Offers

February 2006 Archive

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February 7, 2006  [Anonymous Contributor]

I just read your blog on Offers and found it useful.  I'm getting my MBA at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley and recently completed a course in Negotiations.  The fact of the matter is that by the time you receive your first offer from a company you should have already laid all your cards out on the table.  This includes discussion way beyond compensation and benefits - beyond salary, stock, bonuses, 401K contribution and healthcare.  It includes information that is personally important to you.  These things could be working from home, % of travel, education reimbursement, vacation time and even flexible work hours. 

You really only get one chance to make a reasonable "counter offer" so if the company's first offer is completely off base then it's a long road to hoe before you reach mutual agreement.  By letting the company know every piece of information/data that's important to you - and how important each piece is - you give the company more information with which to make you a reasonable offer that everyone feels good about.  You want to start your relationship with your new company so that everyone is happy to have you on board and everyone feels good about the final agreement

[JUDY]

Thank you for those comments..

I have a few ‘real world’ comments to add to the discussion. I have in many cases informally let a client know about a candidate’s values but up to a point because the client then feels the candidate is all about “me” and not about contributing to the organization. I normally create a job description that talks about travel requirements and the client covers vacation policy, all pro forma. However, too much discussion about “balance,” flexible work policy” (when there is no mention of it from the client) and you will take yourself out of the running.

One way to get around that is to ask about the culture of the company and what values are important; what mission and vision have been created and are in writing, etc? This will give many clues to how flexible the organization is around the issues that matter to you. Also, you can launch a discussion about that mission and vision and ask how it is interpreted for employees. Tread carefully in finding a good balance between asking for too much and asking for too little.

Good points.  For those needing more flexibility they need to find a company that has a culture/value set where flexibility is key and then the discussion is easier.  (I have a two-year-old son and am getting my MBA so flexibility is key for me!)  If I, for example, were negotiating with a company where I sensed that flexibility was not a cultural norm then I would still broach the topic and if I got pushback I would know the job was not for me. 

However, *good* employers want to know what is important to you.  Some companies would be upset to know that you declined an offer simply because you were afraid to have a discussion about work/life balance.  For those of us already with jobs, a search isn't about finding "any" job, it's about finding the "right" one.  Some companies are becoming more humanistic and understand that they need to hire the individual, not simply their skill set.

 [JUDY]

I am not suggesting that if “balance” is a key criterion to considering a new position, that you omit that discussion. It just means that there will be many jobs that will not “fit” your needs and it is good to know that at the “get go.” I have found that in a tight market and, in high tech right now the market at certain levels is extremely tight, employers are looking for ways to fill critical gaps. If flexibility will attract and keep you from leaving to go elsewhere for more money and more rigidity, then these employers are the first to talk about flexibility as a selling point.

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