5 ms·

> folks are $214k a year wealthier literally just by asking for it. How do you ask for it? (or how do you get there?)

jasonkester 14y ago
With your words. More specifically, when they make you an offer for $x/year, you say "how about $(x + 15)" instead of "holy crap yes yes yes!" You can also try it at your current job if you've been there a while and haven't seen more than "cost of living" adjustments in your salary for a while. Though the sad reality is that it's usually a lot easier to ask another company instead and get your raises by switching jobs.
patio11 14y ago
I've written on this subject extensively. Most in-depth here: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/ http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/ and here: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pro... You can also HNSearch.com for my comments about it on HN. (I also recommend looking for tptacek's comments on negotiation/rates.)
- tocomment 14y ago
  Is the site down?
  - patio11 14y ago
    It seems my hosting provider's DNS company is under DDOS. Wait a while, it should let up. Alternatively, hitting reload a few time seems to work for me.
chrisbennet 14y ago
Years ago an interviewer asked me "Bob wanted me to ask you if $X was the number, would you be happy?" I told him yes, I'd be happy with $X, but I'd be really happy with $(X + 3000). I got ($X + 3000).
artmageddon 14y ago
Personal anecdote: I literally just asked while on the phone with the recruiter for negotiating for a six-month contract last year in NYC. At the time, I was getting about $67K. Recruiter: "Our client is offering $45/hr for the position, what do you think of the offer?" Myself: "How close to $50/hr can we get?" Recruiter: "He can do $50/hr." That was all it took, and that was the discussion about it verbatim. It's hard when you're already in the position and you have to negotiate a higher raise with your boss because you need to prove you're worth it by performance(and whether or not you meet their metrics, etc etc), but in the interview process, that's how it went for me.
- vidarh 14y ago
  Can't stress enough that you should ask. As someone who's been on the hiring side most of my career: I've never given my "best and final offer" to a potential hire right away. Doing so is leaving money on the table, as most hires accept the first offer made to them unless it's totally out of the ballpark. But that also conversely means that not asking for more than you get offered is leaving money on the table. If they clamor to accept right way, I'm left wondering if I offered too much. I've also never terminated discussions with someone, or known about situations where that happened, without providing at least one counter offer. I'm sure it could happen, but as long as you're not being an ass about the way you're doing it, few people will turn around and decide not to hire you just because you try to get more money. If anything I want the people who have the confidence to ask, rather than the one that just quietly accept what's offered.
  - artmageddon 14y ago
    > If they clamor to accept right way, I'm left wondering if I offered too much. I doubt that it's ever "too much", but sometimes it can just be a matter of appeasement or desperation. I told the same story above to a friend of mine who had been out of work for at least one or perhaps two years after finishing a degree from a video-game school as he was being offered a position as a web developer. I encouraged him to ask for just a little more than what he had offered, but he sent back an acceptance of the original offer from the employer as he was afraid of rocking the boat, and simply just wanted to get paid as bills began to mount up. The original offer was for a $50K salary, which isn't terrible for starting out of school. In my eyes, I was slightly disappointed that he didn't even really try to get another $2000 or $3000, but in his position, he didn't want to risk losing the original $50K just for a little more.

With your words. More specifically, when they make you an offer for $x/year, you say "how about $(x + 15)" instead of "holy crap yes yes yes!" You can also try it at your current job if you've been there a while and haven't seen more than "cost of living" adjustments in your salary for a while. Though the sad reality is that it's usually a lot easier to ask another company instead and get your raises by switching jobs.

patio11 14y ago

I've written on this subject extensively. Most in-depth here: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/ http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/ and here: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pro... You can also HNSearch.com for my comments about it on HN. (I also recommend looking for tptacek's comments on negotiation/rates.)

tocomment 14y ago
Is the site down?
- patio11 14y ago
  It seems my hosting provider's DNS company is under DDOS. Wait a while, it should let up. Alternatively, hitting reload a few time seems to work for me.

chrisbennet 14y ago

Years ago an interviewer asked me "Bob wanted me to ask you if $X was the number, would you be happy?" I told him yes, I'd be happy with $X, but I'd be really happy with $(X + 3000). I got ($X + 3000).

artmageddon 14y ago

Personal anecdote: I literally just asked while on the phone with the recruiter for negotiating for a six-month contract last year in NYC. At the time, I was getting about $67K. Recruiter: "Our client is offering $45/hr for the position, what do you think of the offer?" Myself: "How close to $50/hr can we get?" Recruiter: "He can do $50/hr." That was all it took, and that was the discussion about it verbatim. It's hard when you're already in the position and you have to negotiate a higher raise with your boss because you need to prove you're worth it by performance(and whether or not you meet their metrics, etc etc), but in the interview process, that's how it went for me.

vidarh 14y ago
Can't stress enough that you should ask. As someone who's been on the hiring side most of my career: I've never given my "best and final offer" to a potential hire right away. Doing so is leaving money on the table, as most hires accept the first offer made to them unless it's totally out of the ballpark. But that also conversely means that not asking for more than you get offered is leaving money on the table. If they clamor to accept right way, I'm left wondering if I offered too much. I've also never terminated discussions with someone, or known about situations where that happened, without providing at least one counter offer. I'm sure it could happen, but as long as you're not being an ass about the way you're doing it, few people will turn around and decide not to hire you just because you try to get more money. If anything I want the people who have the confidence to ask, rather than the one that just quietly accept what's offered.
- artmageddon 14y ago
  > If they clamor to accept right way, I'm left wondering if I offered too much. I doubt that it's ever "too much", but sometimes it can just be a matter of appeasement or desperation. I told the same story above to a friend of mine who had been out of work for at least one or perhaps two years after finishing a degree from a video-game school as he was being offered a position as a web developer. I encouraged him to ask for just a little more than what he had offered, but he sent back an acceptance of the original offer from the employer as he was afraid of rocking the boat, and simply just wanted to get paid as bills began to mount up. The original offer was for a $50K salary, which isn't terrible for starting out of school. In my eyes, I was slightly disappointed that he didn't even really try to get another $2000 or $3000, but in his position, he didn't want to risk losing the original $50K just for a little more.