For job seekers, there is no better notification than receiving an email with the subject Job Offer Letter. As soon as you see that mail, your brain immediately starts daydreaming of buying that newly launched bike or applying for leave after 6 months for Rock am Ring. However, an offer letter also comes with the risk of your expectations not being met when it comes to your expected salary, expected position, or expected date of joining. There is a whole new world of complexities that gives birth to itself after you receive an offer. Some companies have the tendency to offer compensation through stock, options, and bonuses associated with personal and group performance.
Then there are industries where the labor market is weak which makes it even more difficult for the employer to dictate terms.
Having said that, the job market is ruled by people who are capable of tactfully negotiating the terms and conditions of employment. After all, job offer negotiating makes all the difference in an arrangement where there is a wide variety of possible outcomes.
So, without further delay, let’s discuss some strategies, questions, and techniques that will let you easily bypass the usual issues faced by others and present a counteroffer.
Be Likeable
This sounds very commonplace and completely surprising, but it is the truth. People are only going to want you around if they like you, and that too in a space where people spend most of their day. So, during the course of the negotiation ensure that all your approach leaves a stunning impression in the minds of the employer. And being likable is more than just being polite. During negotiations, ensure that you don’t let disagreement escalate by being greedy, or by blatantly rejecting any offer. You can surely do a mock interview with your friends before leaving for the actual interview.
Walk the employers through what you deserve and your request
Being likable is just step one that you take in your job search. The next step is to make them believe that you are worthy of the offer. Do not let your proposal float alone. Always have a story that supports your proposal. Do not just present your hopes wishes and aspirations. Rather give a detailed explanation as to why you are more deserving than any other candidates that they might be interviewing. If at the present moment, you don’t have enough credentials to back your demand, then we suggest that you tread lightly. Needing without deserving can make you look arrogant and immature.
Don’t be ambiguous about your availability
Before you type out your job acceptance letter, ensure that your mind is completely made up. An employer wouldn’t go to the lengths of vouching for you and taking a laundry list of approvals from the top management if they even slightly feel that you are going to say No Thanks at the end of it. No one would want to prep you up for another employer. If you are planning to negotiate salary or a better designation, be sure of the fact that you are going to join them if they offer it to you. Although it is a good idea to claim that you are a hot property that is sought by many employers, overplaying this card can put an employer on the back foot. So, ensure that assure the employer about your availability if they agree to meet all your demands.
Know the One You are Negotiating With
You are never negotiating with the company; you are always negotiating with the person, and that can be both advantageous and disadvantageous. And before you work your magic on the person opposite to you, you need to understand them. Remember that negotiating with your future boss is a completely different ball game than negotiating with an HR. With HR, you can ask all the small details associated with the job, but can’t do the same with your immediate boss. Similarly, you won’t be able the get any personal favours from HR as they only are responsible for the hiring, but you can surely get into the good books of your reporting manager and tip the scale in your direction.
Understand their Limitations
Sometimes you are the exact gem that they have been looking for, and they believe that you deserve the world, and still won’t be able to give you what you want. The reason is that the company would have salary caps that no amount of negotiation skills can change. Your task is to figure out where they’re flexible and where they are rigid. For instance, if you are applying for a corporate job and they are employing 20 people at the same time, the chances are slim of you getting a higher salary than everyone else. However, they can be lenient towards joining dates, vacation time, and signing bonuses. On the other side, if you are applying to a small company, they may be able to accommodate your salary demands but not your need for a flexible work culture.
Be Ready to Face the Music of Tough Questions
Most interviewers are trying to crack the applicant to check their level of tenacity, and most job applicants lose the battle here. Questions like do you have another offer? If we make a concrete offer, will you say yes? Are we your preferred choice? can pop out of nowhere. And if you are ill-prepared, you can end up giving very vague answers in the heat of the moment. If you wish to take a piece of advice seriously, then we suggest never lying in a negotiation. It usually does come back to haunt you, and even if you get away easily, it’s just plain unethical. Another disadvantage that you can put yourself in is by trying to overplease and losing your leverage. So, practice answering these tough questions and turn on the charm without causing yourself any harm.
Pay Attention to the Questioner’s Intent
If despite all your homework, the employer challenges you from a perspective that you weren’t prepared for, remember one simple rule: the trick lies not in the question but in the intent behind which the question is framed. Sometimes the question can come across as aggressive but the intent of the questionnaire might be benign. If an employer throws a quick question like, can you join us immediately as in tomorrow, then they are simply checking your level of excitement, and not trying to corner you. So, if you are taken aback by the nature of the question, do not immediately expect the worst. Instead, answer in a way that you understand the intent, or get more clarity about the problem that the interviewer is trying to solve. To line up interviews with some of the best UK jobs, and to simply widen your search of job opportunities, visit the website Jobsbuster.com
Look at the entire deal
Unfortunately, for most folks, accepting a job offer and negotiating the salary are one and the same thing. But the matter of fact is that much of your satisfaction from the job will present itself out of factors that you can negotiate way easier than the salary. Don’t just focus on the salary. Keep an eye out for factors like flexibility in work hours, location, canteen, promotion cycle, support for further education, and more. Along with knowing how you will be rewarded, also know when you will be rewarded.
Negotiate more than one issue at the same time
If you have received an offer and you’re genuinely concerned by certain aspects of it, you’re expected to bring all the changes all at once. Don’t go like the salary needs to be revised, and once that issue is addressed, you bring two more issues to the table. If you keep bringing up one issue after the other, there is a high possibility of negotiation turning sour and the entire arrangement going for a toss.
Don’t negotiate for the sake of it
Apply immediate brake on the need to become Harvey Spectre from Suits. All the newly trained in the art of negotiation go all guns blazing with their negotiation. It’s important to negotiate about things that are of utmost importance, but having said that do not haggle over every little thing. Fighting for anything and everything can rub people the wrong way – and take the entire negotiation into a downward spiral.
Keep in mind the timing of the offers
When you are fresh into the job hunt, you would love to have at least one offer by your side to help boost your confidence. This is true in the case of people completing a degree program when everyone is busy giving interviews and some rejoicing about early victories. As ironic as it might sound, getting an early offer can put you in a fix, as the company who made the offer will be expecting a reply soon from you. If you are keeping an eye out for multiple jobs, it makes sense for all your offers to pile up at the same time, so that you can lay out all your options at the same time and narrow down on the best available option.
Read Also: Top Soft Skills Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
To conclude, unless you are a time traveler who can travel into the future, it is impossible to know exactly what an interviewer would ask. However, it is highly advised to prepare some polished and professional answers just for the sake of practice and building confidence.
Comments (1)
binance Inscreva-se
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!