Whats Worth Fighting forYou've helped me get 18% raise in the past and I value your advice. The company I'm Hi, You have helped me get 18% raise in the past and I value your advice. A company told me they’ll be offering a job to me shortly. The company is 25 times smaller than where I am now, the title is the same, but pay and projects are much better. I’m ready to take it. 1) I’m pretty sure the salary increase will be good, but I’ve been told to try to ask for 10% more than their offer. What do you think? 2) I would like more vacation -- I'd lose two days by moving to the small place, I would like a higher title (friends tell me $ is more important than title but many books say to negotiate a package.) 3) I would like 2 weeks off between my old job and new job—is that reasonable? I want to choose my battles-- and I haven't negotiated successfully in years! What is worth fighting for? Do I negotiate in the same conversation as the offer or wait a night? Thanks!!! Allison You have to figure out what they're willing to give on. Money is usually the big thing. A small company may be flexible on paid vacation. Title is last in my opinion. When I ordered bidness cards at my present job, I called IHR to ask what my title was. They didn't know, they told me to put down whatever I thought best. I picked "Principal Engineer", but I kind of wish I'd tried "Prince of Denmark" or "Knight Commander". Next time, I think I'll try just add "KCB" after my name and see if they buy that. "Who" told you to ask for 10% more than they offer? That is stupid advice. If you are already earning what you believe to be a fair, even if not generous, wage, the experts here recommend you get a 10 to 15% increase over what you are currently earning, not what you are offered by a new firm! You have to assess whether or not you are getting "lowballed" with any offer, but if they give you a significant increase over what you are currently earning, and the benefit package is fairly comparable, then take the offer. You do not need to negotiate every offer.... If you think it's low, you can always ask if it's negotiable, but don't shoot yourself in the foot simply because you think you "have" to negotiate. I doubt you can get more vaca time--those kinds of policies are usually the same for all employees, and it's only two days. If you were losing 2 or 3 weeks, then perhaps you could try to negotiate, but for 2 days? C'mon, you'll sound like a nit-picky whiner before you even start. As to having 2 weeks off in between jobs, that sounds reasonable to me. If you have to give 2 weeks' notice, then want to take 2 weeks off, that might be stretching it a bit, especially if they need to have someone in there soon. Perhaps you can give only 1 weeks' notice at your current job & take 2 weeks off, or you may just have to take 1 week off in between. If you only can get the 1 week off, take it and don't complain. I think most people usually are able to take only 1 week off in between, especially if they have to give 2 weeks' notice at their current jobs. Some people can't even take any time off in between jobs (due to the new company needing them on board asap), so be thankful if you end up with only a week. Get 2 if you can, but don't complain if it doesn't work out that way. And why bother quibbling over a title? I think you are listening to people who don't know as much as they think they do. 1) If the salary offer is one you'd otherwise be happy to accept - accept it! Never try to negotiate more just for the sake of negotiating. If the offer is AT LEAST 10% to 15% more than you're earning now - take it! 2) You're kidding about trying to negotiate two more days of vacation, right? That's not a battle worth fighting by any means. I think you can politely ask if the job title is negotiable and see what they say - titles don't add anything to the company's expenses. 3) I do think you can ask for a start date that's two weeks off, but I wouldn't imply that I just wanted the time to fool around, I'd make the request on the basis of needing to wrap up loose ends or something like that. I'd wait for the offer to be made and ask for a day to think about whether or not any of it is worth "battling" over. If it's otherwise a solid salary and benefit package, I'd really think twice about playing hard-ball over piddly issues. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert Hi everyone, thanks for the great advice it really helped!! I used a lot of the tips in this board to negotiate back and forth on the things most important to me and got at 20% increase plus a small signing bonus, plus two extra vacation days. Because they realllly wanted me, and I had a few other firms looking at me, they were motivated to give me a nice package. They didn't give me a better title, but thankfully the money is fantastic so I'll let the egotistical side of me chill. Thanks again! Allison
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