SFGirl is hot on the job hunting trail.  She’s doing great, but has more questions:

Dear Working Girl,

I took your advice a few months ago and started calling up places sort of.  I called a classmate who passed my resume to his boss.  She didn’t have any openings but her friend did and alas I got an offer.

I sort of blew it by naming a figure (I said somewhere in the $40K range, which would be higher than what I make now).  I didn’t want to BS around with a 4-person staff.  She made an official offer of employment but wanted to schedule another meeting face to face on salary discussion.

A ton of questions for you because I am seriously scared and nervous.

How do I proceed from here on negotiating?  And how do I inquire about other benefits such as annual review, bonus, merit increase, and such?  She doesn’t offer a 401(k), transit discounts, or a medical flex spending except for a SEP after one year.  I’m most concerned with transit discounts because I’ll be commuting (half an hour).  How would you recommend I approach asking her about offering transit incentives such as commuter checks?

She’s offering me two weeks of vacation.  I get two weeks at my current job and six personal days–how do I get her to match?

Also, should I explain why I want to start a month later?  I mentioned during the interview I’m working on a big important project (she was impressed with the scope). I also have planned a vacation at the end of August for part two of my volunteer vacation–how should I explain that?

Dear SFGirl,

Okay, take a big deep breath.

First, huge congratulations on making networking work for you.  It happened just the way it’s supposed to happen.

Now to your questions. 

On salary:  You may not have blown it by naming a specific number.  Is that the number you want?  Would you be happy with it?  Has your research shown that this is the going rate?  If “yes,” then you are fine.  If on reflection you realize that you came in way low, then you’re going to have to be frank.  Say, “I know I said $40K-ish but since we talked I did more research and found that “x” is the market rate for a job like this.  But I’m open to negotiation.”

Then stop talking.  One of the secrets to successful negotiation is to not babble.  Speak your piece and then stop.  Let her make an offer.  If it’s way low, then counter offer.  Keep the mood light.  Remember that this is supposed to be fun.  Remember too that you can also use benefits as bargaining chips (see below). 

On benefits:  Let her tell you what they are.  If there are other benefits that she’s not offering that you really want (like the transit discount), then just ask.  It never hurts to ask, if you ask in a nice way.  Benefits are great bargaining chips if she’s offering less salary than you want.  It’s the same offer/counter offer game as salary.

Keep in mind you will probably not get everything you want (that’s the essence of compromise!).  In fact, here is a good rule of thumb for most human interaction:

Pick your battles.

How?  Make a list of everything you want and then decide which are “musts” and which are “nice to haves.”  Ask for what you want and if she hesitates, be open to giving up one or two of the “nice to haves.”  With each thing that you give up, you earn goodwill points.  Make it easier on yourself by giving up stuff that isn’t super important to you.

On vacation, etc.:  Tread carefully on showing hesitation to start or asking for vacation.  AT THE SAME TIME realize that you will never have more negotiating power than now, the moment right after she’s offered and right before you’ve said yes.  Make sure she knows you are eager and happy and excited about the job (assuming you are–you say “alas” you got the offer–why?).  Be honest and frank about your reasons.  You’re setting the tone for your working relationship here.  Let her tell you about her wants and needs!  (She has them.)  And, again, be open to compromise.

Your general attitude should be calm and optimistic.  Maintain the belief that you are two mature reasonable women who want the same thing, and that you can reach an agreement that’s good for both of you. 

Good luck!  And keep in touch! 

This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 11:32 am and is filed under ask Working Girl, job hunting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.