Brilliant article! I’ve been using a few of those techniques myself, without necessarily realising it quite frankly :) As you said, some come natural, and some you learn (the hard way).

There’s one comment I’d like to make, based on my personal experience interviewing. It’s very similar to your ‘positivity’ rule, but maybe more relevant to the actual interview stage as opposed to the negotiations stage. Every time I’ve interviewed for a company I get asked why I’m looking to leave my current employer. It’s a tricky question and I believe it’s more of a strategy for the interviewer to get the upper hand, than an actual interest in the dynamics at your current team/role.

The reality is that your decision to look for new opportunities will at least partially have something to do with your current job. But by admitting it (regardless of how innocent or minute the reason is) you’re admitting that you’re ‘looking for a job’ instead of ‘being recruited’ by the company. It’s a way for them to turn the table if you’re doing really good at your current job and they have to try hard to win you.

I think it’s important in those cases to not give the interviewer leverage by sharing frustrations or revealing negative facts about your current situation. It’s bad because it burns your leverage, but it also makes you diminish your company and team, sometimes even be perceived as trash-talking them if you’re not careful.

So on your note about positivity. Yes! A candidate should stay positive about both their current situation and their (potential) future one. ‘It’s not about my current employer, it’s about how cool you guys are!’ I always go with that. And it should be the truth, otherwise why bother interviewing in the first place :)

Long comment, but I got inspired by your article, looking forward to the next one!

Nico