Negotiating an entry level salary

[Douglas]

Congratulations and good luck.

 

[whiteslashasian]

Way to go. Getting a job right now is tough, congrats on landing one.

FWIW I was able to negotiate about $5k more than my new hire peers, but this was a few months before the recession...

 

[Henry Boogers]

Congrats - now go earn those increases.

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by captainmo

She said no, that it's a fixed offer that everybody for that position starts at, so I accepted the offer at 46k.
I used to ******* hate when companies pulled that line on me. It's such a ******* trump card. I mean, it's usually total horseshit. But companies know it works, especially in this economy. They're basically calling your bluff by doing this, and suggesting that you have no alternatives. If you don't, you can't really BS your way out of it at that point. If you do have an alternative, and the alternative is an equally attractive job with a higher salary, then you can actually let them know about the alternative. Suddenly, you have a justifiable rationale for your salary expectations. You're not just a kid asking for a random number because he wants it. The point is, the best way to negotiate is to build alternatives ahead of time (known as BATNA, or "best alternative to a negotiated agreement"). The more options you have if the negotiation doesn't work out, the less you care if it doesn't work out, and thus, the more power you have. This doesn't free you up to be a total dick, mind you. But it gives you some actual credibility in the negotiation. To the HR person, you're a wanted commodity with precedent, rather than a poor schmuck desperate for employment but getting greedy on salary. At any rate, congrats on the gig. You did the right thing in your situation. Now work hard, keep your nose to the grindstone, and all that jazz.

 

[Joffrey]

Congratulations.