Negotiating Your Salary. Jack Chapman

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      When Mr. Employer offers you the job, he’s either in the judgit stage, or as close to it as he’s going to get. He’s convinced you’re the best candidate. Therefore, he’s more willing to make the pay scale flexible, and even practice creative budget juggling, to get you.

      The same applies to raises. There, the rule is “Wait to discuss a raise until after your performance review.” (See Chapter 10, “Raises and Salary Reviews.”) If your performance review has been impressive, your boss will be poised at the judgit stage, ready to be flexible about money. Since you’ve been convincing about your quality, your raise is a new salary—as if you’re being rehired at a new rate.

      There’s another reason to postpone salary discussions until the job has been offered. Let’s take an example from your own shopping experience.

      If you want to buy a DVD player, you check out several stores. Suppose you get a price quotation from every salesperson except one, who says, “Look, here is what I have. I think it’s the quality you want. So if I’m right, before you buy anywhere else come back and talk to me about price. I’m sure we can make a deal.” Would you at least check in there before buying if you thought he would give you the best price? Of course. But if he had quoted $119, and in your fourth store you saw the equivalent for $125, would you bother to go back for $6.00? Probably not. Keeping a price flexible and open motivates people to check back before deciding.

      So if you table salary negotiations until you have a nod from potential employers, they’re likely at least to check back with you before their final round.

      But what if the job doesn’t pay in your range, anyway? Aren’t you just wasting your time and theirs by interviewing? Yes. But what in the world are you doing interviewing for a job below your level of responsibility?

      You’d better do some homework or hire a good career consultant to get yourself focused on the right kinds of positions. You should be able to screen the job with respect to how much responsibility it requires. If the job challenges you comfortably, the right money should follow.

How to Postpone Salary Talk: PART I

      By now you may be thinking, “Okay, it sounds like a good idea to put off discussing salary until I’ve been offered the job. But how do I do that? When Mr. Employer asks me right away what salary I’m looking for, I can’t just ignore the question.”

      True. Here’s what you can do. You can respond confidently to any premature salary gambit with the reply, “I’m sure we can come to a good salary agreement if I’m the right person for the job, so let’s first agree on whether I am.” Or: “Salary? Well, so far the job seems to have the right amount of responsibility for me, and I’m sure you pay a fair salary, don’t you?” (What can he say?) “So let’s hold off on salary talk until you know you want me. What other areas should we discuss now?”

      Some of my other clients have answered the question “What are your salary requirements?” with “Are you offering me the job?”

      Other handy phrases can be found at the end of the next chapter. There are many polite ways to postpone salary talk. These delays in discussing money can give you time to move your potential employer from budget to fudgit to judgit.

The Preemptive Strike

      My acknowledgments to Marty Nemko, author of Cool Careers for Dummies, for the following technique which I’ve dubbed the Preemptive Strike. Marty suggests that instead of postponing salary talk, you, the candidate, should bring it up early and get it out of the way. I’m impressed: I think this can work!

      We differ as to why you’d do it, but we agree it takes the pressure off. Marty suggests it, I believe, as a way around Salary-Making Rule 1. In his opinion, it’s better to “do it up front and get it out of the way” than to postpone it. My perspective on Marty’s method is that it’s a marvelous way to actually follow Salary-Making Rule 1. If you find it awkward to play “dodge the salary” when the employer brings it up you can head off that entire scene using his “handle it now” technique.

      [BTW I like his book; he “breaks the rules” of conventional career counseling and the thinking is refreshing. His book, actually, recommends you wait for “the moment when the boss seems maximally enthusiastic about ... you working for him,” which in my interpretation means wait until there’s an offer. It’s in conversation with him that he proposed this alternative to postponing salary talk.]

      Here’s how the preemptive strike works. After you have developed some rapport with the interviewer and have had some discussion about your skills, the job, etc., you casually pop this question, “By the way, Mr. Employer, I know it’s too early to discuss compensation in detail, but I wonder if you can give me a rough idea of the range you were thinking of with regard to this position?”

      It doesn’t matter much what they answer! Later, when you get to the judgit stage you’ll still be able to negotiate your best price. What does matter is that by getting them to spill the beans, you avoid them asking you what your salary expectations are. On the other hand, this option runs a small risk of appearing more interested in money than the job and the risk, too, of them turning the tables and asking about your expectations.

      And once they’ve answered? The following response will steer you back on the main road, “Thank you. I’m confident if I’m the right person for the job we can find a salary that works.” Then focus attention back on the job interview with, “Tell me more about the key problems you want handled on this job,” or, “Let’s discuss the management style your company wants to see.” Any question that puts the interviewer back on exploring the match between you and the job/company will do.

      Notice how this question and reply not only helps the employer relax about being able to afford you, but also postpones real salary discussion until later. Properly done, your reply doesn’t accept the range as-is, you’re still free to negotiate more.

What if They Get Angry with Me?

      Chapter 11 covers handling this worry in more detail, and when to disobey the rules in order to avoid tension and anger in the interview. Delaying salary talk until there’s an offer is almost always the correct move. Sometimes, going first can be the right thing to do, other times you-go-first is better; get proficient at the basics first. So, definitely read Chapter 11 – but not yet.