Tomorrow's Graduate Students and Postdocs
Let's Make a Deal-Six myths about job and salary
negotiations and how they may hinder your ability to bargain effectively.
Yuki sat in my office at the Stanford University School
of Medicine Career Center, as many graduate students have before, and detailed
the two postdoc job offers she had received in spite of an ongoing recession.
She had heard she should negotiate, but had no idea how to proceed. When asked
what she wanted to get out of the agreement, she responded, ?I?m not good at
this. I mean, why would they want to hire me??
Weeks earlier, one of her classmates, Ray (both Ray and
Yuki are fictitious names to protect the identities of my students), was in the
opposite predicament. He came to my office because all three of his job offers
had been rescinded after he attempted to negotiate, which he had done because
he felt he should. When asked how he approached the negotiations, he said, ?I
simply told them I needed more money because I graduated with a PhD from
Stanford.?
With recent legislation mandating equal pay for women,
and reports that a woman makes, on average, 77?80 cents for every dollar a man
earns, it is tempting to see these two scenarios as ?gendered?: to assume that
Yuki may settle for less because she is not confident in the process, as women
?tend to be,? and that Ray?s overconfidence cost him three jobs, a mistake
commonly attributed to men. In fact, both faced the negotiation question with
unhealthy assumptions about the process, which ultimately hurt their cases.
Here are the most common job negotiation myths and what to do about them.
Myth 1: You must negotiate
There are two types of negotiations: distributive and
integrative. Negotiating a painting?s price with an art dealer, for example, is
distributive. You may never see the dealer again, so focusing on the best
bargain is more important than concerning yourself with maintaining a
relationship.
Negotiations with future employers are integrative, which
means you will (if all goes well) see them again; starting and maintaining a
good relationship is therefore your most important concern.
The best approach is to enter the negotiation with a
rationale that fits both parties. The Harvard Negotiation Project within
Harvard Law School provides research and resources focused on the theory and
practice of conflict resolution and negotiation. Researchers within the program
recommend knowing the following before you begin:
? Best alternative to a negotiated agreement: What are
your other options?
? Reservation price: What is the least you can accept?
? Zone of possible agreement: Where are you willing to
settle?
Through answering these questions, you may find the offer
reasonable or even better than you had anticipated. It?s also a good idea to
know your own worth. Comparing standards in your field on sites like the
American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Career Insider, Radford,
Glassdoor, Salary.com, and The Scientist?s own Salary Survey can help. It?s
important to remember that these rarely offer precise benchmarks of salary.
However, comparisons of the information can offer a good sense of range. Additionally,
in some fields, such as management consulting, negotiation is not even common.
In effect, if you have found no solid reason for negotiating other than simply
wanting a little more cash for extracurricular activities, it may be better for
your professional relationship not to do so.
Myth 2: Negotiation is a disingenuous process
While you do not have to negotiate if you don?t want to
or cannot make a solid case for doing so, your starting package is a baseline
for all other future raises, promotions, and opportunities. So reason to
negotiate does exist, but what if it just isn?t you?
Make it about you?and them. The basis for myth 2 is a
belief that negotiation is an attempt to take advantage of someone. The goal of
any negotiation, whether professional or personal, should be reaching a ?zone
of tolerance,? or an area where both of you feel a little comfort and a little
discomfort. If you are focused entirely on what you want or entirely on what
you think the prospective employer wants to hear, the process becomes less
genuine. Develop a personal budget plan to determine the difference between
what you want and need; listen to what the future employer wants and needs; and
find a fit between these interests.
Myth 3: Negotiation really means asking for more money
Even though many negotiation talks center on financial
terms, approach job offers with a whole package in mind. For example,
additional vacation time may be more important than a starting bonus, because
of work/life balance or because vacation time is a more permanent benefit than
a one-time, taxable bonus. Again, different fields have different standards.
Within research and academic science, for example, space, equipment, and staff
may be far more important, and easier, to negotiate than salary.
Besides those mentioned above, other common negotiable
offerings may include: start date, start-up funding, professional development
opportunities, job-title change, teaching load, part-time/working from home,
relocation costs, parking/commuting costs, and early/delayed review times.
Insurance and related benefits are typically standardized per organization and
can therefore be more difficult to negotiate. Still, these are just standards,
and many people make the mistake of simply not exploring the breadth of
possibilities available.
Regardless of what you seek, know what you want ahead of
time so that you are able to fully assess how well the entire offer fits with
your interests.
Myth 4: There is a negotiation ?type? and you either have
it or don?t
Yuki believed that she was not the negotiating ?type,?
seeing herself as unassertive or perhaps too genuine. Kenneth Thomas and Ralph
Kilmann, creators of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI),
identify five negotiator styles, all of which can result in successful
outcomes, depending on how, when, and why they are implemented:
1. Avoider: chooses not to negotiate at all
2. Accommodator: focuses primarily on understanding the
other side?s interests
3. Compromiser: intends to ?split the difference?
4. Competitor: focuses on getting the best possible
outcome for self
5. Collaborator: tries to find ways to understand and
satisfy both sides
Most of us fall strongly into one or two of these
categories. Luckily, the best type of negotiator is a combination of numbers 2
through 5. Early on, you may want to start as an accommodator, and/or as a
competitor. In the middle, you may want to take a more collaborative stance
and, in the end, move more fully toward compromise. The TKI measures which of
these styles suits you best, but each has its strengths and weaknesses. Unlike
Yuki, you should start your negotiations with a very distinct awareness of your
strengths and weaknesses both as a negotiator and as a candidate, and give
yourself the credit you deserve. As a result, you?ll be better equipped to
communicate your case with confidence.
Myth 5: Men are better at this than women
When I ask audiences and clients to list separately the
leadership traits of men and women, the lists are invariably similar. But, of
the negotiation types above, men are given credit for being more competitive
and women more accommodating. However, successful negotiation will not result
from an extreme in either direction, suggesting that neither of these styles is
an inherent strength or weakness. What we do know is that women do not ask for
as much.
According to Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, authors of
Women Don?t Ask, women may compromise too quickly, fearing that asserting their
own interests will either ruin a relationship with future colleagues or seem
overly aggressive. It is not that women are satisfied with less or that they
don?t value negotiating. Rather, there exists a fear of discrimination or
rejection if they do so too aggressively. As a result, I have found that women
are more likely to negotiate on someone else?s behalf (e.g., a family member),
apologize, confuse assertiveness with aggression, feel like they have to act
stereotypically masculine, and ruminate about the interaction long after it is
over. Men, on the other hand, may stay focused on the most immediately relevant
issues and present key points more concisely and confidently, and then move on
without looking back.
This perspective leads men to negotiate more often.
However, there is always the risk of seeming overconfident or too competitive,
if you do not keep the other party?s interests in mind. So your best bet is to
take the time to self-reflect and think about how others may benefit from the
individual skills you bring to the table, whether gender-related or not.
Myth 6: Employers want to give only the lowest offer
Negotiation is not the same as competition. Posting a
job, reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and putting offers
together all take a while. By the time you receive a job offer, the employer is
committed to you and wants you to succeed.
The goal of any negotiation, whether professional or
personal, should be reaching a ?zone of tolerance,? or an area where both of
you feel a little comfort and a little discomfort.
Every job title is connected to a specified salary range,
with professional skills and activities designated as suitable to the lower and
higher ends of the range. Such activities may be a combination of content
skills (technical skills specific to a particular job, such as performing PCR
or working with mouse models) and transferable skills (those less obvious
skills which may transfer into any job, such as facility at communication or
ability to work on a team). Salaries are offered according to where the
candidate?s experience falls within this continuum.
If a salary offer is not what you expected, first thank
the hiring manager for the offer of a position and then inquire about the
salary range, whether it is negotiable, and how they came to that figure. An
offer closer to the high end of the range is more difficult to negotiate
because it moves you closer to the next level in the pay structure. When
negotiating (or even interviewing in the first place), however, remind your
potential employer of the less obvious transferable skills you possess in
addition to the hard technical skills in the job description. These are the
skills that may get lost in translation on your CV or when determining an
initial offer. As a candidate, you should focus on the whole package when
considering a job offer, not just one aspect. In turn, it behooves you to
clarify what went into the job offer in the first place to ensure that all of
your skills, interests, and abilities are reflected.
Final advice for negotiating with your future colleagues
Yuki and Ray?s negotiation stories are not the worst I
have heard. Several years ago another one of my students received an offer at a
well-known organization. She negotiated a start date 3 months later than the
employer requested, additional salary and moving expense coverage, vacation
time soon after starting, and that one of her colleagues move, giving my
student the corner office. She did receive the offer of her dreams, but managed
to alienate all of her colleagues before even starting the job. She left after
just a year and a half.
Remember that these are your future colleagues. You will
see them again, possibly every day. You don?t want them to offer you the lowest
salary possible, but don?t assume they are doing so. Likewise, don?t give them
an excuse to make assumptions about you and your motives. Have your ideal offer
in mind from the start, know your reservation price, and come into the process
willing to negotiate the best possible agreement for everyone involved.
Finally, ask for the offer in writing (not always possible, but highly
advisable), and get a final written version once negotiation has been concluded.
Stephanie Eberle is the director of curriculum
development at the Stanford University School of Medicine Career Center.
FIND OUT MORE
Resources used in this article and my
most-often-recommended reference materials for those considering whether or not
to negotiate and how to do so:
? Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School (Harvard
Negotiation Project):
? Harvard Business Essentials: Negotiation, Harvard
Business School Press, 2003
? Perfect Phrases for Negotiating Salary and Job Offers,
Matthew J. DeLuca and Nanette
F. DeLuca, McGraw-Hill, 2006
? Women Don?t Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding
Negotiation?and Positive Strategies for Change, Linda Babcock and Sara
Laschever, Bantam, 2007
? Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving
In, Roger Fisher, Bruce M.
Patton, and William L. Ury, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,
2nd ed., 1992
Tomorrow's Professor: Tomorrow's Graduate Students and Postdocs
