Having bought a few watches in Bangkok, and having now been through the property process a few times, I’m becoming increasingly aware that the first few times I negotiated in each arena, I did so badly, that the tactics appropriate for different negotiations vary enormously along with the expectations of the interested parties. Is he starting at plus 10% or +200%, should I open close to my desired deal or allow scope to meet in the middle? Negotiating a new salary is something most of us do with such infrequency that we’d rather not use it as a learning experience. We’re emotionally invested in the deal, and most of us feel uncomfortable putting a price on ourselves. We’ve progressed through a conversation leading both employer and employee to believe we’re a good match. As the candidate we see opportunities at our new employer that we don’t have in our current position. The very logical conclusion being that we’d move on for little of no financial benefit, yet the current climate appears to be one of opportunity for the candidate. So how do we start in the package negotiation and what are the expectations of the recruiter? Can we put them off by starting high? With the bigger consultancies is this really a negotiation or do they simply apply a formula? Do we inherently have a value, or is our value current plus 10%, or 20%, or 30%. Views of recruiters, employers, or anyone who feels they’ve done this very well or very badly……..
