Start Off Absurdly High in Salary Negotiations

Sep 21, 2011 by Rebecca

One perennial question I am asked by my clients is how to go about negotiating salaries.  My standard advice is to try to head off the question before it even arises.  The first person to ask often wins in this scenario.  If you wait for the employer to ask you your requirements without first getting a sense of their range, then you go into the negotiation with the weaker hand.

A new study gives an interesting perspective — and offers an easier approach.  According to to a simulation conducted by Todd J. Thorsteinson of the University of Idaho, job candidates who jokingly requested ridiculously high salaries received 9% higher wage offers than candidates who made no such jokes.

I find this interesting because it may be easier for people who have a hard time with negotiation to follow this tactic instead. It can be hard to stick to your guns at the negotiation table.  Many people have a nervous habit of undercutting themselves without reason.  By taking a more open and more playful approach, you can defeat this harmful tendency. Obviously, this is a tactic to be used with discretion: gauging the personality of the person you are negotiating with is essential.

 

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It’s all well and good to talk about salary negotiations, but if you are having trouble landing interviews or getting to the negotiating table in the first place then that’s the place to start.  If you are having trouble getting to that point, drop me an email at rebecca@whowinsandwhy.com or contact me here. I would be happy to answer any of your questions, or if you would prefer, help you get started with a free initial session to get you moving forward.

 

Photo by 16 Miles of String