My Rules for Negotiation: 1. Always be willing to walk away. 2. Never, ever, take the first offer. 3. Never take an offer immediately. Always sleep on it. 4

My Rules for Negotiation: 1. Always be willing to walk away. 2. Never, ever, take the first offer. 3. Never take an offer immediately. Always sleep on it. 4. Never base your worth on "comps" aka. comparable salaries. You are an individual with your own "value add" to put it in marketing/sales/management speak. 5. Always remember that you always, always work for yourself. Your current employer just happens to be paying for your time now. Most everyone I meet when asked "who do you work for?" will say so and so company. But in reality they have no more commitment to you than you do to the stranger on the street. Always know that everything you do you do to extend your knowledge, your power and your influence. I always say "I work for myself. So and so just happens to be paying me right now."