The most important part of salary negotiations ISN'T the actual face-to-face part.

It's the setup - with a specific state of mind. Nearly everyone thinks of a salary negotiation as that point in an offer process when you get to hammer out all the details, starting with salary, moving on to bonus and benefits and cars and cell phones, etc. That order is wrong, but I’ll leave that for a discussion on figuring out the final strategy. By the way, that's the easiest part.  

The Setup

The setup is not only the most important part of a negotiation, it’s also the aspect most people find uncomfortable, in what already is usually an uncomfortable situation.

When I ask many of my clients and students if they have negotiated much in previous salary discussions, the answer is usually "no." There is something about "making the ask" that creates an urge to say yes to everything and just be done with it. Or there's a fear that if the person receiving the offer doesn't agree right away, the offer will be rescinded. (Whenever that actually does happen, it's almost always a signal that something's wrong with the position and/or the organization.)  

Positive Mindset

It's important to go into any interview situation, including a phone screen, with a positive mindset  --  you feel like you've earned it, you have the background and skills, and you're qualified to not only get the offer, but also to be paid accordingly. You're prepared.

At Columbia Business School's EMBA program, where I've consulted for many years, we call it the "EMBA mantra: sunshine, light, and success." An attitude.  

Talking About Money

Whenever the subject of money is brought up, at any point in an interviewing process, the negotiation has started. That includes a five-minute phone screen. Even if you haven’t had an interview or yet been considered a serious candidate.   

Here's the hard part mentioned earlier: You must try to avoid the subject of money for as long as you can. The longer you defer the better. The longer you defer, the more opportunity you have to build value. The longer you build value? The more money you will get offered. Isn't that what this is all about?

If you don't set up an optimal situation for making the best deal you can, then you may get stuck later on during reviews with those COLA raises or some other bureaucratic organizational limitation.  

How to Avoid Talking About Money

There are many ways to avoid the topic.

•   For example: "Money is very important to me, of course. But, if it's ok with you, could we defer this discussion until we figure out if there's a good fit?  I'd hate to knock myself out of contention because I'm coming in too high or too low this early in our conversation. I'm confident we'd be able to work it out."

•   Or, if that doesn't work, how about, "Could you give me an idea of your range?" If the interviewer does respond with a range, and it's anywhere near where you think it should be, you just say there will be no problem working it out if you get to that point.  

• · Or, if you find the interviewer getting impatient, you say you'll be looking for an "all in" (including benefits, bonus, 401K match, everything) of __________. That, of course, is if you're looking to bump your total comp up significantly. If you're seeking to keep it lower for any of a wide range of reasons, then you say you'll be looking for a base of ____________, which is close to what you're currently earning.  

• · Or, if the interviewer is insistent, you'll have to give in and tell the real numbers. You cannot fabricate your history; it's easy to verify. All the interviewer has to do is ask you for a previous W-2.   

Even if you have to give in, you've at least set a precedent where the interviewer will know  you're not going to be a pushover in any subsequent salary discussions. That's a great precedent.

This pushback, of course, will be continued in the actual face to face negotiations later on.  Collegial and friendly, but still a pushback.  

The Exceptions

One note: Working with HR professionals or recruiters makes this much tougher. They're there to screen. It's why I encourage clients and students to do their best to get to decision makers, who will be far more amenable to the approach described here.

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I recently answered a question from a consultant who was having a tough time with self-marketing (Ask Ellis). The writer he asked if he could just skip it. My answer more or less was: Sure you can skip it . . . if you don’t care about being successful.

I understand his reluctance -- most of us aren’t born salesmen. Selling yourself makes an awful lot of people very uncomfortable. Social media was supposed to fix all that. You don’t have to sell yourself in person any more. Except now that we all find ourselves under a steady barrage of sales pitches from friends and strangers, using social media to promote yourself is starting to feel a little uncomfortable as well.

I know the feeling. Now that I’m faced with trying to let job seekers know about my book, In Search of the Fun-Forever Job, I’m trying to find the right balance between alerting readers and being obnoxious about it. But self-marketing -- whether you’re an author or in business for yourself -- is a fact of life these days. There are only so many people I can reach in person.

So, once again my publisher, Bacon Press Books, is going to offer the Kindle edition of In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies that Work for free, July 24th - 26th.

I want to thank all of you who helped me get the word out last time. And, yes, ask if you’ll do it again. Tell anyone you know who’s looking for work or ready to change careers. At the moment, we don’t have any plans to do this again. So, in my humble opinion, it’s a great opportunity to get some good advice for free. And just in case you don’t know this already, you don’t need a Kindle device, there really is an app for that

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Okay, I confess. I don't really understand these free days for e-books. Yes, of course, like most authors, I'd like to see my book, In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies that Work, reach as many readers as possible. And I totally understand that when you're looking for work, money is tight. It's just that I find it hard to believe there are a lot of readers out there who'll download the book when it goes free on June 26-27th.

My publisher, Bacon Press Books, says I'm wrong. Says I'll be surprised.

So, despite my cynicism, we're giving it a try. If you'd like to get a free copy of the book, you can download it
June 26-27th  Evidently you don't need a Kindle device to read it, there's Kindle Reader app you can get for free, too.

If you do decide to download it, I hope you enjoy the book
And, good luck with your search.

I don’t measure career success by job title or salary, but rather by how satisfied you are with the work you’re doing. If you don’t have a job that fits your life, that suits your personality, that provides you with work you find challenging, you’ll never feel quite at home. But how much time should you give a new job before determining you’re in the wrong place? That’s a question I hear often from clients. Usually it’s along the line of, “I really hate this job but do I dare quit in this economy?”

The easy answer is: It all depends. . .

Let me give you an example. I just heard from a reader (Ask Ellis) who thought she had found her media dream job. Only as soon as she was hired, the job changed. Bait and switch? Possibly. But it’s also possible the employer genuinely didn’t realize what he/she wanted. Happens all the time. And when it does, the decision to quit becomes a little easier.

In the case of my reader, things were further complicated. A friend had brought her on. And the contract was only for two months. Shouldn’t it be easier to just wait it out? Wouldn’t she be letting her friend down?

Believe it or not, this one was actually simple. Because the position description had changed so dramatically, and because it was a consulting assignment, I don't think she should have any qualms leaving. The employer didn't live up to the arrangement.

Yes, she should tell the friend who referred in advance, and explain her quandary, thank profusely for the lead, but that the gig didn't turn out to be what was described and had turned into something entirely different.

Sometimes people worry that their name might get tarnished in their industry, but in this context, it doesn't sound like the reader was leaving for a frivolous reason, and the industry has so many components, it would be highly unlikely that it would do her any damage.

I've taken a much more cynical position about this topic in general during my career. Organizations over the past several years have not particularly engendered loyalty, so I always tell clients that it should go both ways. The organization would have no problem letting someone go if a market shifts in even very small ways, so why can't you do that? You can leave THEM if there's a better market for you. Why not?  

Of course, there are many contexts where it's not great to do this, especially in small industries where a reputation can get hurt or where you may burn through a significant referral. I always take this on a case by case situation, examining all the details involved. But, as I mentioned above in my moment of cynicism, I think that the work culture has changed to a point where you have to think of yourself always as an independent contractor, who moves from project to project, even in so-called permanent employment.  

Loyalty needs to be earned.

A quick postscript. Two days after quitting, the reader found a more lucrative short-term assignment.

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First. Congratulations on getting that degree. Now you’re probably eager to make it pay off. I recently heard from a new graduate (Ask Ellis) wondering whether his alumni association would really be a good resource. My answer was that alumni associations are among what I think of as the gold standards of networking. It's your club. There's automatic affinity to fellow alums, particularly in schools that have a relatively close-knit community. Accessing alums from your school will yield much better networking results than with strangers (but don't write that latter option off entirely, either).  
But I’d hate to see you rely on those alumni affiliations alone.  Let me put them in a broader context so you can see where they fit in as you start your networking.

Since, by most accounts and research, getting job offers through networking technique constitutes the vast majority of your total job possibilities, you’re going to have to build a substantial contact list. Does this mean you have to be a back-slapping, “Yo, let’s do lunch” type? Do you have to know the movers and shakers right away? Must you be highly social? Yes, of course it might help if you pursued that private equity career and Henry Kravis’s nephew was your best friend in elementary school. Or it would be great if you were the type of person who went out every night and found it easy to meet people everywhere you went. Or, perhaps your father is CEO of Time Warner.

But most of us are not like these people. We might know a couple of people who know a couple of people, and maybe we worked with someone who has all those relationships. Yet, we’re still going to have to start somewhere. I suggest an “ABC” contact list.

·       The “A List”

This list includes: all of the people you know of who are a level or two above where you think you would be in the organization and function where you want to be; peer level, who could be valuable sources of information and possible access to those above you; and people familiar enough to you so that you can comfortably call them.

·         The “B List”

This list includes all of the people in the “A List” except that you’re not necessarily comfortable calling any one of them right away. Maybe there’s someone you haven’t spoken with in years and feel a bit awkward calling. Maybe there’s someone you don’t know that well and should write to first. Or perhaps there’s someone you don’t know at all, but you’d like to meet because you think you could learn significant information and perhaps build new networks. Or maybe there’s someone you don’t really like but you’d like to contact anyway.

·       The “C List”


The “C List” consists of everyone else you know of who might provide connections to those who would be on an “A List” or “B List.” How about the person who cuts your hair, your extended family, or your dentist? All of those people know others who may work in your targeted area. One of my favorite resources is college and graduate school—sometimes even high school—alumni associations. Alumni associations are particularly powerful networks for attorneys and MBAs. Those who were lucky enough to attend small private colleges will have access to a sort of private club—the college’s alumni database. Membership in that club is a major motivation for gaining entry into many colleges, universities, and graduate schools. Even if you didn’t attend an elite school, many other colleges and universities have well-established alumni organizations and alumni databases.

Professional associations are another favorite “C List” source. Join one (or more) in your target areas. Get on a committee. Two of the best committees are the membership and program committees. Why? In the first, you have access to the membership lists, and in the second, you can source and possibly meet key professionals in your field.

What about political or religious organizations? In this last category, I’ve found very few groups can match Mormons or Orthodox Jews for quick affiliation and building strong networks. I had two clients a few years ago who were Mormons, one living in New York City and one in New Jersey. They were able to build significant networks immediately through their church and extended family and friend affiliations. (One of them landed a terrific job in, of all places, Las Vegas.) I also had an American Orthodox Jewish client who lived in Jerusalem, and he relocated to Cleveland (don’t ask) where he had never been and had no acquaintances. He built fast networking relationships through a synagogue there, despite not being especially assertive or outgoing.

Here’s the good news. All you need is a minimum of five people after you’ve thought through your ABCs. Most job seekers will have more than that, but some—maybe introverted or recent arrivals to an area—will have a smaller number. Even if you only connect with two out of five, you will be able to build the beginning of a successful search based on referrals and information from those two. That’s just the beginning.

From In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies that Work, available in paperback and ebook.

From In Search of the Fun-Forever Job
First, try to avoid the subject for as long as you can. Of course, you will be well prepared when you go into the offer phase because you’ll have carefully researched appropriate compensation levels either via salary surveys or through your personal network.

If you manage to avoid the topic of money early on, chances are you will have more opportunity to build value and increase your negotiating abilities when there is an offer. The hiring manager will have a clearer picture of your true worth. Your objective is to avoid being screened out because of a number and continue the process of selling and demonstrating a great fit so that the number increases the longer the process goes on.

Now comes the tricky part. How do you avoid discussing the subject when the interviewer asks you within, perhaps, the first ten minutes of the first interview what you were earning on the last job, or what you’re “looking for”?

You can’t say, “I’d rather talk about this later.” Some of the people I’ve met over the years internalize the idea that avoiding the subject is always good, and then they feel free to tell the interviewer they’d rather not talk about it. Not a good relationship builder!

You can say, “I’d hate to eliminate myself because of a dollar figure at this point. Right now, the key issue for me is finding a great fit. I figure if the fit is there, then we’ll work out the money part. If it’s okay with you, could we talk about this a little later on in the process?” This frequently works. But, sometimes it doesn’t.

What if the interviewer comes right back with, “That’s very nice and all, but I need to know what your last salary was. I don’t want to waste my time . . . or yours.”

Turning the question around with, “Could you give me an idea of your range?” often works. If the range is anywhere close to where you think you should be, you can say, “Oh, we’ll be able to work this out easily.” If it’s way below your range, then you might want to indicate that by saying, “It’s a little lower than what my current expectations are, but I’d like to continue our conversation. It’s not always strictly about the money for me.” You want to keep the conversation going, unless the numbers are so ridiculously low you know there’s no chance you’ll be able to “work this out.”

What if the hiring manager starts to get a little irritated? “Okay, I understand that you don’t want to talk about it, but I really need to know.”

No matter what the original question was, you might respond with, “I’ll be looking for a total compensation package in the range of . . .” If that doesn’t work, it’s time to give in.

More about giving in another time.

That’s what we at Bacon Press Books asked ourselves before we decided to publish In Search of the Fun-Forever Job by Ellis Chase. After all, if you click on Google and ask for job search, you’ll get  “About 2,590,000,000″ results. Seriously. Do the same on Amazon and you’ll find “34,934 Results.” So another book on job search? Really?

Yes. Because it’s fresh and funny and not like anything else out there. No one-size-fits-all prescriptions for what you must do if you’re ever going to find a new job or make a career move. No exhortations to try to be someone other than yourself in order to network. No rosy-colored picture of how easy it will be if you only follow certain steps.

Ellis Chase knows what he’s talking about, from his own experience as a job seeker, and from the more the 25 years he’s spent helping clients and students find jobs that fit their personal style. So he’s able to cut through all the clueless clutter and write about what really works.

Will reading the book guarantee you can move into the job of your dreams? In this tough economic climate, can anyone or anything make that kind of guarantee? Probably not.  But his engaging, informal style and his common sense suggestions make ISO The Fun-Forever Job worth adding to that bulging bookshelf.

Plus it’s got a really great cover.