[andrewstuart]

I've negotiated hundreds of salaries for developers and tech people.

The key to negotiating is to get to a deal that both parties feel happy with - if you “win” a negotiation through power then you will likely find later you lost when you get paid back for winning through strength.

Here is what I know about negotiating:

1: know in advance the salary that you want

2: aim for a salary that is not at the high end, not at the low end

3: your target salary should be one that you will feel satisfied with if you get the job - you do not want to get the job and then be unhappy and feeling like you undersold yourself an looking over your shoulder for the next job.

4: it is a good idea to ask for a salary range - typically $5K to $10K. you can say "I'm looking for $150K to $160K but it depends on what the role is" - this gives you some room to negotiate and helps avoid overpricing yourself.

5: if you feel that your salary target is fair, then stick to that - when the time comes that they ask you how much you want - state what you want and explain why you think it is fair.

6: if you get negotiated down, explain again that you think your target number is fair and explain why. explain that given that the number is a fair market rate then you're not moving down.

7: be willing to accept that you do not get the job as an outcome of asking for a fair salary - at that point shrug and move on.

8: if you are the start of your career then money should not matter at all - find a job that will allow you to hone your craft and learn key skills - this is the attitude you should have for your first five years. After that, you will be able to negotiate on the strength of your skills and experience.

Remember negotiation of salary should not be about a win/lose attitude - if either party feels that someone won and someone lost, then that will be a bad start to the relationship. Negotiating salary is about finding a salary that both employer and employee feel happy at.

If you are an employer, remember that every dollar you pay ABOVE the requested salary buys you good will and enthusiasm. Every dollar you offer BELOW the requested salary does the inverse. Also avoid the "If you do well we will pay you more in 3 months" - just pay straight up front that amount.

[davely]

> say “I'm looking for $150K to $160K…”

I’ll defer to your experience on this but I am under the impression that giving a range was a bad idea because a company can always lowball you: “oh, you said you were okay with 150K, why are you trying to renegotiate with us now?!”

[andrewstuart]

“Just to clarify, I said in an email that I’m looking for $150k to $160k depending on the role. Now that we’ve talked about the job I feel like the $160k is the right amount given my skills and experience.”

That’s how to handle it, with the caveat that you should not be using that as a ploy to get the higher rate, never having had the willingness to take the lower rate. If you give a range, you should expect to be offered at the lower end and you should be happy to accept that offer. If you’re not happy with the lower end then you put forward the wrong numbers.

And if they say no, shrug and move on.

[zerr]

But you never find out that the actual range was 180-250k.

[ivanmontillam]

> if you “win” a negotiation through power then you will likely find later you lost when you get paid back for winning through strength.

Could you please provide an example of said scenario?

> if either party feels that someone won and someone lost, then that will be a bad start to the relationship. Negotiating salary is about finding a salary that both employer and employee feel happy at.

Yes, I second this. It once happened to me that I "won" by getting an over-budgeted salary, but had to quit 3 days later because one of the bosses leaked in a meeting that they intended to overwork me since they felt hustled by me during the salary negotiation.

Said and done, they assigned me more work than initially scoped, as to adjust the "bang for the buck" balance (and had to quit shortly after that).

[bengarney]

As someone on the hiring side, I strongly agree with GP.

I can think of a specific example where someone with experience and strong qualifications pushed for a higher salary - which I agreed to - then struggled with the role and ended up not sticking around. In another instance, someone had lower qualifications and experience, but also negotiated hardest out of their hiring cohort - same outcome, plus they weren't a great fit personality wise.

Meanwhile, I can think of several other people who cross-trained from their initial non-technical careers at the local community college, came in with low experience, didn't negotiate aggressively (although did stand up for themselves)... They've done great work (and grown substantially and been good to work with) over the long term, and seem to enjoy working for me enough that a few who left for other jobs were interested in being hired again later on.

Negotiating employment terms is the first task you complete at a new job. It is a good predictor. If it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for either side, it's not a good sign of things to come...

[polishdude20]

I recently have gone through the interview process with a company where I mentioned a range for what I was expecting. This was stated to me to be a full time position. At the end, they offered me lower than my minimum range and a three month contract to boot. Do I just come back to them and say "look, my lower end of the range is higher than your offer, can we make that work?" I'm sure they'd come back and say "how about we revisit after your contract is over."

[andrewstuart]

Be firm about your minimum salary and explain why it is fair and stick to it.