How to Amend a Job Offer
If you are one of the thousands of individuals looking for a job, you may be tempted to take the first offer. Even in a competitive market with companies cutting back on compensation, benefits and other perks, any job offer is up for negotiation. You must know what you are worth, what benefits and compensation are standard for the job level in your area, and how your credentials stack up against the competition. Knowing how to amend a job offer can mean the difference between creating interest and causing a prospective employer to walk away.
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Instructions
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Establish Your Goals
Set goals for salary, benefits and other requirements before the interview. Determine your "must have" salary level, working environment and schedule. Decide what type of electronic equipment you need to be productive and how much travel you can handle. This checklist will help you review an offer and decide the negotiating points.
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Research the Job
Go to the company's website and look at other job openings, especially those in your area of expertise. If the positions have been open a long time, you may have more leverage for negotiation. Review salary, job requirements, benefits and other perks for job postings at other companies in the industry and your area. Many employment websites offer salary search tools to help determine what jobs are paying in specific areas of the country. Make a list of benefits or perks offered elsewhere, as these can become negotiating points once the employer makes you an offer.
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Research the Company
Get a copy of the company's annual report and review their financial statements. If they are on solid ground or expanding into an area where you have expertise, they may be open to negotiation. Network to get perspective from current or former employees on the working conditions, compensation policies, promotions and benefits. Search the Internet for press releases or other information about the company and its Board of Directors or management team.
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Evaluate Your Credentials Against Job Requirements
Review the job description carefully to make sure that your experience and skills meet the minimum requirements. Asking for a higher salary or more benefits when you fall short will make you seem pretentious, uninformed and greedy. Develop talking points around each criterion and determine how your qualifications match up with or exceed their expectations.
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Determine Your "Value Added" Features
The years you spent negotiating union contracts or handling human resources, in addition to performing your other duties, can set you apart from the other candidates and add value to the company. International experience in your field and successful management of a merger or acquisition can be used as the reasoning behind your counteroffer.
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Give the Employer Options
When a salary increase is not an option, eliminating the waiting period for benefit eligibility, increasing the number of vacation days the first year, providing a company-paid phone, laptop and Internet service for a home office or a company car are all options for negotiation. If you have done your homework, your amendments should be reasonable, in line with the industry and job standards and within the company's realm of possibility. Match a request with solid value to the company. Keep in mind your minimum requirements. The confidence and thought process used in your own negotiations will give a clue as to how you will perform on behalf of the company.
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Tips & Warnings
Put your counteroffer(s) in writing. Be clear and specific, using numbers, percentages or specific brand names. Once you have agreed on an offer, get a copy with all amendments, signed by you and your employer. Keep a copy for yourself.
Once an agreement is signed, the negotiations are closed. Be willing to walk away, if your basic requirements are not met.
References
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