How to Win the Job by Communicating with Confidence

Negotiating Your Salary

ANSWER: [stands up to shake hands] $62,000 would be fine.
When can I start?

Let’s imagine Wu-lei in another version of the story in which
$62,000 was a lot lower than what she had expected.

• If she says, “That’s not acceptable,” she closes the door to
  any other possibilities.


• If she replies, “How about $68,000?” expecting the
  employer to counter halfway at about $65,500, she still
  may be cheating herself out of thousands of dollars a year.

Here are some ways Wu-lei can use open-door negotiating by
not mentioning any exact figures. She can respond to the inter-
viewer’s proposed rangein a number of ways:

ANSWER: [leans back in her chair for a moment, thinking, then
leans forward with direct eye contact] To tell you the
truth, I was expecting something somewhathigher.
Or...

ANSWER:(Leans back and then forward) I was actually expect-
inga substantially higher figure.
Or...

ANSWER: Thank you, but I’d be much more inclinedto accept an
offer closer to the seventies or eighties.

Or...

ANSWER: Hmm... I think I would find the offer more attrac-
tiveif it were closer to $70,000.

Clients often ask me what to do if the interviewer absolutely
insists that they reveal an exact dollar amount for their current
salary. There’s a method for handling that one too:

QUESTION: We can’t proceed unless you tell me an exact dollar amount
of your current salary.

ANSWER:My base salary is $78,350 a year, and that is one of
the reasons I’m looking for another position. I would
like to be making more.