is there any value in this? i know someone who tried to get a position im going for and they knew good and well what the pay was, and after taking the company through the interviewing process said they would need 25% more in an effort to negotiate. ive been told by mutual friends on the inside that this person was rejected and effectively “will never work here after that stunt”.
i was asked, before interviews, what i would be looking for. knowing well what the pay is, i said a range between 95-105%. i was told “we believe we can meet and possibly exceed your expectations”.
not sure if this was a good move or stupid. clearly 25% is a bad idea for this firm. i kinda knee-jerked because i didnt expect on the initial contact it would come up, but it did.
thoughts? and is there any problem in changing my range as we move forward in the process, as in 100-110%?
You have to find a way to get their number first or skate around the question until the final round. It’s never a good idea to show your cards too early.
I say no value. No one likes to be bait and switched or tricked. Even if it was a great candidate, to give in, means to lose. When a negotiation happens, unless there is inelasticity, there must be a sense of fairness for both sides to agree.
Why is it that all advice regarding negotiating salary says you are always supposed to wait for the number but in every other type of negotiation, the one in the business, persumably the one who is most experienced in negotiating that item, always gives it first?
Look at when you buy a car or a house, they always give you a high listing price which sets the anchor.
When I sold cars, we always, always did our first pencil at sticker (sometimes more), and make people work down. I’ve worked and closed hundreds of deals like that, the industry works millions of deals like that a year. We want the highest number possible and will present the higher number first.
Unless there is a reason to let someone lowball you first, I’m not going to change my practice, but I’m open to hearing ya’lls thoughts.
Actually, a footnote, at the non-luxury store I worked at or when a client has heard of a rebate, we will price accordingly but will always try to mention the original high price to try to pull any subsequent counteroffers upward.
Because these questions are always asked by people who are qualified but face an unknown quantity of other qualified candidates. Landing the position is more important than money in the long term for most of them. This is not buying like buying a car at all. The prices are not known. There are sensitivities on the employer side regarding pricing, and the candidate is usually afraid to offend or ding themselves early.
At the end of the day, it’s a career, not a consumer good that you shed after a few years.
A good piece of advice I heard is that your opening offer should be the highest (if your’re selling, which includes selling your labour) or lowest (if you’re buying) that is defensible. I.e. It passes the laugh test. It doesn’t even have to be reasonable, and certainly shouldn’t be your lowest acceptable, it just has to be not-crazy. However, if you are in a crowded field and not sure you can stand out, you may have to get closer to reasonable. From there, expect to be negotiated down and get a feel for what how much.
the reason for that is you always people to feel like they got a deal and that they are good negotiators. That is why low balling and then switching up is horrible and will create ill will. No one wants to feel like they got duped.
This was just simply a lack of experience and somewhat of a presence of inelasticity. As I mentioned in a prior post I’m in a pretty low spot currently and this move puts me in a much better spot so I don’t want to miss the chance. Looking back I easily could have said 105-115% of what I know the job pays to see if I could squeeze something. Lesson learned. Next time around ill have some real experience and leverage. Oh well
The problem here is that your “friend” priced himself out of the original hiring parameters. He wanted a certain salary and since it was beyond what HR had budgeted for the role, it was a “no go.” It happens. However, unless you really want to transition from one industry to another and are aware you’ll need to start off at a lower rung on the salary ladder to make that happen, you should never lowball yourself. That’s basically negotiation suicide right there.
Consider it a learning experience, pdub. I learned it in my current job. I didn’t negotiate on the salary, primarly because it was a lot more than I expected and 25% more than the position I was in, so I was pretty damn happy with their offer. Don’t tell by HR, but they could have given me a 5% raise and I’d have jumped. So I guess it’s all relative. Also I didn’t have any competing offers. I had applied to one job and got it. In my next role change I’ll definitely try to push a bit, just to see. Live and learn…