The Essentials of Job Negotiations

Negotiating job packages is one of the trickiest tasks most people face in their professional lives-and everybody wants to know how to do it better. Filled with solid, accessible, research-backed advice, this book counters myths about job negotiations and maps the way to success.
Job negotiations can influence one's income, lifestyle, and even relationships. Based on over 50 years of research in social psychology, decision making, organizational behavior, and negotiations, The Essentials of Job Negotiations: Proven Strategies for Getting What You Want is full of actionable information that will help readers master the job-negotiation process from start to finish.

This book covers all aspects of job negotiation from interviewing to planning for the negotiation to the actual negotiation dance and the employee-employer relationship that results. Special attention is given to the arts of communication and persuasion to help readers strengthen the ways they present ideas and increase the likelihood of success. Each chapter tackles a different aspect of the job-negotiation process, providing practical tips and true stories and explaining the psychological science behind why certain behaviors work while others don't. Throughout, negotiation theory is integrated with real-life experiences to make the concepts easily accessible.

Introduction: Fears and Falsehoods
Why You Should Give Your Best to THIS Negotiation (Why You Need This Book)
The Big Myths to Overcome: The Six Falsehoods
Overview of the Book
ONE: Behind-the-Scenes Preparation: Before You Even Walk in the Door
"Gut-Feel" Reactions versus Proactive Planning
What Does the Company Want, Generally Speaking?
Preparing Yourself: Emotions at the Table
Preparation FAQ
Summary
TWO: Impression Management: Working the Interview
A Good Mind-set
What Are Interviewers Looking For?
Making a Good Impression
The Value of Interview Experience
Asking Good Questions to Demonstrate Your Passion
Interview FAQ
Special Topic: Gender and Racial Bias in Job Negotiations
Summary
THREE: Beginning the Negotiation: When to Start, and When Not To
Getting a Written Offer
Why You Don't Want to State the First Number
Anchoring against Your Own Best Interests
Avoiding the Salary Conversation, Specifically
Should You Always Let Them Make the First Offer?
Pre-Negotiation/Pre-Offer FAQ
Summary
FOUR: The Actual Negotiation
Justifying Offers and the Fairness Game
Trade-offs and Concessions
Using a Trade-off Matrix to Analyze What to Trade
Information Sharing
Comparing Multiple Offers: Using the Offer Rating System
Using Other Offers as a Springboard
Contingency Counteroffers
The Top 10 Don'ts: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Summary
FIVE: Powerful Communication
The Curse of Knowledge: Do You Really Understand What I'm Saying?
Cialdini's Psychology of Persuasion
Powerful versus Powerless: Communicating Up
Listening Skills
Three Additional Tips for Effective Communication in Job Negotiations
Summary
Six: Negotiating via E-mail: You May Need to Do This, So Do It Right
Communication Bandwidth
Advantages of E-mail
Disadvantages of E-mail
Strategies for Success with E-mail
Top 10 Rules for E-mail Success
Summary
Seven: Headhunters
How Headhunters Work
The Downside to Agent Use
Managing Your Headhunter Relationship
Summary
Eight: Special Circumstances: Bad Economies, Family Businesses, and Cross-Cultural Negotiations
Special Circumstance 1: Strategies for Poor Economic Times
Four Strategies: Adding/Trading Issues, Anchoring, Justifying, and Contingency
Negotiating from a Position of Unemployment or Underemployment
Poor Economic Times Summary
Special Circumstance 2: Family Businesses
Family Business Summary
Special Circumstance 3: Cross-Cultural Negotiations
Does Culture Matter?
A Closer Look at Specific Cultural Divides
The Language Barrier
Cross-Cultural Negotiations Summary
Nine: After the Deal: What's Next?
Situation 1: Raises
Situation 2: Advanced Degrees and Certifications
Situation 3: The Next Job Negotiation
Situation 4: Withdrawn Offers
Situation 5: The Changing Deal
Summary
Ten: The Top 10 Most Important Things to Remember
Appendix A: Planning Table: The Seven Key Insights for Effective Planning
Appendix B: Potential Issues
Appendix C: Online Salary Information
Index