It's a tough notion for job-seekers to get their heads around, but the essence of negotiation is choice. If you don't have options, you can't negotiate - you just can't. If you have no roof over your head, for instance, and someone offers to let you stay in his barn in exchange for ten hours a day of backbreaking work, you will take it. You have no options, so you have no juice. Job-seekers can feel option-less during the job-search process. They can feel that they NEED a new job (or any job) so badly that they have no options. The problem is that your level of need, as a job-seeker, may be greater than, equal to, or less than the level of need the employee has for someone with your skill set. But job-seekers don't often think about that. They assume that the employer has all the juice. Au contraire. Many times, when I was recruiting, the employer would be DESPERATE for a given skill set. The only way to find out the level of need on the employer side is to negotiate. Can an employer withdraw an offer in pique, because they're turned off by a candidate's demands? Yes they can. But think about it: if you get a job offer with X title and Y salary, and you come back and ask for X+ title and Y x 1.15, and they get huffy and walk, you have dodged a bullet!! The inability or unwillingness to negotiate in good faith is a HUGE red flag. There are companies out there who believe that it's a privilege to work for them. Avoid them. As you interview, figure out what juice you have. I believe you have some, even as a new grad, even coming off a horrible job, whatever. You have some options. It's healthy to revisit those before you jump to accept an offer that may or may not be anywhere near what you could command. |
