Story

Negotiate to get what you deserve

Negotiate to get what you deserve

We get anxious when we hear the words "Job Interview" or "Salary Negotiation". It is natural to get anxious as our new job and future income is dependent on the outcome of this process.
Anxiety is a natural part of this journey. However we can reduce the anxiety if we understand the interview process and prepare well for it. We will become more confident and less anxious.
It is very important that you prepare well for the salary (current & expected ) question for the the interview as this will ensure effective salary negotiation.
----------------------------------------------
Prepare and overcome self doubt
----------------------------------------------
Let us look at salary negotiation. Our first reaction to this situation is that I hate negotiations or I have never negotiated in my life. Both these statements are wrong. Remember yourself as a child, you successfully negotiated with your parents for a new toy, new bicycle .... and were able to get these. You persisted smartly and were able to convince your family to buy you your first bicycle. Recall those incidents and I am sure you will be able to recollect many other similar incidents. If you can't recall then ask your parents and I am sure you will hear positive stories about you.
It is only when we grow, we face self doubt. When we lack knowledge or do not understand the process, the self doubt increases and we don't want to deal with such situations. We just need to escape.
To overcome anxiety, to reduce self doubt we need to understand the process and be prepared to take on the salary negotiation battle as this will decide your take home salary. Understand and play your part well.
---------------------------------------------------
Don't avoid salary negotiation - It is your right
---------------------------------------------------
You have come a long way. Now you have the offer in hand, check if the CTC offered matches with your research. Are the employment terms and conditions OK. Read the fine print. Ask for time to review the offer letter and don't accept immediately. If salary and T&C are not in line with your expectations, then it is time to discuss and negotiate. Get ready for discussions.
If you simply accept the first offer, you are leaving money on the table. This is your chance to learn and earn more. Negotiation is a conversation and not conflict or aggression.
Research shows that candidates who ask for salary increase post their offer letter have higher salary than those who don't ask.
Research also shows that women have lesser salary than men as only few women negotiate post the first offer.
Most of us accept the first offer as we are happy to get the job.
Salary and employment T&C negotiations is your right and do not avoid playing it. Give it a chance. Research shows that those who play well, also succeed in getting more.
Photo Adaptation / Pixabay / mohamed_hassan-5229782
Share on

Your Comments

1 Comment

Anil
Anil
Learn to overcome anxiety by practicing negotiations technique. Don't leave any money on the table. Play it well.

Similar Stories


The mistakes we make in our everyday life

• We are hardwired to make these mistakes • Few biases are simply evolutionary • These errors affect all of us including the bright ones • Experience is just not enough to overcome • but expertise is required to recognize and overcome

Few of biases as below · Anchoring - When an individual depends too heavily on an initial piece of information during decision making · Fixed pie - When we assume that our interests conflict with the other party's interests and we play adversarial · Framing - When we decide on our options differently when the options are presented with positive or negative connotations · Vividness – When we pay attention to strong features at the expense of less, that could be more impactful · Over confidence – When our subjective confidence is greater than the objective accuracy · Escalation – When initial decision is followed up with an irrational decision to justify the initial decision

Few ways to mitigate these biases are · Learn to recognize the bias · Use slow, effortful and logical thinking (System 2) · Avoid fast, automatic and effortless thinking (System 1) · Avoid negotiations which are thrust upon when not ready · Learn through use of stories, examples, exercises · Bring an outsider perspective