What are the dos and don'ts of negotiating a job offer?

Through hustle and grit, you land a job offer. That’s a win in the best of times, but especially during pandemic times. An even bigger win? Negotiating that offer to its maximum value.

Q: Can I still negotiate during this crazy year and depressed job market?

YES. If you land a job or internship this year, internally feel all the gratitude you’d like but externally keep the confidence around the value you bring. Studies show it takes years for grads who enter the workforce during economic downturns to "catch up" to peers (who graduate in normal times) in terms of earning power. We don't share that to bum you out, only so you know what the downside could be. Let’s get smart on how to minimize the downside.

Prep your case:

Whether it’s normal times or corona times, upfront research will always serve you well. What’s the range of compensation for this role and what drives the range? Typically they include:

• 📝 Experience: often calculated as "years out of college"

• 🏦 Industry: knowledge of other industries’ pay is great for your awareness, but rarely should you negotiate for the Wall Street package if your offer is from a non-profit or a startup (where the tradeoff often is broader responsibilities)

• 🏙 Location (which impacts cost of living)

To get a lay of the land, research on Glassdoor, ask your career office for stats, or better yet - create a Google Doc, ask friends to enter their info (anonymously, if they prefer), and share it out so you’re all collectively better armed and informed.

Q: What do I specifically say during negotiations that doesn’t make me sound entitled or clueless?

Here are our best tactics that work no matter the broader economics we’re in:

Lastly, save your chips for the biggies:

You won’t get 100% of your asks so rank what matters. Offer up creative solutions that can get you excited about the offer. “If you don’t have flexibility on X, would you be willing to provide Y?” Y can be a signing bonus, year-end bonus, more company stock, other perks around transportation, fitness, mental health. It takes an aggressive company to yield to you on absolutely zero things.

Q: How do I negotiate during corona times?

In normal times, we’d say boldly follow the structure above and own the conversation. (So, fingers crossed for 2021). But in a coronaconomy, let's prepare for the scenario that, when you share your most well-informed research on the offer, the company says, “These aren't normal times (the company's hunkering down / limited budget / everyone’s taken a pay cut / can't go higher, etc.).” What to do then?

Show you're a team player but no pushover:

"I totally get it. These are uncertain times for companies and individuals. Can I align with my hiring manager upfront on a performance review sooner than one year, so that we can set expectations of an evaluation of my contribution and, if appropriate, bump my compensation back up to market rate as the economy improves?”

Translation: You don't want them to bag you at a low rate and then put you on a standard 3% annual raise hamster wheel. That's how/why people graduating during recessions take longer to catch up in earning power. Instead, you can be explicit that you'll work your butt off and prove your worth, but you want to set expectations about when to evaluate your compensation again — and so you don't doubt yourself for being "greedy/a pest" but rather, you're simply following up on a pre-set understanding.

These are tricky times for everyone, so don’t be hard on yourself if you’re not holding the offer of your dreams. The average person will hold an estimated 10 different jobs by the time they turn 40 - so if your first job isn’t a hole in one, don’t sweat it.