Job offer negotiation begins with the very first request for an introduction or an exploratory meeting. So how can you conduct yourself at each stage of the interviewing and negotiation process to maximize your remuneration? What are the common pitfalls and how can you avoid them? Learn: - What "pre-negotiation" discussions to avoid that could prevent or reduce your offer. - Techniques to avoid disclosing past compensation. - How your gender, familial background, work history and employment status may be influencing you. - Methods to determine your market value. - How to prepare for and practice negotiating And much more. Sarah Stamboulie, Ivy Exec's Senior Career Coach, formerly led Alumni Career Services at Columbia Business School and headed HR departments at Morgan Stanley, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Nortel.

1. Salary Negotiation for Job Seekers
Presenter: Sarah Stamboulie, Senior Career Coach, Ivy Exec
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2. About Sarah Stamboulie
• Sarah led Alumni Career Services at
Columbia Business School, overseeing
career programming and resources for
36,000 alumni throughout the world.
• Earlier in her career, Sarah served as the
head of Human Resources at both Morgan
Stanley and Cantor Fitzgerald. She holds
an MBA from Columbia Business School.
• Sarah has been featured in publications
such as Forbes and AM New York, and has
made television appearances on Fox 5
News and CBS Moneywatch
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3. Participant Poll
1. What is your current employment situation?
a. Unemployed and fully focused on job search (or should be).
b. Working as well as job-hunting.
c. Working and planning to job-hunt.
2. How are your negotiation skills?
a. Relatively weak.
b. Average.
c. Good but I still could use a few tips.
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4. Reasons for Resistance to Negotiating
• family of origin
• national origin
• gender
• work history
• negotiation history
Discomfort doesn’t mean you’re making a mistake.
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6. Lay the Foundation for a Generous Opening Offer
Job offer negotiation begins with the very first request for an introduction or an
exploratory meeting.
1. Avoid salary disclosure.
2. Present yourself like a “winner” regardless of your feelings.
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7. Online and Paper Applications
• Leave salary items blank whenever possible.
• When required online, enter $0 or an unrealistically low round number like
$10,000.
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8. External and Internal Recruiter Questions
You don’t have to answer salary questions, but:
• be open about everything else.
• be extremely polite.
• use a pleasant, helpful voice while you decline to provide salary details.
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9. Q:"What are/were you making at your current/last job?”
A: “I’d hate to eliminate myself because of a dollar figure at this point. Right
now, the key issue for me is finding a great fit. I figure if the fit is
there, then we’d work out the money part. If it’s ok with you, could we talk
about this a little later on in the process?” (Ellis Chase)
A: “That’s a good question. Would you mind telling me the average salary
range for this position or similar positions in this agency? My requirements
are flexible, and I’d like to consider those rates before deciding on an exact
range.“
(Wagner School of Public Service negotiation guide)
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10. Novel Technique To Avoid Disclosure
• “My current/past non-disclosure agreement (NDA) forbids me to disclose
my terms of employment (including compensation) to other parties except
where legally required (insurance companies, banks, and IRS).”
• What if you didn’t have to sign an NDA? Try calling your company’s legal
department and say something like: “one of my employees asked me a
question and I wasn’t sure of the answer – is it against company policy to
disclose company compensation information to other companies?”
Chances are that the lawyer will help you out in some way (they are trained
to say to no to anything with the word “disclose!”) and will say it is against
company policy to disclose compensation information to other companies or
will give you some other kind of restriction that you can reference with
recruiters and hiring managers.
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11. Q:"What are your salary requirements?”
A: "Since salary is only one piece of the puzzle for me, I’d like to find out more
about the job before determining my salary requirements. This sounds like
an excellent opportunity so far. Can you tell me a little more about…[insert
an area where you have additional questions]?
A: "That’s a good question. Would you mind telling me the average salary
range for this position or similar positions in this agency? My requirements
are flexible, and I’d like to consider those rates before deciding on an exact
range."
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12. What if they keep hounding you?
You can give in and say:
“Over the past five years, my [base salary], [compensation] [total
compensation package] has ranged from x – y (choosing whichever items
will be in your favor).
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13. What if your last salary was extremely low or high?
• State that you are looking for a fair market salary for this job, and that your
past salary was in such a different field that it’s not relevant to what you
would accept for this role.
• Or pretend you are giving in and say, “In my former field my compensation
was in the average range, which adjusted for this field would be about $XK
per year.”
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14. Present Yourself as “Fortunate” - Translates to Competent and Wise
If unemployed:
– imply you have a healthy bank balance:“I was fortunate to be able to
take a sabbatical after I left X.”
– Be very optimistic about your job prospects (as you have been
fortunate throughout your career).
If employed:
– Talk positively about current role so that it serve as a “competing offer”
if another firm makes you an offer.
– Always show great enthusiasm (but not great need) for job.
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15. Keep the Focus on Their Job During Interviews
• Market yourself as an asset that will expand or improve the company’s
reach or performance.
• Try to propose a change that shows a global understanding of your future
employer, one that is larger than they might have pictured.
• Show that you are more qualified than the other candidates by highlighting
only past achievements that are in line with your new company’s objectives.
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16. Research Your Market Value
• alumni and association members • www.glassdoor.com
• www.vault.com
• LinkedIn groups
• www.careers.wsj.com
• former employees • www.wetfeet.com
• http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/
• recruiters
salary
• http://jobstar.org/tools/sal
ary/index.php
• www.salary.com
• www.payscale.com/
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17. Avoid a Premature Offer
Delay salary and benefit negotiations for as long as possible in the interview
process. You’ll have more power to negotiate when the employer is
completely sold on you as the best candidate for the position.
If they start to try to negotiate before they’ve made a formal offer, suggest
that you postpone the discussion until the role is completely fleshed out and
they are ready to make a formal offer.
If they keep going, say, “To clarify, are you are making me a formal job offer
now?”
(Randall Hansen)
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18. Responding to a Verbal Offer
A: Silence 1. Again, silence. Take it in, think about
it, count to 10.
2. “I’m very excited about the possibility of
joining the company. I think we’d work
together well.”
3. “But I’d like a few days to think it over.
Could we make a plan to get together
then? I think we’ll be able to work things
out at that point…”
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19. With Whom to Negotiate
Hiring Manager HR Manager/Headhunter
In love with your candidacy and success Not affected by candidate
may depend on it choice
Anxious to be done with recruiting Always recruiting anyway
Makes more money that you are asking for May make less money than you
(often much more)
Negotiates all the time
Rarely negotiates salary
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20. Ways You Can Negotiate
• In-person meeting (usually the strongest)
• Phone meeting
• E-mail counter-proposal
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21. First Negotiate Conditions for Success
• scope of responsibility • strategic positioning
• authority • political support
• reporting structure • software and equipment for you
and your team
• budget
• corporate housing
• staff – new hires and upgrades
• flextime
• flexibility on comp structure of
staff • first-class travel
• administrative help • comp time and wellness days
• prestigious title • training
• office • child day care
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22. Negotiate Compensation
• base salary
• stock options
• guaranteed bonus
• stock grants
• bonus range
• deferred compensation
• % cash of bonus
• signing bonus
• Equity
• 401(k) contributions
• profit-sharing
• relocation coverage
• travel per diem
• partnership opportunities or
requirement
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23. Negotiate Benefits
• severance • company car
– crucial when you’re relocating • transportation costs
or transitioning from long- • flextime
term employer • telecommuting
– fall back position is to ask for • tuition reimbursement
severance only in the case of
a change of management • certification reimbursement
• medical and dental coverage • gym, health club or fitness
membership
• disability and life insurance
• laptop, cell phone, Internet access
• vacation
• casual dress
• paid holidays
• paid sick leave
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24. Factors Affecting Your Negotiation Success
• how much they love you
• how much they need you
• your employment status
• how much they can afford
• attitude towards negotiation
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25. How much of an increase should you ask for?
• Always ask for a higher salary (within acceptable limits) than you are willing
to accept so that when the employer counters your proposal, the salary
should be near your original goal.
• And when possible, try and show how your actions (once on board) will
recoup the extra amount (or more) that you are seeking -- through cost
savings or increased sales revenue, productivity, efficiencies.
(Randall Hansen)
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26. Timing Potential Offers
• If you are expecting an offer and your first choice is behind in the interview
cycle, let them know and ask if they can accelerate your process.
• As soon as you get an offer, let other companies know if you would prefer
them.
• As soon as you accept an offer, tell the other companies and express great
appreciation.
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27. New Boss – what you need to learn
• What was your boss’s previous • What kind of relationship does
job? your boss have with his/her
supervisor?
• How did he/she land current job?
• Does your boss advocate for the
team?
• What does he/she see as his/her
next step?
• What kind of management style
works for your boss?
• What does your boss value in the
job?
• What does you boss most value in
the people who report to her?
• How does your boss fit within the
larger power structure at work?
• What does your boss’s live outside
of work look like?
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28. Warning Signs
• Unkind/inappropriate/prejudiced/gossipy comments during interview
process.
• Neutral or vague answers when you ask about the boss.
• Not always a warning sign: questions about marital status or kids may
mean they know they will make an offer (those questions are legally risky
only if they don’t make you an offer.)
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29. Responding to Written Offer Letter or Contract
Always be sure to get the final offer in writing.
Do not sign without a thorough review no matter
what!
Critical clauses include:
• Non-compete clauses
• Non-solicitation clauses
• Behavioral constraints
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30. With Whom to Negotiate Legal Points
• with HR directly, with a lawyer advising you
• with the hiring manager, with a lawyer advising you
• your lawyer talking to their lawyer
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31. How to Turn Down an Offer
• By telephone to each stakeholder:
– hiring manager
– internal recruiter
– external recruiter
– referrer
• Display great appreciation – they’ve invested a lot of time (and perhaps
money) interviewing you.
• Disclose where you’re going if it’s lined up or say it’s in flux but that you will
explain as soon as you can.
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32. When to Turn Down an Offer
• Part way through negotiations if you know you won’t take it even if they
give you everything – not always worth “going for the offer” if you burn a
contact.
• When they haven’t met your bottom line.
• When you hear the wrong answers about the boss and the company.
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33. Get Help!
Negotiation consulting:
One of few investments where a low time commitment can
net you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few
days or weeks!
Want Sarah to work on your strategy?
For more information, email us at:
careersupport@ivyexec.com
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