I am being presented with an offer for a job next tuesday. Details, I was not told what the starting salary was. In pre-interview phase I gave them a range of what I was expecting for a similar type role. 1) Is the offer I get an offer already printed etc does that mean it is not negotiable?, If I disagree with it would I look like a pest/jackass etc? 2) If it is way below what I expected, or gave in my range how would I basically go about starting the negotiation? Would it suffice to ask " Is this offer up for negotiation"? 3) Do I have to sign/negotiate at the office, can I take the offer home and review it? #2 is my most pressing, how to bring about the topic of negotiating, and how to justify a higher figure…
- Even if it has been printed, it should still be negotiable - its not final till you have accepted it 2) I would say its alittle lower than what I expected. you won’t seem like a pest. I think they are most prob expecting you to try to negotiate 3) I think you would be given time to review and ponder over it, if not, just ask for more time! Good luck!
Tell them thank you, I’ll give you my decision in X days. They will want you to accept on the spot; politely defer. At a minimum you would want your lawyer to look at it (and any documents referenced, such as employee policy guides etc.). If you don’t have a lawyer – don’t tell them that. Then come post the juicy details to AF and we’ll give you the next step…
I don’t know enough about this industry, but in most industries, as long as you’re not completely commoditized, there is at least an extra 5% available just by asking.
totally agree with bchadwick…for my current job, I asked the HR person that I would like to negotiate the salary and gave her the reason that the new job was more challenging than the job I was leaving blah blah blah (the new job was already a 12% increase but I thought I deserved more) and she told me that she would talk to her supervisor. Next day, I had a fedex package with another 10% increase. Took me less than 10 mins so I would definitely recommend negotiating because, as bchadwick said, they expect you to negotiate and they leave some room for a small increase.
Along the lines of IH8FSA’s post; If the other extreme happens and you get a rejection letter, is there any sense in following up again? In the past I would just say, f*ck it, toss it, and move on. I never gave thought to asking why? Is that worthwhile? FSA nice work on landing an offer. I’m having a tough time with that.
nothing wrong with asking for constructive feedback. worst that can happen is what already happened.
I wouldn’t go as far as ask the offer in writing, because you want a lawyer to look at it–assuming your not being offered a CFO position. The compensation will be based on the range you gave them. They might come back at the lower end. but if you feel that is a low ball, and have1 something to back you up, then you can argue it—keep the lawyers out of the loop!
I just received an offer and was nervous about asking whether or not it was up for negotiation especially since it was a great offer. However, I decided to ask and it took about 5 minutes and I got another $5k so i was very happy. Always worth asking.
If this is just a midlevel role, do not mention the lawyer thing. You’ll sound like a tool and they’ll pull it on the spot. Are you being recruited away from a current job? If we’re talking calandar year company with bonuses paid in Q1, then you may have room to negotiate a guarnteed bonus based on what you are walking away from. Even if you are not employed, but the alternative for them is to hire someone else with a bonus that has to be bought out, this may give wiggle room. If you didn’t go thru a headhunter, and you think that other candidates that they have seen or would go to have fees attcahed to them, this gives you a little more room.