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Negotiating Salary - Job Offer

S

slowhand

New Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2004
Messages
396
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a competitor and the recruiting dance began. I was interested in as much that I'll entertain any offer but it would have to be pretty good to lure me away from a job I have been at for ten years (I'm in a pretty competitive corner of the IT martket and 10 years on the same job is almost unheard but my employer takes care of me). Anyway, fast forward to today at lunch. We get down to it and he says that he wants to make an offer and of course I say, 'shoot it over'. He asks me, 'what would it take'? Now, I know enough that this is not a question you should answer with a number. I just say that I would be happy to seriously consider his 'best offer'. He was very persistent and frustrated that I wouldn't give him a number. I finally relented a little in the end and told him what my current salary is and said that he could go from there. I think that was a mistake. I should have stuck to my guns and made him commit to a number first. It will be interesting to see what the offer is.

Anybody have any suggestions on how I could have handled this any better?
 
I'll be watching this for tactical advice as I'm on the market now as well...

I don't necessarily think you made a mistake by divulging your current salary... We all know that is it more that $$ that make you stick with a company (especially for 10 years!)
 
I don't think you made a mistake. Just let him know before he divulges his offer to you that you are happy where you are at. And, that it is going to take a lot more than money to get you to leave. This might get him to think twice about coming back with something like only 5k a year more.

I just accepted an offer for another company and I divulged my current salary, although the circumstances were different.
 
The last time I left a company I simply laid it all on the table, 16 years at the company, lots of vacation, salary. I didn't think they would make the offer they did, monetary incentives, options, matching vacation, salary increase. Then when they called back the next day with more incentives I couldn't say no.


:cool:
 
I think you can give them a number but it shouldn't be what you current pay is. If it really takes a 50% raise to get you to move then tell them XXX,XXX is my minimum plus I need ..........whatever.
 
Let's put it this way, the dude holding the purse strings thinks you're the best dude for the job.
Ask for what you want, why not? You'll discuss bennies etc as well, if the offer sounds good, good. If not, don't be afraid to walk.

That's just my 0.02

Rob
 
I agree with Rob and the others. There is no sense in worrying about if you messed up by divulging your salary. What's done is done.

Now you can relax and know that YOU have all the power. If they come back with an offer that doesn't suit you, then you can turn it down. It sounds like they are pretty adamant about recruiting you, and they will always have a backup plan to come back at you with. More money, incentives, etc.

Worse case scenario is that they don't entice you and you stay at a job where you're already established and doing fine!
 
No mistake, just one of many ways to proceed. Now that he has that information, you'll know how serious he is about getting you. I'll guess that he'll give you 10% plus some intangible. Being happy where you are, you've got the high ground. You also got the advantage in knowing you can politely refuse him.
 
I'd request to get the offer in writing. I made a mistake once by taking a job I'd been recruited for a period of several months.

I accepted the job and they changed plans for me after I accepted it. I was lucky though. My former boss let me come back at the same salary and benefits.

I hung around for a few more years after that out of respect for him.
 
Everything in writing is a must. Even when your first review is going to be and raises. When ever I give my current $$$ I always factor in any perks to drive the price up. Most times they only give a 15% to 20% jump. Ask for a little more than you want to give yourself some room to bargan. If your happy where you are then the sky is the limit when being recuited. GET IT ALL!

DG
 
Just a thought maybey let it slip to your current employer that they aproached you you never know they may match thier best offer.
 
Only advice I can offer is don't ever quit your job or leave one, only if you have to. Ten years, you must be comfortable there. Sometimes comfort is worth more than a bump in salary.


C&R
 
Here's some free advice.... :laugh:

It isn't really about what you are currently making and it isn't about what ever they are paying their current employees or the last person they hired who had that position.

It's really about how much the job is worth. How much are they willing to pay? How much would it take for you to move?

I think a better answer to the question of "How much do you make now?" is "This is how much it would take for me to make a move."...of course that is all things being equal (full benefit package).

Sometimes it isn't all about money. It can be other benefits, training, seminars, travel (or the lack of travel), bringing your dog to work or even cigar breaks!

Good luck!
 
It ain't always about the money.

I left a job of 18 years to change fields for less money. Was back up to what I made in less than 1 year. The company I left was out of business in less than a year after I left.

I worked for the new compay for 2 & 1/2 years and then left them to move to sunny Florida. Didn't have a job lined up but had a new field of training. That company was sold off and the location I worked at was relocated. Everyone was given their walking papers in less than a year after I left.

Hummm.... starting to see a pattern here. Maybe I should ask for a raise or threaten to leave. :sign:

Been at my current job for the past 8 years and couldn't be happier.
 
Thanks for the advice. I realize that it is not just about money. That is not my main focus. There are a few companies that have been after me for a while and I have turned them down even though it would have been a salary increase. I feel a certain loyalty to the company I work for even though I know that loyalty is not shared and they would kick me out of here in an instance if it benefited them one iota. They have invested a lot of money and time in my education and put me in a position that attracts other companies. There will come a time when we part ways but it is not going to be because of a few thousand dollars.

I just wasn't sure how to handle his persitence with a question I didn't want to answer.

Anyway, he called me first thing this morning and said that an offer letter was on the way and that I should be prepared to be impressed. We'll see.
 
Let us know which way it goes, just for curiosity reasons. ;)
 
I am in recruitment and staffing and everyone who answered is right, and they are also all wrong as well. Truly it is not alwasy about the money, but SOMETIMES it is! We spend a majority of our adult waking hours in th USA working. So while it is vitally important to enjoy your job, if a new offer allows you to vastly change your off-hour comfort level(i.e. decrease your debt load, better vacation a better home, better education for you the kids wife, and of course finer cigars) the it must be considered. IMHO if you are going to "work-8-12 hrs a day" anyway what is the difference where you are, of course as long as they are treating you with dignity and respect. Perhaps the new job would be more effort and challenge (generally it is when they pay you more) but that just makes the day go by faster in my experience.

As far as having him told him the "number" you lost the battle but not necessarily the war. It sounds as if he would be the "boss" and in the end he should win, as long as you were not a push over he should still respect you and it sets a good long term precedent that he is the head honcho. As far as "money" goes he knew ahead of time what the position woudl bear without the company taking a loss (unless he is a fool) and would not have gone above that anyway. So if he makes you a fairly decent offer and it is substantially more than your current comp plan( and he is saving 10% or so over his BIG number) everyone would win.

Just remember that with the offer letter in hand you still have the abiltity to counter-offer within reason or alternatively just say you are not prepared to make a change and leave him guessing for a few months until you want to revisit it for a bigger offer.

If you do decide a change is imminent just make sure the employees at the new place have been there as long as you have at your current location and you will be fairly safe in assuming that it is an okay place to hang your hat. Lastly, make sure that his "offer" does not bind you from any future increases/performance evaluations/increased profit sharing if it is the norm of that position for other employees.

Change is always a bit hard, sometimes frightening and even on occasion a mistake. But staying put can be exactly the same!

Good Luck!
 
I would also add, never take a counter-offer from your current emloyer. If it is time to leave, more money isn't going to fix it. Every single person I know that took a counter-offer, left anyway and they were miserable because it was time to go and the money doesn't make up for it.....
 
slowhand said:
Anyway, he called me first thing this morning and said that an offer letter was on the way and that I should be prepared to be impressed. We'll see.
Click to expand...


I don't have as much experience as the guys on here. I'll be watching this post, I'm kind of in the same boat as you except I'm a little more proactive in finding something new.

Good luck!
 
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