15 Rules for Negotiating a Job Offer by Deepak Malhotra [HBR Apr 2014]

Read another interesting article in Apr 2014’s HBR by Deepak Malhotra who teaches at Harvard Business School.  I’m clipping this here as a handy list to refer to, should I ever need it.  But after listing down the rules, I realized not all of them are intuitive to me and I am not likely to know what some of the rules mean without further elaboration.  Condensation is not always a good thing if too much of the flesh is hived off in the name of catchiness, eh?

1.       Don’t underestimate the importance of likeability

a.       People are more likely to jump hoops for you if they like you

                                                               i.      Ah, but how can one predict if strangers would like or dislike him/her?  Have you ever not liked a stranger because you didn’t like what he/her was wearing, the accent of the stranger, the hairstyle, clothes etc?

 

2.       Help them understand why you deserve what you’re requesting

a.       People need to be convinced of the reason of your request

                                                               i.      If strangers do not like you at sight or sound, they probably are switched off to whatever you have to say.  I suppose if Rule 1 is not achieved, Rule 2 is a goner too.

 

3.       Make it clear they can get you

a.       Don’t play hardball.  If the hirers do not think you are within reach, they won’t even try to reach you.

                                                               i.      This makes sense.  A person goes for an interview because he/she wants the job, right?  Unless the interview is merely an opportunity to hone one’s interview skills, then by all means, find a hardball to play with.

 

4.       Understand the person across the table

a.       Essentially, ask questions of the person(s) across the table.

                                                               i.      By asking, it may be possible to suss out who the actual decision-maker is, and who would most likely jump hoops for you.  But hirers might already have roles pre-allocated to them, so the decision-maker may not really be the decision-maker he/she appears to be.

 

5.       Understand their constraints

a.       If you understand what the hirer can or cannot offer, it may be easier to negotiate what you want

                                                               i.      Problem is, the hirers may not want to even hint what they can or cannot offer and in the process jeopardize their own position.

 

6.       Be prepared for tough questions

 

7.       Focus on the questioner’s intent, not on the question

a.       Don’t be too sensitive to tough questions

                                                               i.      It’s good to be objective, but the same person asking too many upsetting/tough/offending questions, or different people taking turns asking such questions should ring a bell.  An interview is not only for the company to determine if the candidate is suitable, the candidate could also use this opportunity to determine if the organization culture is suitable.

 

8.       Consider the whole deal

a.       Don’t be fixated on the salary.  Negotiate on flexibility in work hours, opportunities for growth and other perks

                                                               i.      This depends on how much leeway the company is willing to give.  How can the whole deal be worded in the employment contract?  Aren’t employment contracts usually fixed templates, where the only variables are the names of the employee, job title, job grade and salary?

 

9.       Negotiate multiple issues simultaneously, not serially

 

10.   Don’t negotiate just to negotiate

 

 

11.   Think through the timing of offers

 

12.   Avoid, ignore, or downplay ultimatums of any kind

 

 

13.   Remember, they’re not out to get you

 

14.   Stay at the table

a.       Don’t give up negotiating, even after starting work.

                                                               i.      After demonstrating that one is a super-star-employee, perhaps what was not negotiable before may be possible, but not everyone becomes a super-star-employee, so the table was long gone.

 

 

15.   Maintain a sense of perspective

a.       “You can negotiate like a pro and still lose out if the negotiation you’re in is the wrong one”

                                                               i.      How do you beat that?