How to Negotiation Your terms of employment Best Job Deals

By JG Côté

Once you are offered a position (this could be immediately after the interview or months later), you are very often able to negotiate some of your terms of employment.  This is especially true in private industry, but sometimes relevant in government as well.  It is important that you obtain the best “deal” for yourself that you can get.  It is important for you to realize that the people who are hiring you, want to do so for the least amount of money as possible.  This means that you will have to be strong and stand up for yourself at this stage of the game.  What I always tell people is this, just remember negotiating the terms of your employment and negotiating your salary is no different than justifying why you should have gotten the job in the first place (as in the interview stage).  Remember, you are the person they have chosen over every other candidate, this means that you must be good.  It is important that you realize this when negotiating your terms of employment. 

Tips on Negotiating:

My wife’s father always told me, “never lean in with your chin when negotiating”.  What he meant was never show your playing cards to those with whom you are negotiating with.   This is why you should never take the first offer they give you.  If an employer gives you an initial salary offer, they are expecting you to counter offer (and if they're lucky you'll accept their terms).  This means they will only give you the bare minimum of what they are willing to give.  The same rules apply for when you counter offer their initial terms of employment offer.  You must expect them to turn down your initial offer.  Therefore aim a bit higher than you are will to accept. 

Remember, negotiating is a game of give and take, what you want to ensure is that whoever is hiring you gives you all the pay and benefits you deserve.  If you go into the negotiating stage with that attitude you will do well.  Do not short change yourself and agree to a salary less than what you feel is appropriate.  Many employers and human resource staff can be very persistent.  Make sure you stand up for yourself and counter their strong persistence.  Just remember, an extra $1000 per year adds up to $10,000 or 10 years.  This is why a little extra bargaining and job negotiation with your new employer can go a long way.

Some of the things you need to enquire about and discuss when negotiating for a position are listed below. 

Salary:

-How much money?

-What are the pay increments (e.g., 5% increase per year for five years)?

-How often do pay increments come (usually once a year)?

-What is the maxium salary your pay increments stop at?

-Are there Bonuses?  Some places offer various bonuses, commissions or Percentage of total company profits.

Time:

-Overtime and extra working hours.  Is the position salary based or hourly based?  Many professionals (especially management) have positions that are salary based.  This means that no matter how many hours you work, you still receive the same pay.  In other words, you could end up work 65 hours a week for a 40 hour per week pay.  So be cautious.

Benefits:

-Is Medical insurance included (especially countries without a public medical system)?  What type is it, what does it cover, and what are it’s maximums, etc?

-Dental, Eye and Other types of insurance, are they covered?

Vacation Time:

-How long before you receive vacation time? 

-How many weeks will you recevie and at what point in your career will you recieve them? What are the increments (e.g. 2 weeks after 1 year, 3 weeks after 3 years, 4 weeks after 10 years)?

Sick Leave:

-Will you receive sick leave over time?  Some organizations and employers do not offer sick leave benefits.  Most government employees and unionized organizations do have sick leave, however there are still some companies that force you to take time without pay, holidays or make up the hours if you become sick.

If you touch on all these subjects when negotiating your terms of employment, you definetley get the best deal you deserve.  Always remember, stand up for yourself and always demand at least as much as you think you deserve.

Courtesy of: The Job Helper