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I never really know what to do during negotiation time. During the first interview, I'm usually asked how much. I'm told that I should always try to push it bac

I never really know what to do during negotiation time. During the first interview, I'm usually asked how much. I'm told that I should always try to push it back for the other person to make the first offer. However in matter how hard I try, they demand that I make the first offer. I don't want to aim too high or too low in fear that I'd lose out on the opportunity.

beagle90 13y ago
Always go for the highest they offer. E.g. If you apply for a job 25,000 - 35,000 go for 35k. My thinking behind this is that it shows you're confident in your ability. Remember a lot of companies are big enough to incur an extra 5k of salary in order to get the very best candidate. I'd say the above becomes more true the bigger the company gets... Small companies <10 employees this theory could well breakdown.
- JabavuAdams 13y ago
  Not good advice. This is a noob mistake. Where did that 25-35k range come from? From the other side of the negotiation. So, they've just anchored you to think that 35k is high. What if they would go up to 50? You'd never discover this unless you start outside their starting range.
steven2012 13y ago
As I said above, I've been in Silicon Valley for almost 20 years, I've never been "forced" to make the first offer. Maybe it's different here, but I find that unusual. The most I get from the recruiter is "How much do you currently make", and "What are your salary expectations." As I said above, when asked about salary expectations, I always say "market rate", and have never been asked for something more specific than that.
rwallace 13y ago
You have the first part right. You try to get them to be the first to name a number, but obviously if both sides are following that advice, something is going to have to give; sometimes you have to name a number. The key is, you should want to aim too high! They're not going to say 'no, and never darken our door again' (or if they do, then you had a lucky escape - if they're that nasty and irrational at negotiation time, what would they be like to work for after they had you in the door??) They'll say some variant of no - 'that's a little higher than we were thinking of' or 'ha ha, very funny' or 'well we were looking at something closer to typical market salary' or 'I'm afraid there's no way our budget would cover that' or however they want to put it, the point is, they're not willing to go as high as the number you named, which is good - if they were, that would probably have meant you were leaving money on the table. Then you say 'okay, what sort of figure were you thinking of?' Now you're negotiating.
gedrap 13y ago
The truth is, no (decent) company will reject you because you asked high but reasonably high. For some people it might mean that 'hey he must be good, if can asks that much and has no problem with employment!'. Social proof goes a loooong way. So don't worry. Personally, I research what is a 'standard' pay in that geographical area and then add ~15%. Nothing to lose, a few thousands to win :)

beagle90 13y ago

Always go for the highest they offer. E.g. If you apply for a job 25,000 - 35,000 go for 35k. My thinking behind this is that it shows you're confident in your ability. Remember a lot of companies are big enough to incur an extra 5k of salary in order to get the very best candidate. I'd say the above becomes more true the bigger the company gets... Small companies <10 employees this theory could well breakdown.

JabavuAdams 13y ago
Not good advice. This is a noob mistake. Where did that 25-35k range come from? From the other side of the negotiation. So, they've just anchored you to think that 35k is high. What if they would go up to 50? You'd never discover this unless you start outside their starting range.

steven2012 13y ago

As I said above, I've been in Silicon Valley for almost 20 years, I've never been "forced" to make the first offer. Maybe it's different here, but I find that unusual. The most I get from the recruiter is "How much do you currently make", and "What are your salary expectations." As I said above, when asked about salary expectations, I always say "market rate", and have never been asked for something more specific than that.

rwallace 13y ago

You have the first part right. You try to get them to be the first to name a number, but obviously if both sides are following that advice, something is going to have to give; sometimes you have to name a number. The key is, you should want to aim too high! They're not going to say 'no, and never darken our door again' (or if they do, then you had a lucky escape - if they're that nasty and irrational at negotiation time, what would they be like to work for after they had you in the door??) They'll say some variant of no - 'that's a little higher than we were thinking of' or 'ha ha, very funny' or 'well we were looking at something closer to typical market salary' or 'I'm afraid there's no way our budget would cover that' or however they want to put it, the point is, they're not willing to go as high as the number you named, which is good - if they were, that would probably have meant you were leaving money on the table. Then you say 'okay, what sort of figure were you thinking of?' Now you're negotiating.

gedrap 13y ago

The truth is, no (decent) company will reject you because you asked high but reasonably high. For some people it might mean that 'hey he must be good, if can asks that much and has no problem with employment!'. Social proof goes a loooong way. So don't worry. Personally, I research what is a 'standard' pay in that geographical area and then add ~15%. Nothing to lose, a few thousands to win :)