How to Win the Job by Communicating with Confidence

Negotiating Your Salary

Congratulations! You’ve completed almost every piece of the
puzzle. You have command of your job-specific skills, your gen-
eral skills, your relevant personal traits, your competencies, and
your gift, and you’re ready to use specific examples to demon-
strate them at the drop of a hat!

Already, you are in the top 15 percent of all candi-

dates looking for a new job!

In addition to that, you have realistic examples of your skills and
competencies, and more than 20 Q statements to back you up.
Not only do you know how to strategicallyanswer the most com-
mon and some of the most difficult interview questions; you also
know how to stay cool under even the most pressured of inter-
view situations—the stress question.
Now that you’re a pro, this chapter will make you a master!
You’re going to learn how all of your hard work in the last seven
chapters will pay off. You’re going to grasp the techniques for
bargaining for a salary of up to 20 percent higher than you would
have expected. You’re going to master the techniques of open-
door negotiating.

The Negotiating Challenge

Have you ever noticed that your friends are more likely to talk
about the intimate details of their health or relationships than
they are about how much money they make? Do you know how
much money your cousin, your neighbor, or even your best
friend makes? If so, you’re probably in the minority. For some
reason, people just don’t seem to feel comfortable talking about
how much money they earn. If it’s “too much,” they’re afraid
they might arouse jealousy. If it’s “too little,” they may be afraid
others will look down on them. Most teenage children don’t
even know how much money their parents make, much less
how their parents may have negotiated to get that amount
of money.
You’ll find that, in an interview situation, both you and the
interviewer will have a tendency to get the salary discussion out