Q & A With Ford R. Myers – Part 1 of 2
Quintessential Careers is a popular career advice and job-search web site (www.quintcareers.com). They sometimes ask noted career experts five questions related to their expertise, and then publish the interview in QuintZine (www.quintcareers.com/QuintZine), their biweekly career newsletter. I was fortunate to be selected for this honor. Below is the content of the interview I recently did with Quintessential Careers. I hope you will find the information helpful and interesting!
| Q: | You state in an article on your web site that "80 percent of the outcome of your negotiation will be determined by your attitude and assumptions about this subject." Can you elaborate on this statement? |
| A: | On the subject of compensation negotiation, I provide every consulting client with a list of "21 Rules Of The Game." In a sense, negotiation really is like a game – and of course it's nearly impossible to win at any game if you don't know the rules! Imagine two different candidates, equally qualified and interviewing for similar jobs, getting very different outcomes. Why? All else being equal, it's because they "come into the conversation" with different sets of attitudes and assumptions. Over the years, experience has shown that clients can improve the results of their compensation negotiations up to 80 percent by learning and practicing these "Rules Of The Game" – and therefore, by changing their attitudes and assumptions about the negotiation process. This shift opens up a new world of possibilities for clients, and allows them to achieve compensation levels they never thought possible. |
| Q: | Can you explain what you mean by the "real value of an offer?" |
| A: | Many candidates react too quickly when they receive an initial compensation offer. They tend to hear only the salary figure and make a judgment based solely on that, without waiting to hear all the other elements of the compensation package. So, I teach clients to patiently go through the entire offer and consider all the factors before making a decision or attempting to negotiate. For example, a manager who is used to earning an $80,000 salary with minimal financial incentives or benefits might reject a salary offer of only $72,000 as being much too low. But if she were to wait and listen the full scope of the offer, she might learn that the total compensation package (including such things as bonuses, stock grants, premium benefits, and financial potential) would put her far beyond the compensation she is used to. That's what I call the "real value of an offer." I teach every client how to "negotiate like a pro," but it's important to know when to start negotiating; and to know from what level you're actually negotiating. |
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