Negotiating the deal

Dear Bob …

I have worked the last 21+ years at the same large company. During my career there I’ve been, among other things, a senior data administrator, an Oracle DBA. I have over 35 years Computer experience, the last 21 in data management. I am very good at what I do.

Our salary tops out at $85K and I make $84. The same job in Federal Service is usually a GS-14 which tops at 108 – 111K. In the private sector, the median Salary is 107K. Based on my ability, experience, and the high regard in which I hold myself, I’d think the 105-10K would be about right for me as a Data Architect. However, when interested at all, companies will tend to offer about 90-92K, which just isn’t enough to justify the move given the vacation and seniority I’ll lose.

If I go, my medical is free to the next employer since I receive it as a retirement benefit. That should be worth $6K+ or so. At age of 60, federal law does not require that I be placed in defined benefit pension plans so that should not be an issue.

Just because my current employer has underpaid me and several other IT classes for years, that is no reason to assume I will tolerate it from an employer not holding a pension over my head.

My question is: are there techniques for getting a more market competitive salary from an underpaid position other than explaining and declining offers, or accepting then job hopping for the next 10 percent?

– Hoping for more

Dear Hoping …

The short answer comes from that ad for the negotiating class – you don’t get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate.

The long answer isn’t all that much longer, and since I don’t know how you’ve been approaching the job hunt my answer could be way off base. Here it is anyway: You haven’t established a mindset on the part of the hiring manager that it would be really, really great to have you onboard because it would solve all their problems.

It’s like this: The first offer you get isn’t the end of the conversation. And you certainly won’t get anything more than you ask for. Most important: If you find yourself negotiating with Human Resources, you’re placing yourself in a losing situation.

What I’d suggest is this. Next time you receive an offer and it’s lower than you’d like, take a couple of steps.

First, tell whoever you’re talking to, whether it’s HR or the hiring manager, that the number they’re giving you isn’t enough of an improvement to justify leaving a very comfortable position. Then tell them you’re willing to work with them on a couple of fronts – important because it’s better if a negotiation doesn’t devolve to just a single issue.

So put your medical and pension benefits on the table and offer to trade them off for salary. If you’re willing to take a lower salary in exchange for more vacation days, offer that as well. Let them know if the salary they’re offering is fine so long as there’s a more generous bonus package attached.

If you’re talking with HR the whole time, take it as far as possible, then tell them you’ll have to think about it. Once you’re off the phone with them, contact the hiring manager. Let him or her know that (1) while you’d like to join their organization, want the challenge, think it would be a terrific opportunity, and think that what the manager needs and what you have to offer are a great fit; and (2) while what you need to make the move and what HR has offered you aren’t terribly far apart; that (3) you’re at an impasse and the offer just won’t work where it is.

Then, be quiet for a few moments, to give the manager a chance to say something. It might be, “That’s a shame – I wish it had worked out.” If so, you’re pretty much dead in the water and can move onto the next opportunity. Ask the manager if he or she knows of anyone else in town who is looking for someone with your skills. The manager might instead ask, “Just how far apart are we?” If so, answer with the same numbers you’ve been giving HR, minus all the detail: “Putting the whole package together it’s about $15,000 less than I need to make the move.” If you get the question, you’re still in the game.

The manager might say, either before or after asking you what the gap is, “It’s really up to HR to make the offer.” That is, of course, a bunch of baloney, but you don’t want to challenge it directly – that would be rude. Just say, “I’d more or less guessed that, but I figured I owed you the courtesy of letting you know where we stood directly.”

Then, thank the manager for his/her time and attention, and get off the phone.

You’ll either get a callback with a better offer or you won’t. But this at least gives you a shot at the compensation you’re looking for.

– Bob

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