Here's the secret trick to negotiating, even with big companies. They have to need you more than you need them. And you have to say "This is non-negotiable to

Here's the secret trick to negotiating, even with big companies. They have to need you more than you need them. And you have to say "This is non-negotiable to me" and mean it. If they won't bend on the contract, you don't work for them. Lots of people say that negotiating is hard, but that's not really true. Yes, it's tough to walk away from something you want -- and if you prefer to compromise, rather than walk away, that's fine, but that doesn't make the actual negotiation hard. It means that you don't want the concession badly enough to walk away. Negotiation doesn't mean you always get your way, but it means you don't bend when you don't want to bend. The likelihood that you or I would have enough leverage (e.g. they want us more than we want them) to throw around with Google, say, is very low. But there ARE people out there who do have enough leverage, by dint of fame, connections, history (what they've worked on), experience and exclusive experience. I negotiated every job I've ever had, including one where (while employed) I negotiated a 4-day work week, and another where I got them to pay for any conference I spoke at - regardless of whether it was job-related. Not to mention salary increases and profit sharing. The brutal fact is that most people don't try. Most people, in such situations, are so excited/starry-eyed by the idea that X is interested in THEM, that they don't stop to think who holds the position of power in the relationship.