My dad came with me when I bought my first car. Of course, I had stars in my eyes as every guy does for his first car, so I was ready to sign no matter what the salesman said.
"Thirty six hundred," the salesman said. (Yes, this was a long time ago.) I grabbed the pen.
"Thirty four," said my dad.
Salesman shook his head. "I can't go any lower--"
"Let's go," said my dad, standing up and heading for the door.
Long story short, after the salesman met with the manager (yeah, right) he came down in price.
Salary negotiation is a lot like buying a car. You spend ninety percent of your interview time talking about journalism, and then you suddenly find yourself in a car dealership opposite a man in a polyester suit who's trying to sell you undercoating.
Now these days you can't walk away like you could when the economy was decent. But there is still some wiggle room that can get you a few more bucks. So here's what the ND is thinking (with his thoughts or strategy in parentheses) during a typical negotiation.
ND: "I think you'd do a good job here." (Watch reporter's face light up, knowing a job offer is coming.) "Of course, I'm looking at two other strong candidates." (Watch blood drain from reporter's face. There may or may not be two other candidates, but the point here is to make the reporter think that if he doesn't grab this job, someone else will swoop in.)
Reporter: "Well, I'd like to work here."
ND: "I can offer you thirty six thousand. That's all I have in the budget." (Never make your best offer first. You have to lowball the candidate. If he takes it, you've saved some money for your budget. If not, you have some wiggle room to negotiate. And with creative accounting, there's almost always wiggle room.)
Reporter: "Well, I make that much now. I was hoping to make forty in my next job."
ND: (At this point the ND is gauging the body language of the candidate. Is the guy desperate, or will he really walk without a better offer? And how badly does the ND want to hire the reporter?) "I don't have that in the budget, but let me talk to the GM and see what we can do."
(At this point the ND leaves his office. He may actually go and talk to the GM or he may take a walk to the break room and have a cup of coffee. All part of the game.)
ND: "I talked to the GM, and we can offer you thirty-seven five. But that's as high as I can go." (ND gauges reaction of reporter. By upping the offer, even a little, the ND has put himself "on the reporter's side" as if to say, "I fought for you." Maybe true, maybe not. The ND may still have a few cards to play with benefits and such, but doesn't offer them yet.)
Reporter: "Could you at least throw in some moving and relocation expenses?"
ND: (Those were the last cards, and darn, the reporter saw them.) "Sure. We can give you fifteen hundred for moving and put you in a hotel for two weeks. (The hotel costs nothing, since it's a trade, and the moving expense was in the budget anyway. Nothing lost here, but the reporter feels as though he's won another one.)
Reporter: "Okay, you've got a deal."
Would the ND have gone higher? In this economy, the wiggle room isn't a wide as it used to be. But keep in mind that everything is negotiable. If you can't get salary, you can always try for perks.
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