to a disadvantageous employment offer or outright discrimination is by educating yourself and being prepared to negotiate before accepting an offer. In Getting to Yes, by Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a method of negotiation explicitly designed to produce wise outcomes efficiently and amicably is recommended. The following suggestions are grounded in their approach.
In preparing for negotiation with a prospective employer, it can be helpful to outline your point of view alongside what you perceive is the employer’s point of view. Such a comparison may look something like this:
|
Job Candidate’s Perspective
|
Employer’s Perspective
|
|
Costs have increased, so I need to earn more to maintain my standard of living.
|
The cost of running our business has increased, so I need to cut expenses wherever possible.
|
|
The salary data I collected shows that people earn even more than what I expect to be paid.
|
The salary data shows that many people earn even less than what I am willing to pay.
|
|
The retirement package is not as portable as what many other employers offer.
|
We are offering more vacation time than our competitors offer.
|
You should also take the time to identify the interests you and your potential new employer share before you enter into the negotiation. These might include:
-
I want to work for this employer and the employer wants me to accept the position
-
We are both interested in establishing a good relationship
-
We both want my compensation to be fair and justifiable
You also might identify some differing but complementary interests:
-
The employer wants me to start next week. I am excited about this opportunity and would be happy to start any time in the next month.
After considering your interests, you need to prepare to enter into the discussion with a number of specific options that would meet your interests, but remember to keep an open mind. Try not to become rigid in pursuing any particular solution; be flexible, but persistent. Although each person’s needs and the options relative to a specific offer vary greatly, there usually are a variety of ways to achieve your bottom line:
-
I will accept $44,000 a year if I can set my own appointments working from 7:00 to 3:00 p.m. This way I can pick up my children after school and I won’t incur after school child care expenses.
-
I could work 9:00 to 5:00 if I earn $50,000 a year, which will cover the additional cost of afternoon child care.
-
I could work 9:00 to 5:00 if I earn $47,000 a year and am reimbursed for my ASHA membership and certification fees and have my expenses covered to attend the ASHA Convention and my state association meetings.