How to Structure an Offer Negotiation Conversation

(Photo credit @gabriellefaithhenderson)

Last month, I was featured in a 500Startups article along with other women entrepreneurs offering hard-earned negotiation advice. I thought I’d expand a bit more on my snippets. 

My Negotiation Hack: Arm yourself with data before any negotiation. Know the questions they will ask and be ready to respond.

• I am always surprised when I speak with job seekers who wait until the offer stage to gather salary data and prepare for an offer negotiation. 

• You should start earlier in the process. The larger tech firms have hired enough people that the data is often readily available - and now that multiple states ban companies from asking for salary history, many recruiters are asking for salary ranges in screening calls or first-round interviews! Don’t be caught off-guard and anchor yourself lower than you should. 

• Resources to find salary data: 

  • Comparably has emerged as a solid source of information compared with the originals Glassdoor and Salary.com

  • Women and underrepresented minorities should check out 81cents for a $195 paid personalized report (tho they offer partial scholarships if you need it)

  • For MBAs, check out TransparentCareer.com for a very targeted data set

  • I’ve heard mixed things about Levels.fyi but still worth including

  • For pre-IPO companies, try Angel.co’s salary database

My Advice: Be confident in what you are asking for. They wouldn’t have given you an offer if they didn’t think you had skills and value to add. Ask someone knowledgeable to practice modeling out the various ways the conversation could go.

• For some candidates, they are confident throughout the entire interview process - and freeze up when the offer negotiation phase begins. You should remember that they gave you an offer because they want YOU to join their organization and bring along your skills and experience to help them achieve their company’s objectives. 

• It’s only logical to then ask for a compensation package that matches your worth. And most tech recruiters also expect negotiation. If you structure the conversation well, everyone wins. 

• PRACTICE the conversation!! Contact me or someone else who is knowledgeable about you, your industry/role, or the specific company to help plan out the conversation. I have modeled negotiation conversations with many clients, forcing them to articulate what comp package components they value most and how to respond if a recruiter says No at any stage. I’ve helped clients get anywhere from $5-25K salary bumps, include advanced promotion cycles in their written offers, added additional bonuses, and more. Reach out if you’d like to chat more! 

Negotiating your salary

(Photo credit @linkedinsalesnavigator)

1. Be prepared for the salary expectations question before you have your first interview.

   • This question continues to frighten most job candidates as no one really knows how to answer it and when it might come up. 

   • Best practice is to prepare (before your first interview!) to be able to answer it. I’ve seen it appear in initial screens, second rounds and final round interviews -- so basically at any stage in the interview process. 

   • Here is a great guide from TheMuse.com with strategies for how to answer this question. Note: asking about prior salary is now illegal in some cities/states & here is another TheMuse.com guide on how to tactfully answer that type of question.

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#random

• Physicists build circuit that generates clean, limitless power from graphene 

Did you know...that graphene is as light as aluminum foil, but strong enough to stop a bullet?

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Q&A and Recommendations

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This week is a bit of a hodgepodge collection of Q&A advice & tool recommendations & job/intern/training links to help you navigate the current hiring landscape & remote work environment. Enjoy!

Q&A

• Should I be networking right now?

  • Yes, I think it's fine to be networking. Many employees have had at least two weeks to figure out their new working at home situation, and might be ready to accept networking emails/calls.

  • One thing to consider: how to balance being persistent and pestering. Right now, it's helpful for you to be diligent about following up as everyone is juggling many things. However, you don't wait to follow-up as quickly as you might normally - I'd wait at least a week in between follow-ups, maybe even two weeks.

  • Also, if you do end up on a call with a contact, it's ok to start the call with a general 'how are you handling remote work right now?" I find that most of my calls/meetings right now default to starting with a similar question. Phrasing it this way makes it easier to acknowledge the global situation & focus on the work-related aspects of it, vs veering too far into someone's personal details.

• Is anyone hiring right now?

  • Yes, there are multiple companies who are in need of help -- areas that come to mind include: ecommerce platforms/distribution channels; remote work/productivity software; CPGs producing household goods like toilet paper/cleaning supplies; tech companies powering the streaming services & the internet backbone itself

  • Scroll down for additional links to jobs

• If I have received an offer from Company A and I'm still interviewing with Company B, should I tell either of them about the other?

  • Yes! It's good practice to keep your recruiters informed as it gives them the best opportunity to be your advocate and help you get the best offer from their company. However, you don't need to share all the details with each of them, only the pertinent info they need to move things along.

  • First, I suggest you call company B and tell them you just received an offer from another company and they have given you a deadline of X date (that's all you need to share). Tell B that you remain interested/excited in interviewing with B, and would appreciate the chance to complete the interview process with them on an accelerated timeline. The recruiter will then be able to tell you if it's possible for them to accelerate your interview process to meet A's deadline, or not.

  • If B needs more time, you go back to A to ask for a short extension to their deadline (based on what time B told you they need), so that you are able to complete the interview process with one other company & thus fully evaluate both career options.

  • Most times, as long as recruiters see you are working with them in good faith, they will try to help you as best as they can.

4 Productivity "Survival" Tools/products I've been using & recommend

• Headspace

  • I became a Headspace devotee about 5.5 years ago when my father became ill and I moved home to help take care of him in the months before he passed away. One of the best gifts from Google was the Search Inside Yourself class. I'm proud to say I'm on day 473 of a daily 20-minute meditation streak. Great quote from the MindfulMBA: "Mindfulness is leadership training because it teaches you how to continue through discomfort, uncertainty, and even chaos. It trains you to be the calm in the middle of the storm."

• Focus@Will

  • Founded by neuroscientists & musicologists, the Focus@Will app alters subtle music characteristics to help you focus longer. Using the Focus@Will app is like flipping a switch on in my brain that sends me into super focus mode. I've been using it for at least 4 years and find it amazingly helpful to put on headphones and just focus. My preference is the Ambient channel. I just saw that they are offering 50% off memberships too!

• Stand Steady X-Elite Pro

  • I bought a desktop standing desk a week ago as I have gotten so tired of sitting at my desk all day. Brilliant choice. This one is very easy to use & relatively inexpensive for the quality of life it provides! Not sure yet about buying other items (like an anti-fatigue mat) - will keep you posted!

• Clickup

  • I think I found the holy grail of project management tools. I love how highly structured and infinitely flexible Clickup is for managing projects. I especially love the ability to have a list, board, calendar AND gantt chart view of a project, without having to pick one like many other tools force you to do (I'm looking at you Asana and Trello). Still working on the best practices but thus far, it's been amazing (is it too much to say my heart pitter-patters when I think of Clickup? Maybe that's the cabin fever talking...)

(Note: I am an affiliate for these tools -- tho I only recommend products I *actually* use often!)

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Want personalized career guidance? Take a look at my Career Strategy Session options.