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As developers we are highly in demand right now so don't have to be overly clever in negotiation. I use a simple and foolproof strategy when asked for my curre

by dood 10y ago

As developers we are highly in demand right now so don't have to be overly clever in negotiation. I use a simple and foolproof strategy when asked for my current or expected compensation: "sorry I'm not willing to disclose my current comp, but I am looking for around X", where X is the amount you would need if there are no other bonuses or perks. Then they can talk you down from there if they want to proceed, you have anchored the conversation appropriately, and demonstrated you are negotiating from a position of strength, not weakness - which is the key to not getting pushed around. If they push on current comp just stand firm and politely refuse - you likely don't want to work anywhere that won't talk to you if you refuse to disclose your current comp, and there are plenty of other options besides. Save your time and energy for good companies willing to negotiate in good faith, there are lots around. The only hard part is determining what your labour is really worth - this can take a fair bit of effort, research and soul-searching, but is an absolutely essential prerequisite to negotiation.

falsedan 10y ago
> The only hard part is determining what your labour is really worth - this can take a fair bit of effort, research and soul-searching, but is an absolutely essential prerequisite to negotiation. I disagree. I think the intrinsic value of labour is not necessary to consider when calculating what you should be paid. The golden rule is: you're worth what people will pay you. I think you need three numbers: how much you need to be comfortable (i.e. you have a budget for living expenses & savings goals); how much the market is paying for similar positions; how much value you will add to their company. The first number is your low-end: you can't accept an offer under it, and you'd accept an offer around it to build your skills, experience, and networking. The third is their high-end: they can't pay more than you bring in or else they'll go bust. They probably don't know this number, their budget would be set based on market rates. Your job as a candidate is to find positions where the market rate is above your low-end, and then identify the areas where your skills & experience will provide more value to the company that they expected, so they can better calculate their high-end & are willing to negotiate up accordingly.
- dood 10y ago
  Sorry my comment was unclear, I mostly agree with you. In a negotiation the only thing that matters is how much the company values your labour, and how much of that value you can capture. Figuring this out is the hard part.
  - falsedan 10y ago
    No problem, I made the jump to intrinsic value [of labour] myself.

by dood 10y ago

falsedan 10y ago

> The only hard part is determining what your labour is really worth - this can take a fair bit of effort, research and soul-searching, but is an absolutely essential prerequisite to negotiation. I disagree. I think the intrinsic value of labour is not necessary to consider when calculating what you should be paid. The golden rule is: you're worth what people will pay you. I think you need three numbers: how much you need to be comfortable (i.e. you have a budget for living expenses & savings goals); how much the market is paying for similar positions; how much value you will add to their company. The first number is your low-end: you can't accept an offer under it, and you'd accept an offer around it to build your skills, experience, and networking. The third is their high-end: they can't pay more than you bring in or else they'll go bust. They probably don't know this number, their budget would be set based on market rates. Your job as a candidate is to find positions where the market rate is above your low-end, and then identify the areas where your skills & experience will provide more value to the company that they expected, so they can better calculate their high-end & are willing to negotiate up accordingly.

dood 10y ago
Sorry my comment was unclear, I mostly agree with you. In a negotiation the only thing that matters is how much the company values your labour, and how much of that value you can capture. Figuring this out is the hard part.
- falsedan 10y ago
  No problem, I made the jump to intrinsic value [of labour] myself.