"Just enough" negotiation
Early in my career, I applied for a job I was very excited about. After multiple rounds of interviews, the hiring manager finally called me with the good news: I got the job!
During our congratulatory exchange, I also learned that this role would come with a significantly higher salary compared to what I was currently making. I was absolutely thrilled.
But I didn’t say yes — not right away at least. Years before, I had naively accepted an offer without negotiating. I still had regrets about the money left on the table. I was determined to do things differently this time. While still on the phone, I willed myself to ask the hiring manager for an additional $10K in salary — an increase I believed was meaningful, yet reasonable. To my surprise, the hiring manager agreed!
After hanging up, I went from elated to confused in the span of minutes:
“Wait…why did the hiring manager readily agree to my number?”
“Did I just leave money on the table?”
Now looking back at this experience after all these years, I can clearly see that my questions and concerns were valid. Even though the offer exceeded my initial expectations, my negotiation performance did not.
While some would commend me for having the courage to ask for more, I believe I did just enough to check off the obligatory negotiation box. I let my overall excitement and “hurray someone wants me” relief hinder the sound decision making required to skillfully close the deal. As a result, I made an impulsive, somewhat arbitrary request. Without thoughtful preparation or supporting data, I left the conversation not entirely sure of what was up for grabs to begin with.
After an impulsive or feeble attempt at negotiating, the “win” can be misleading. And in some cases, the happy relief is temporary especially if you end up feeling short-changed down the road.
So how can you avoid “just enough” negotiations?
When presented with an offer, express sincere appreciation and give yourself permission to feel justifiably proud. Even if it’s likely that you will accept, kindly request a reasonable amount of time to thoughtfully evaluate the offer terms.
This is an opportunity for you to:
reassess your market value (especially if the numbers are different than what you expected)
reach out to people in your network who can help validate ranges and/or provide helpful insights on other relevant offer details
brainstorm important follow-up questions — especially related to the role, areas of responsibilities, and career development opportunities to ensure you are on a promising trajectory
Once completing your due diligence, you can now speak with the hiring manager from a more informed and empowered position. Regardless of the outcome, you will avoid the doubts and regrets that are associated with “just enough” negotiations. Instead, you will have the confidence of knowing that you effectively and consistently stood up for yourself every step of the way.
And that’s more than enough.