Negotiating Job Offers (The Jungle, Chapter 7)

Last time, I went on an interview bender. Now it was time to listen to offers (or rejections) and make a decision.

The Hard Work

Negotiation begins during the first contact you have with a company. As I mentioned earlier, you will be asked what salary you are looking for, and you should be prepared to answer it.

That’s the easy part. The hard part is performing well during the interview.

Waiting for Offers

Now began the waiting game. I didn’t want to make any decisions until I had all information on the table. Some companies were quick to make an offer, others were not.

I also didn’t want to reject any offers until I knew which offer I would be accepting. This became awkward, because companies want you to make a decision quickly, so they can know whether to start putting together an official offer, or to start pursuing other candidates.

Post-Interview Discussions

I didn’t feel that I had learned enough about one of the positions I was considering. My recruiter arranged a phone call between my prospective manager and I.

I had prepared a list of questions before the call, which made things flow pretty smoothly. I was interested in the process by which they developed software: where the requirements came from, how they were converted into features and planned, designed, developed, tested, integrated, and released. I asked about estimation. I tried to gauge how much freedom I would have to create interesting stuff.

Although I didn’t end up taking the position, I’m glad he took the time to speak with me.

Comparing Offers

Once I had all of my offers, I narrowed my choices down to 3 companies, and pursued all apparent categories of financial information: salary, bonus, benefits, vacation & stock options.

But more important to me was the atmosphere, the people, and the type of work that I would be doing.

The offer for the job that I wanted was a bit lower than the others (they offered me what I asked for, but my expectations changed during the process). Since I felt that I had some leverage, I attempted to get this offer to match or surpass the other two.

A key to this phase is patience. I could feel the air becoming thicker as I asked for more money. I knew what I wanted, but I still tried to be flexible — I suggested different combinations of salary and bonuses in an attempt to make things easier.

Closing the Deal

I was decisive and clear about what I wanted, and I received it. I now felt comfortable committing to my future employer and rejecting all of my other offers.

After a quick and demoralizing drug test, I was legit. There was also a background check, which I hate almost equally. But I was previously working for the military, so I am accustomed to authorized strangers digging through my personal records.

Now it was time to sit back and relax for awhile. This phase ended quickly, since I soon had to start packing and preparing for our cross-country relocation.

Next time, I’ll draw some conclusions from my experience.