One thing to always remember, in any negotiation (house, car, pair of socks on the market in Casablanca): always be ready to walk away. Once you've committed to the deal before the other guy has, you've lost. If you commit to the job prematurely because you're afraid nobody else will hire you, you've lost.
Apart from that:
- Always ask for more. It's never enough.
- Don't let yourself be compared with others (co-workers). Make sure you have a story on why you're different from everybody else. The naive strategy, that most hiring managers nonetheless use, is to compare people with each other and say 'I can't pay you more than the others'.
- The other guy dreads the discussion just as much as you do. Exploit that. Drag it out over a couple of days - make him lay awake at night for having to have another talk about the money. He'll be willing to give in if the discussion is uncomfortable for him.
- Get the other guy to commit to hiring you before the discussion is over. This is turning the table on my first paragraph. Once he's decided he will hire you, he will go the extra mile to pay what you're asking (or at least closer to what you're asking - if they pay you what you're asking, you asked too little and have left money on the table).
All that said, I've held the same job for 10 years, so I may be talking out of my ass. I have hired people in those 10 years though, and rather successfully 'coached' others in salary negotiations, and I know a few head hunters who I discuss this with every now and then (privately - for example my brother in law is one). So I think I do know some basics.
Apart from that:
- Always ask for more. It's never enough. - Don't let yourself be compared with others (co-workers). Make sure you have a story on why you're different from everybody else. The naive strategy, that most hiring managers nonetheless use, is to compare people with each other and say 'I can't pay you more than the others'. - The other guy dreads the discussion just as much as you do. Exploit that. Drag it out over a couple of days - make him lay awake at night for having to have another talk about the money. He'll be willing to give in if the discussion is uncomfortable for him. - Get the other guy to commit to hiring you before the discussion is over. This is turning the table on my first paragraph. Once he's decided he will hire you, he will go the extra mile to pay what you're asking (or at least closer to what you're asking - if they pay you what you're asking, you asked too little and have left money on the table).
All that said, I've held the same job for 10 years, so I may be talking out of my ass. I have hired people in those 10 years though, and rather successfully 'coached' others in salary negotiations, and I know a few head hunters who I discuss this with every now and then (privately - for example my brother in law is one). So I think I do know some basics.