Salary Negotiation – deux

A few pieces of advice by Deepak Malhotra at a Harvard Business School talk to MBA students about salary negotiations:

1. Make them like you: Check all the right boxes and make them feel the need to hire you. At the same time, they should believe that they can get you.
2. Make them believe that you deserve what you are asking for: Justify and give reasons for everything you ask for. They need to be able to understand where you come from and prepare to defend you internally.
3. Give them reasons to justify and act on your demand internally: Understand the constraints; spend time figuring this out. Where and how they can give and justify it internally.
4. Be flexible on components of the salary: Look at the deal in its entirety. The employer might be able to give some non-tangibles that add to the overall value.
5. Don’t negotiate just for negotiating it: If there is something of importance, or if you think there is something you deserve, negotiate. Don’t fight for every minor thing.
6. Completely learn about the opposite party: What are their interests, constraints, . Be prepared and keep exploring.
7. Negotiate multiple things simultaneously: Present all the issues upfront rather than going back and forth. Give them a list of preferences.
8. What is not negotiable today is negotiable tomorrow: Things change during and even after the process. Things might have changed and things might have changed.
9. Stay at the table: Stay in touch and be engaged. They might be open to sharing things in future as things change.
10. Be prepared about their tough questions: Go in with a proper preparation about things they might ask that put you in a tough situation. Talk to friends and prepare.
11. On tough questions they ask, figure out why they are asking the same to you: Figure out the intent – target the why; at times the answer need not be to the question.
12. To extent possible, avoid ultimatums: It shows position of strength and comes across the wrong way. If there is an ultimatum given, ignore it. At times, people might have to go back on what they said. It gives a leeway for them to go back.
13. Remember companies don’t negotiate, people negotiate: Understand the person negotiating with you. Think about the person who will bat for you. Negotiating with HR is different from negotiating with future boss. And, don’t let that one person ruin the opinion of the company.
14. Don’t be in a mad rush to get offers: At times you want to slow down the process. It will orient you with other portfolio of deals you are negotiating.
15. Tell the truth: Always tell the truth smartly and have a great negotiation rather than succumbing to telling a lie for better deal.
16. Shoot for 11 out of 10: When negotiating with a person, always make him want to work with you.
17. How well you negotiate your job offer is unimportant to your happiness: The industry, career, company, city you live etc., will probably make you more happy than the job offer.

Enjoy the talk below.