Page 303 - Marky Stein - Get a Great Job When You Don't Have a Job-McGraw-Hill (2009)

Get a Great Job When You Don’t Have a Job

Creative Negotiations

Pat is a client who negotiated her compensation package cre-
atively when the company she applied to “wouldn’t budge” on
salary. She got them to agree on $80,000 a year (more than they
initially offered), but she felt she needed to make a better deal
with them to feel satisfied working there on the long term. She
had a great idea on how to narrow the gap between what she
wanted and what the company offered.

• She said she would be glad to accept $80,000 if she could
work a 32-hour week. In effect, she increased her salary
by $20,000 a year.
• Pat asked that her medical and other health benefits
begin immediately rather than after 90 days. She got
that too.
• She asked for tuition reimbursement for a master’s
degree program that would further her knowledge of
her field. She got that benefit also, and it was a lifesaver
at $330 per graduate unit (about $1,000 per class).

Use the techniques of open-door negotiating, along with the
rock-solid confidence you have built while assessing your skills,
gifts, and accomplishments. Take the risk! It will pay off. I leave
you with a phrase I once heard in the movie Desert Hearts: “You
can’t win if you don’t play the game.”

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