|
Contrary to popular wisdom, there are such things as good problems.
If your wallet is too small to hold all of your cash, for instance, that
is a good problem. So is having several employers bidding for your
services.
|
Advertisement
|
Just like juggling
three balls, though, if you lose your focus, you can drop them all.
Let's assume for a
moment that Mr. Smith, Ms. Jones and Mrs. Greene are extending employment
offers. For the sake of simplicity, let's also assume that other than
pay, everything else is equal. How do handle such a great problem?
|
A typical scenario would
look like this:
Mr. Smith has offered you an annual salary $65,000.
You're successful in increasing that to $70,000, but ask for a day or two
to consider the offer.
Ms. Jones offered you $70,000 later in the day.
Leverage Smith's offer to bump that amount up to, say, $75,000. An
easy way to do this is to be honest. You could say something as
simple as, "Thank you for the offer. I'm sure this would be a
mutually beneficial arrangement. I am, however, weighing an offer
from another employer for the same amount. I'd like to give my
decision the attention it deserves. I'll need a day or two to
consider."
Mrs. Greene calls you the next day. She's also
prepared to offer $70,000. Be up front with her, as well.
Disclose that you're currently weighing two other offers. Odds are
she will want to sway your decision by sweetening the pot. Let's say
she bumps the offer up to $80,000. Again, thank her and tell her you
will need a day or two to decide.
Now that you have three
solid offers on the table, you've effectively given yourself a $15,000
annual raise from Mr. Smith's first offer to Mrs. Greene's most recent
offer. You may be leaving money on the table, however, if you jump at
Mrs. Green's $80K. Here are a few things to keep in mind to maximize
your salary:
Be upfront about
other offers. This is your
leveraging point. One other offer may give you a raise, but two other
offers usually mean a steep increase from the original offers.
Do NOT tell them who
the offers are from.
It's a smaller world than you may think. There's a significant chance
that Smith, Jones and Greene have met each other. If you give names,
they will likely discuss their offers amongst themselves and decide as a
group what price you'll get and who will get you. This takes the
power from you and gives it to them.
Make another lap. Tell Mr. Smith you've gotten an offer for
$80K and see if he wants to up the ante. Do the same when talking to
Jones and Greene. Anything more than one lap and you'll be seen as
greedy.
Decide and finalize. All things being equal, is money the only
deciding point? If so, you should have a clear winner after your last
lap through. After officially accepting Ms. Jones' new offer of
$90,000, call Mr. Smith and Mrs. Greene to thank them, but you've decided
to go in a different direction. Show your professionalism by sending
them both thank you notes.
Epilogue. Stay in touch with Smith and Greene.
You may want to work with one of them in the future, and it's good to make
sure there are no hard feelings from your negotiation processes.
Spring for an occasional coffee after hours.
IN THE CARAVAN: Leverage multiple offers by being up front with
the number - and amount - of offers you have on the table, but do not
disclose who they're from. Maximize your offers by giving all parties
a chance to give one more bid.
|
bSafari.c
The Lion’s Pride: Interviewing
