Keeping it real! XD
Interview Basics| Negotiation tactics
Always Negotiate! That’s what Leetcode taught me!
Disclaimer: I am a practical guy, I shall not be debating in this article whether the methods in here are right or wrong. It’s just that these methods work. ‘You’ may or may not choose to apply them.
Getting hired doesn’t just require you to be done with the interview process. In the end, the compensation discussions play a major role in whether you shall be satisfied or not.
I have worked with a bunch of my friends over the last year, helping them negotiate a better offer.Who should be reading this article?
- If you believe, there are multiple companies out there that can offer you decent growth and experience.
- You are not focused on being hired by just one company. Ex: I am an XYZ fanatic and want to be hired by them at all costs.
- You understand that it will always profit a company to hire you at the lower end of the price band.
- You understand that recruiters are only the middle people. It depends on the hiring team whether they want you or not.
Why should I negotiate?
- Your first offer is always lower than what a company can actually offer you for the job. It’s called lowballing in the industry.
- It’s about asking for what, you believe you are worth.
Look at the amount being offered to people who applied for similar jobs. (Talked about later)
Working beside people with the same experience and getting paid lesser than them, leads to a lot of discontent and internal conflicts.
- You don’t want to go around changing jobs every year. It’s not a good look on your resume.
If you still have some doubts. I shall ask you this. Why does a company agree to offer you 30–50% more than their initial quote just because you got a competing offer?
Money doesn't grow on trees. Even with the updated offer you are still fitting into their budget that is why they choose to do this.
How to negotiate?
Always be polite.
Stay calm. The aim is to express a level of unhappiness over the first offer. Use statements like:
- I was hoping for a bit more.
- This doesn’t seem according to the industry standards.
- I have an offer from Company ABC, I was expecting INR X more here.
Talk using data points.
I have heard from people that this position is paying Amount X more for this position for the years of experience I have.
Use Leetcode compensation Discussions and Team Blind to get the exact numbers people have been offered.
Sites like Glassdoor and Ambition Box shall provide you with average numbers as well. (They do get a little unreliable at times.)
Talk in terms of earning per annum
Always look at what you will be earning per annum. Keep this in mind while quoting your current compensation too.
Companies tend to quote offers as a CTC. The numbers might look good at first, but at times it includes:
- Stocks that you would receive over a 4-year span.
- Bonus that you would get over a couple of years.
- Weird benefits you don’t care about.
Every company has perks and benefits. If the offer in front of you includes benefits. You should make it clear that benefits are offered at your current company as well.
How to use a competing offer?
The word competing offer is always thrown around in negotiation discussions.
The below answer on Quora shall help you understand how it actually comes into play.
Example statements to use
Here are some statements that you could potentially use. Apart from point 1, none of the other statements will get you more than a 20% raise on the initial offer. Competing offers have gotten people approximately 100% bumps.
- I have an offer from company A, and even though you guys have similar work. I will have to look at the monetary side of things to proceed further.
- The company's stock price has fallen over the last year, and there isn’t really a guarantee for an uptrend. If I accept this offer, there are pretty high chances that I am going to earn lesser than what is shown here.
So can we please increase the overall stock component? - This offer seems a bit low to me because I am also going to be promoted in a couple of months, which would give me a hike of <XYZ> %.
Could you please make an offer taking that into consideration? - I currently have <XYZ> amount of stock with my company which has not vested yet, and it is only going to increase in value.
Can you please factor that in here? - If no relocation bonus is offered. Ask for a sign On bonus to compensate for that.
- I will have to return the amount <XYZ> when I leave my current company. (Some companies ask back for the bonus/relocation expense offered if you leave within 1/2 years.)
Can you please cover that as well?
Things worth Pointing out
- Your interviews went pretty well. [This works for some reason ¯_(ツ)_/¯]
- You really want to join the company and the work looks fascinating, but it's the compensation factor that is stopping you.
- My previous company paid heavily in stocks, if you guys don't have that, could we go for a higher base component?
Notice the emphasis on if, consider, factor and hope. You have got to keep your tone in check.
Summary
- Try to have multiple offers while negotiating.
- Make sure to negotiate in terms of per annum income.
- There is no harm in asking questions.
- Always remember - “The first offer is a lowball”.
- Take your time in coming up with apt responses. If a company is asking you to accept the offer this very minute, It’s probably not worth going to.
