Lunch and Learn: Negotiation
Topic: Negotiation
Date: January 17th, 2018
Invited Speaker: Francine Mahak, Career Counselor, Graduate Students in Science and Engineering
Summary:
In this month’s Lunch & Learn Francine Mahak from Career Services talked about negotiating in industry. Below are the key points from this event.
People appear more confident when they negotiate.
- 80% of recruiters report that candidates who negotiate make a better impression
- Use several salary calculators to determine worth such as glassdoor.com, com, or payscale.com
- Suggest a salary above the median, and support it with the particular strengths you bring to the position (after all, they chose you).
During an interview, deflect salary expectation questions before the offer is made and you can evaluate it in the context of the total compensation.
Think of what you bring that is not reflected by salary history (advanced technical/analytical skills, problem-solving experience, project management, mentoring, training, etc. Postdocs are underpaid, so their salary history is going to be lower than they are worth.
4 factors that reflect salary:
- Market rate
- Assessment of your qualifications
- Employer’s budget
- Your skill in negotiating
Reasons people do not negotiate:
- Afraid that the offer will be rescinded (rare and unprofessional, if it’s only because you sought to negotiate)
- Not “our world” – we are scientists not businessmen (yes, you can still negotiate as a scientist). We negotiate with people all the time, just not usually for salary.
When you suggest a salary, do not suggest the low end. An employer may think you are a “wall flower” and will not offer you above (just don’t go WAY high.)
Subtract 30% of your salary to determine take-home pay. This estimates taxes, healthcare premiums, contributions to your 401k, and other shared-cost benefits.
When negotiating, employers do not care about arguments involving family size or student loans (those are your responsibility). They will hear arguments about cost of living. Describe what you ask for in terms of benefits to them (e.g. show how x will help you be most productive).
When receiving an offer:
- Know your bottom line
- Express appreciation for the offer without accepting
- Ask for the whole compensation package
- Avoid negotiation via email
- Silence is okay – just wait it out. Once you’ve proposed a counter-offer, give them time to think and respond.
When negotiating an offer:
- Thank them
- Make it collaborative
- Do you have other offers? You can say so, and use the higher salary/benefits as leverage. (If not, you can mention that you are balancing “options” which could be other interviews you’ve committed to.)
- Get final offer, with all points agreed to in the negotiation, in writing.
You can still decline, but if you do say “not now” politely. You don’t want to burn bridges further down the road.