What if They Get Angry with Me?From: Jack Chapman Sometimes, going first can be the right thing to do, but that’s higher learning; get proficient at the basics first. So, definitely read Chapter 10—but not yet. For now, let’s look at how we might avoid any struggle. I must admit that it feels a little tense when an employer asks about your salary requirements and you won’t disclose them. A tug of war over disclosing your money requirements hurts your chances of being hired because it destroys the rapport needed for hiring. Your rule of thumb here is to put off the first request, maybe the second, but if asked again you’ll need to handle it more directly. Here are ways to handle it and avoid a struggle. Soften your “Let’s wait” statements with introductory phrases like: “Discussing salary is always awkward for me, so…” “I know you’re eager to know requirements, but…” “Could I say something about that?” Or, “When we discuss money up front I get worried I’ll be screened out or boxed in, so could we…?” To find out what’s so important about knowing your salary requirements, use questions like: “I notice we’re back on salary again. May I ask you a question?” The employer says okay. You continue, “Are you wondering if you can afford me, or do you just need it for an application, or something else?” Or, “I notice we’ve come back to salary. I’d like you to know that I’d be glad to talk about money, and even share my tax return with you at some point if it’s important, but could we take a moment to talk about why we need to discuss it now?” Give up. You can disregard my salary-making rules altogether and reveal your salary up front. That will also end a tug of war. You always have that option available, and I even discuss it in Chapter 10. I don’t, however, recommend it. People’s attention easily gets focused on the glass-half-empty side of postponing, so they ask, “What if they get angry with me?” Note that the same glass is also half full: “What if they’re more impressed with me?” One client reported an incident that happened when he was being interviewed by a recruiter who was retained by a family-owned company. The recruiter’s job was to make a good selection and to do it more objectively than the family could on its own. In one group interview the recruiter pressed my client for salary expectations. The client postponed it several times; the family brass were in the room and they were showing some signs of discomfort. The recruiter turned to them and remarked, “This man is doing exactly what I would tell a candidate of mine to do in this situation.” Don’t worry about upsetting the interviewer, for now; keep reading! Learn rules 2 to 5. If you allow the right mind-set to develop, you’ll find your own natural words and ways to postpone salary talk. At the end of the next chapter, I disclose how others have said it, which will help you compose and embrace your own way of postponing salary talk. Jack Chapman is a nationally know job coach and seminar speaker specializing for the last 20 years in salary negotiations and job interviews. For more information on Salary Negotiations, please visit: http://www.breakthrough-salaries.com/ |