Link: Tech Salary Negotiations - IT jobs | Negotiation Experts.
Here's a great article to read and to reread when the time comes for you to negotiate in your job. Negotiation is such an important skill to have - not just for sales or if your job function is to close deals. It's for everyone who collaborates and works with other people. It's essential for you in managing your own career. It's a skill that definitely takes time and experience to master, and even then, it's something that you just need to prepare for well.
Calum Coburn gives an in-depth look at different negotiation rules and tactics for IT professionals when it comes to job offers and annual reviews. Why IT professionals? Because they mostly don't have that skillset or experience as say, sales or marketing people do. Nevertheless, I think these rules apply to everyone. So if you're about to go into a job offer salary negotiation or annual review, have a read of his 32 points. He also gives 4 exercises to complete to prepare for the big event.
Some things I'd like to comment on :
Point 4. His advice:
Get all offers in writing. I say: Well, not necessarily. If this is
about a job offer through a recruiter or headhunter, most often the
negotiations are before the offer is written out. Most
employers like to give a formal job offer in writing when the deal is
done - that is, the job is accepted at a specific salary. Most involved
parties in a job offer (the client, the recruiter, the candidate) want
it to happen, so the going back and forth is done verbally before the
final job offer is written. If the recruiter has done his or her job
right, there should be a pretty close meeting of the minds when it gets
close to that salary negotiation stage anyway. Of course, you always
have the right to negotiate after the offer has been written, but you
most likely would have played all your cards to get to that point. But
with this in mind, it's Point number 14 is important - read the
contract well.
Points 6 & 7 His advice: Set your sights high & Ask for more. It's true. You never know unless you ask. Have confidence but also be realistic and realize the circumstances of your situation. It's important to you know yourself well - to what levels you can perform and deliver.
Definitely a good checklist to keep and to refer back to when the time comes.
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