Greed in Salary Negotiations

The important questions that cross the mind of any job-seeker are: 

·      what is my current worth in terms of the Salary that I can demand for the experience and skill-set that I possess.

·      how much increment on the current salary should I ask for ?

·      By asking too less, I risk losing the opportunity to get better commercial conditions than I truly deserve.

·      By asking too much, I risk losing the opportunity entirely.

The answers to these questions are not unqiue, but will depend on:

·      salary standard/benchmark in the particular industry.

·      skill-set of the candidate, his education (quality & appropriateness to the vacancy), experience (in years & quality) etc.

·      size/financial situation of the target company.

·      salary benchmark being followed by the Target company.

·      how urgent/critical is the requirement of the target company for a profile like yours.

You can do only what is in your own hands, as the points stated above are NOT in your control, so you:

·      need to be aware of your strengths/weekenesses as regards your profile. 

·      need to know how unique is your profile in your industry.

·      need to do your own market research to assess the market benchmarks (in terms of salary expectations and profile expectations).

·      need to talk to your friends/colleagues/seniors/mentors in your industry to assess your profile.

Do's & Dont’s:

·      Let the target company know your expectations from the Job/Role.

·      Let the target company know your salary expectations, which should be "Justified". And if you are demanding a substantial increase, support them with reasons as to why you think you deserve that much hike.

e.g. may be because currently you are highly underpaid as per market standards.

e.g. may be because you have done a very unique course or have some unique experience which is very apt for the role you are applying for...etc...

But let them know that you are Flexible in your Salary Expectations, Nobody wants to hire fixed/rigid candidates.

·      Win them by convincing them with your arguments, examples, siting instances etc.

·      Don't be rigid/aggressive in your discussions. Show them the understanding side / the flexible side of your personality. Show them that you are open to discussions and receptive to new thoughts, ideas and arguments.

·      Don't be TOO GREEDY...you may lose the opportunity altogether...

How to make the Choice:

Even if after you did your best in convincing them, and the company still cannot offer you the salary what you are looking for, it probably means that they have budget constraints or some other constraints and beyond that point no amount of convincing may work.

-Make a list of criteria/attributes that you are looking for from the Job. E.g.

o  Reputation of the company (Brand equity, financial condition, reviews etc.)

o  Job role & responsibility

o  Learning opportunities

o  Independent assessment from your market research

o  Salary hike offered

o  Other options/Job offers available

-Give weightage to each criteria/attribute above (attach criteria/attribute will have a different weightage as per your priority e.g. for you Salary may be more important than Job role or responsibility, so give Salary a higher weightage…)

-Give your scores to each criteria

-Calculate the final score

-Make the final decisión as per the score arrived at.

Don't be too GREEDY- You may loose it all:

I am sharing with you a true anecdote below, when the candidate became too greedy and lost the opportunity altogether.

Anecdote:

Some years ago, during an interview I asked the candidate (with 2 years of experience) what were his salary expectations. He told me a figure that was 72% higher than his current salary (while the industry average of salary hike was anywhere between 20-30%).

The candidate was good. So, we finally decided to offer him what he asked for, without any negotiation- a huge jump of 72% on his current salary. Because we believed in having a Happy and deserving employee.

But when the HR sent him the offer letter- he rejected the Offer !!

He thought that since we had offered him without any negotiations, he could "play" and so he rejected the offer (the salary which he himself wanted originally) and then increased his demand to 90% to squeeze more, being very rude while discussing with HR.

His New demand was Not accepted and also the company decided to roll back the original offer, due to his strange behaviour.

On one hand it is perfectly fine to ask for what one thinks one deserves/what one is worth.

On the other hand, one should not be too greedy. If what one has asked has been offered without any bargaining, one should not take it for granted.

Do you think he did right by being too greedy and losing a great career opportunity ?

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