B27 – Interviews & Negotiations

It’s that time of year where internships and jobs are locked down and salaries are negotiated.  This week we dive into some tricks of the trade we’ve received from headhunters, mentors, books and articles.

We dive into BATNA’s, the importance of research, and two-way interviewing.

Have any other suggestions? Please leave a comment.

Watch our conversation, read the Cliff Notes, read the whole thing.

 

Cliff Notes:

Rammit Sethi on Negotiations

1.    Negotiations will be awkward the first 10 times, so expect it

2.    80% of the work is done before you talk about it: be top performer, keep boss informed, collect praise and prepare “briefcase”, and practice

3.    Setup and establish with boss what a top performer is, “standard rules” N/A to you

4.    Prove your top performance before discussing compensation

5.    Figure out what boss wants, make it as easy for him, tell what done, what going to do

Agree, reframe, make case and shut up (ARMS)

Interview tips from recruiter

1.     Interview/resume: not about what has done/is doing, but how can help the current problem

2.     Always apply skills, strengths, etc. to current job position, ask them how

3.     Ask what keeps them up at night/their challenges

4.     Interview is just as much about what they didn’t say as what they did

5.     Interview is not about getting the job, but finding if you yourself are a good fit

 

 

Full Details:

Overview of a Negotiation

  • A $5k raise now = over $1 million difference in 40 years
  • Negotiations will be awkward the first 10 times, so expect it
  • Make sure you are already a top performer
  • You don’t have to be a suave/smooth talker
  • You need leverage in negotiation – ex. 2 offers from other places — so what is yours?
  • Negotiation is a collaboration, not a confrontation
    • Do so by making it about what the boss/negotiator wants (80% about them)
  • 80% of it is planned and routine, 20% is serendipitous
  • Steps:
    • (3-6 months before) Be a top performer and let boss know exactly what to expect
    • Keep boss informed
    • (1 month before) Collect praise and prepare “briefcase”
    • (1-2 weeks before) practice

Script:

  1. I’d love to stay. I love the company, but I have another offer. How can we make this work?
  2. If I stay, I want to be challenged and learn. For that to happen…
  3. My role needs to expand, but my salary needs to grow as well

 

Top Performers:

  • Top performers can negotiate where others can’t
    • “Rules” don’t apply to them
  • How do you know you’re a top performer?
    • Setup and Establish with boss what a top performer is
    • Ask boss what would be most valuable to him and let him know you’ve achieved them
    • Look at the fear of the boss, not just his hopes, but his fears = leverage
  • Script
    • “I think I‘m doing these things well, but what additional things can I do? What would be most meaningful and helpful to you”
    • They tell you…”Those sound great, I’m also thinking of X,Y,Z.”
    • “I appreciate the time to go over this with you. Would it be okay if I send you my status every 3 weeks?”
    • “Then, if at the end of 6 months, and only if I do a great job, then I’d like to be compensated accordingly, but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.”

 How do you know your worth

  • Look at payscale.com, glassdoor.com, and salary.com
  • Hang out with people doing the same job and discuss salary
  • Go to industry events
  • Reach out to anybody who leaves your company and current job
  • Investigate other career opportunities

Setting up the raise conversation

  • When you try to negotiate a raise, the boss should see it coming (like a marriage)
  • “will discuss a raise later, in 6 months”
  • Be a top performer
  • 1st week at company, go to lunch with boss
    1. This is what I’m doing and learning now.
    2. What will make me a top performer?
    3. Well, I am going to do X, Y, Z in the meantime.
  • Take co-workers to lunch (2-3x a week)
    1. Ones who have been in your position
    2. Get a “Buzz” or sense of what’s going on
    3. “What should I be thinking of? How am I a top performer?”
  • Write down goals and do a follow-up meeting (3-4 weeks later): Be Proactive
    1. I’ve done that and that is in process, and this other thing is later
    2. “I also realized that I want to do ___ in 6 months, does this help you? Does this make things better for you? I want to be a top performer. Will doing this on top of my duties help get me there?”
    3. “If I’m an extraordinary performer, and do ___, what else will it take, because I want to go above and beyond what anyone else will do in this position. Can I get this in writing?”

Make sure you stay a top performer

  1. Review and track performance metrics daily
    1. Test systems of performance and find ones that work
    2. Be brutally honest with yourself during the system testing
    3. Have clear guidelines on what is important
      1. Pick 3 things in 90 days on what you do
    4. Meet with boss at least once per month
      1. Discuss: what you’ve accomplished what’s in progress, and goals you need help with
    5. Collect praise and feedback constantly
      1. Get them to email you the praise
        1. Forward praise to personal email address, just in case
      2. Offer to write what you did and their praise for them

Briefcase technique

  1. “We want you here. What’s your price?”
    1. “Before we get to that, let me show you what I’ve put together”
      1. Pull out proposal – theatrically
      2. It’s a proposal of things that aren’t quite right at the company and what you’d do to improve it –most compelling evidence of why you deserve the top salary
      3. Include timeline for implementing it
    2. “Choose and let me know what you want done”
  2. All the busy person has to do is say “yes”
    1. Allows the “boss” to critique something, avoids “blank page syndrome” of putting the onus on the boss to come up with things
    2. Use it for a job offer, consulting gig, more money, more info/roles
    3. It frames the conversation and sells your personal initiative
    4. It goes the extra step and think about the problem from other person’s perspective, you offer help before asking for it
  3. Preparing your briefcase: what you’ve done and what you’re going to do
    1. What you’ve done
      1. Already worked with your boss and defined what a “top performer” is
      2. Agreed with boss that top performers should be paid higher
      3. Already done what said would do and it’s only fair to be paid accordingly
      4. Have compiled a list of praise and concrete accomplishments
    2. Summarize in a document
      1. What you’re going to do
      2. More power in the future than in the past
      3. Convince boss that you can get him/her what he/she really wants
        1. Then cost becomes triviality (that’s why don’t reveal salary amount until after the offer)
      4. Come up with 5-10 ideas of things to accomplish in 6 months
        1. If don’t know, approach the “salary/raise” conversation to get an idea
    3. Your lists of asks
      1. Salary: GlassDoor.com
      2. Increased roles and responsibilities
        1. Just leave it open ended for discussion in the future
        2. Perhaps a title promotion—may not necessarily include increase in salary
      3. Bonuses
        1. Especially great if tied to your performance
          1. I’d like to propose a bonus of X%. If we hit (ambitious goal), I’d like to propose a bonus of Y%, and if we hit (ridiculous goal) I’d like to propose a bonus of Z%.
      4. Flexibility
        1. Extra week of vacation
        2. Work from home 1 day per week
      5. Other
        1. Creative solutions like $100 for books/conferences
        2. Reimbursements/mentorship 1x a week with boss
      7. Focus on top 2-3 (worth $1k or more)
  4. Negotiation day
    1. Email setup
      1. 1-2 weeks before asking for meeting
      2. Include what you’ve been thinking about
        1. Goals
        2. What done
        3. Compensation
    2. Practice
      1. You will be bad at first, but 10x down the road you know it will be worth it
      2. Do 5-10 cover letters and test them with a friend
      3. Brainstorm all possible reactions and how to respond to them
      4. Video tape
      5. Repeat until body language, tone, and words are all perfect
    3. Format
      1. Spend 2 minutes on what done
        1. Positive, energetic, relaxed so boss can relax
        2. Asserting yourself by taking the lead and talking
      2. Build rapport by covering what you already discussed you would cover
      3. Then ease into what you did using briefcase only as reference when need it
        1. Slow down so boss appreciates what you’ve done
      4. Then move to what want to do
        1. More Responsibility
          1. 30-, 60-, 90-day plan
        2. Then I’d like to discuss compensation
  5. Dealing with pushback
    1. “You are paid a standard rate”
      1. Well I agree but I’m not standard
      2. Here’s why I’m not standard
      3. Here’s my research of what is fair compensation for that
    2. ARMS—Agree, Reframe, Make Case, and Shut up
      1.  Concessions
        1. When comes to numbers, you will bounce back and forth
        2. Agree, accept their offer as fair, explain you are flexible, but want to walk away with something that’s at least a bit closer of what I had in mind. Would $6,000 be fair. Then shut up.
    3. If get shut down
      1. Don’t act too disappointed
      2. Ask for ½ of  the raise now, and then ask for 6 months review for the rest of the raise
    4. If they can’t agree, start to look elsewhere because the company is not rewarding top performers