ivy exec webinar: salary negotiation webinar with sarah stamboulie

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Salary Negotiation for Job SeekersPresenter: Sarah Stamboulie, Senior Career Coach, Ivy Exec


About Sarah Stamboulie• Sarah led Alumni Career Services at

Columbia Business School, overseeing career programming and resources for 36,000 alumni throughout the world.

• Earlier in her career, Sarah served as the head of Human Resources at both Morgan Stanley and Cantor Fitzgerald. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

• Sarah has been featured in publications such as Forbes and AM New York, and has made television appearances on Fox 5 News and CBS Moneywatch


Participant Poll

1. What is your current employment situation?a. Unemployed and fully focused on job search (or should be).b. Working as well as job-hunting.c. Working and planning to job-hunt.

2. How are your negotiation skills?a. Relatively weak.b. Average. c. Good but I still could use a few tips.


Reasons for Resistance to Negotiating

• family of origin

• national origin

• gender

• work history

• negotiation history

Discomfort doesn’t mean you’re making a mistake.


Lay the Foundation for a Generous Opening Offer

Job offer negotiation begins with the very first request for an introduction or an exploratory meeting.

1. Avoid salary disclosure.

2. Present yourself like a “winner” regardless of your feelings.


Online and Paper Applications

• Leave salary items blank whenever possible.

• When required online, enter $0 or an unrealistically low round number like $10,000.


External and Internal Recruiter Questions

You don’t have to answer salary questions, but:

• be open about everything else.

• be extremely polite.

• use a pleasant, helpful voice while you decline to provide salary details.


Q:"What are/were you making at your current/last job?”

A: “I’d hate to eliminate myself because of a dollar figure at this point. Right now, the key issue for me is finding a great fit. I figure if the fit is there, then we’d work out the money part. If it’s ok with you, could we talk about this a little later on in the process?” (Ellis Chase)

A: “That’s a good question. Would you mind telling me the average salary range for this position or similar positions in this agency? My requirements are flexible, and I’d like to consider those rates before deciding on an exact range.“ (Wagner School of Public Service negotiation guide)


Novel Technique To Avoid Disclosure

• “My current/past non-disclosure agreement (NDA) forbids me to disclose my terms of employment (including compensation) to other parties except where legally required (insurance companies, banks, and IRS).”

• What if you didn’t have to sign an NDA? Try calling your company’s legal department and say something like: “one of my employees asked me a question and I wasn’t sure of the answer – is it against company policy to disclose company compensation information to other companies?”

Chances are that the lawyer will help you out in some way (they are trained to say to no to anything with the word “disclose!”) and will say it is against company policy to disclose compensation information to other companies or will give you some other kind of restriction that you can reference with recruiters and hiring managers.


Q:"What are your salary requirements?”

A: "Since salary is only one piece of the puzzle for me, I’d like to find out more about the job before determining my salary requirements. This sounds like an excellent opportunity so far. Can you tell me a little more about…[insert an area where you have additional questions]?

A: "That’s a good question. Would you mind telling me the average salary range for this position or similar positions in this agency? My requirements are flexible, and I’d like to consider those rates before deciding on an exact range."


What if they keep hounding you?

You can give in and say:

“Over the past five years, my [base salary], [compensation] [total compensation package] has ranged from x – y (choosing whichever items will be in your favor).


What if your last salary was extremely low or high?

• State that you are looking for a fair market salary for this job, and that your past salary was in such a different field that it’s not relevant to what you would accept for this role.

• Or pretend you are giving in and say, “In my former field my compensation was in the average range, which adjusted for this field would be about $XK per year.”


Present Yourself as “Fortunate” - Translates to Competent and Wise

If unemployed:– imply you have a healthy bank balance:“I was fortunate to be

able to take a sabbatical after I left X.”– Be very optimistic about your job prospects (as you have been

fortunate throughout your career).

If employed:– Talk positively about current role so that it serve as a

“competing offer” if another firm makes you an offer.– Always show great enthusiasm (but not great need) for job.


Keep the Focus on Their Job During Interviews

• Market yourself as an asset that will expand or improve the company’s reach or performance.

• Try to propose a change that shows a global understanding of your future employer, one that is larger than they might have pictured.

• Show that you are more qualified than the other candidates by highlighting only past achievements that are in line with your new company’s objectives.


Research Your Market Value• alumni and association

members

• LinkedIn groups

• former employees

• recruiters

• www.glassdoor.com• www.vault.com• www.careers.wsj.com • www.wetfeet.com • http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/

salary• http://jobstar.org/tools/sal

ary/index.php

• www.salary.com • www.payscale.com/

http://www.glassdoor.com/

http://www.careers.wsj.com/

http://www.careers.wsj.com/

http://www.wetfeet.com/

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/salary

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/salary

http://jobstar.org/tools/salary/index.php

http://jobstar.org/tools/salary/index.php

http://www.salary.com/

http://www.payscale.com/


Avoid a Premature Offer

Delay salary and benefit negotiations for as long as possible in the interview process. You’ll have more power to negotiate when the employer is completely sold on you as the best candidate for the position.

If they start to try to negotiate before they’ve made a formal offer, suggest that you postpone the discussion until the role is completely fleshed out and they are ready to make a formal offer.

If they keep going, say, “To clarify, are you are making me a formal job offer now?”

(Randall Hansen)


Responding to a Verbal Offer

1. Again, silence. Take it in, think about it, count to 10.

2. “I’m very excited about the possibility of joining the company. I think we’d work together well.”

3. “But I’d like a few days to think it over. Could we make a plan to get together then? I think we’ll be able to work things out at that point…”

A: Silence


With Whom to Negotiate

Hiring Manager HR Manager/Headhunter

In love with your candidacy and success may depend on it

Anxious to be done with recruiting

Makes more money that you are asking for (often much more)

Rarely negotiates salary

Not affected by candidate choice

Always recruiting anyway

May make less money than you

Negotiates all the time


Ways You Can Negotiate

• In-person meeting (usually the strongest)

• Phone meeting

• E-mail counter-proposal


First Negotiate Conditions for Success

• scope of responsibility• authority• reporting structure• budget• staff – new hires and

upgrades• flexibility on comp structure of

staff• administrative help• prestigious title• office

• strategic positioning• political support • software and equipment for

you and your team• corporate housing• flextime • first-class travel • comp time and wellness days• training• child day care


Negotiate Compensation

• base salary

• guaranteed bonus

• bonus range

• % cash of bonus

• Equity

• profit-sharing

• partnership opportunities or requirement

• stock options

• stock grants

• deferred compensation

• signing bonus

• 401(k) contributions

• relocation coverage• travel per diem


Negotiate Benefits

• severance – crucial when you’re

relocating or transitioning from long-term employer

– fall back position is to ask for severance only in the case of a change of management

• medical and dental coverage• disability and life insurance• vacation• paid holidays• paid sick leave

• company car • transportation costs• flextime• telecommuting• tuition reimbursement• certification reimbursement• gym, health club or fitness

membership• laptop, cell phone, Internet

access• casual dress


Factors Affecting Your Negotiation Success

• how much they love you

• how much they need you

• your employment status

• how much they can afford

• attitude towards negotiation


How much of an increase should you ask for?

• Always ask for a higher salary (within acceptable limits) than you are willing to accept so that when the employer counters your proposal, the salary should be near your original goal.

• And when possible, try and show how your actions (once on board) will recoup the extra amount (or more) that you are seeking -- through cost savings or increased sales revenue, productivity, efficiencies.

(Randall Hansen)


Timing Potential Offers

• If you are expecting an offer and your first choice is behind in the interview cycle, let them know and ask if they can accelerate your process.

• As soon as you get an offer, let other companies know if you would prefer them.

• As soon as you accept an offer, tell the other companies and express great appreciation.


New Boss – what you need to learn

• What was your boss’s previous job?

• How did he/she land current job?

• What does he/she see as his/her next step?

• What does your boss value in the job?

• How does your boss fit within the larger power structure at work?

• What kind of relationship does your boss have with his/her supervisor?

• Does your boss advocate for the team?

• What kind of management style works for your boss?

• What does you boss most value in the people who report to her?

• What does your boss’s live outside of work look like?


Warning Signs

• Unkind/inappropriate/prejudiced/gossipy comments during interview process.

• Neutral or vague answers when you ask about the boss.

• Not always a warning sign: questions about marital status or kids may mean they know they will make an offer (those questions are legally risky only if they don’t make you an offer.)


Responding to Written Offer Letter or Contract

Always be sure to get the final offer in writing.

Do not sign without a thorough review no matter what!

Critical clauses include:

• Non-compete clauses

• Non-solicitation clauses

• Behavioral constraints


With Whom to Negotiate Legal Points

• with HR directly, with a lawyer advising you

• with the hiring manager, with a lawyer advising you

• your lawyer talking to their lawyer


How to Turn Down an Offer

• By telephone to each stakeholder:– hiring manager – internal recruiter – external recruiter – referrer

• Display great appreciation – they’ve invested a lot of time (and perhaps money) interviewing you.

• Disclose where you’re going if it’s lined up or say it’s in flux but that you will explain as soon as you can.


When to Turn Down an Offer

• Part way through negotiations if you know you won’t take it even if they give you everything – not always worth “going for the offer” if you burn a contact.

• When they haven’t met your bottom line.

• When you hear the wrong answers about the boss and the company.


Get Help!

Negotiation consulting: One of few investments where a low time

commitment cannet you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in

a fewdays or weeks!

Want Sarah to work on your strategy?

For more information, email us at:

[email protected]

ivy exec webinar: salary negotiation webinar with sarah stamboulie

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