Negotiation is one of the most challenging and daunting skillsets for many people to pick up, but is one that can have a hugely beneficial impact on your career.
In this video, I unpack the why, what, when, and how of negotiation, from #salary #compensation to #flexible working conditions to enabling #sidegigs to specifying #startup packages & more.
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Complete topic list and timestamps:
📌 (0:00) Introduction to Negotiation
📌 (0:29) Why Consider Negotiating
📌 (0:58) What Can You Negotiate?
📌 (1:06) Negotiating Compensation Package
📌 (2:09) Negotiating Part-time Work
📌 (2:57) Negotiating Intellectual Property Situations
📌 (3:22) Negotiating Reduced Teaching Loads
📌 (3:53) Negotiating Startup Packages
📌 (4:25) Negotiating Sabbaticals
📌 (4:48) Other Things You Can Negotiate
📌 (5:21) Your Contact Has Limited Authority
📌 (5:54) Escalation of Negotiations
📌 (6:10) Other Factors That Influence Negotiation
📌 (6:39) How to Find Out What is Possible
📌 (6:50) Read the Official Documentation
📌 (7:07) Talk to Current or Recent Staff
📌 (7:17) Befriend HR and Recruiters
📌 (7:41) When to Negotiate
📌 (8:14) How to Negotiate
📌 (8:21) Good and Bad Negotiation
📌 (8:30) Practice, Practice and More Practice
📌 (8:49) Think Beyond the Negotiation
📌 (9:26) Never, Ever, Make Threats
📌 (10:03) Making a Compelling Case
📌 (11:27) Get it in Writing
📌 (12:15) Negotiation and Renegotiation
📌 (13:08) Not Compulsory, But Worth Consideration
📌 (13:29) Concluding Thoughts
Full Video Notes
- Intro: negotiation is a very personal thing. Something most people should consider even if you choose not to do it. Parameters vary depending on location, discipline, organisation. Uncommon in academia, perhaps because it shouldn’t be a common thing.
- What to Negotiate: Think deeply about what would make a difference for you. Common things you can consider negotiating for:
- Money:
- Starting level
- Better starting increment (within level)
- Market loading
- Bonuses
- Part-time / flexible working conditions
- Family commitments
- Side gigs
- Hobbies / personal time
- Related: generous IP conditions around side gigs / startups.
- Reduced teaching load
- Reduced for 1 or 2 years is typical
- Especially a consideration for ECRs
- Startup packages
- Funding amount
- Travel support
- “Baked in” PhD scholarships and Postdocs, including for team you’re bringing with you
- Equipment
- Sabbatical / PDL guarantee e.g. 6 months in the first 3 years
- Other perks I’m less familiar with: home loan assistance, educational perks like free college
- Money:
- Knowing What You Can Negotiatefor in a Specific Circumstance
- The senior person in your hiring process will only be permitted to offer certain things e.g. market loadings need sign off at various levels by different levels of executive
- Important: no matter how awesome you are, you can’t get what they they’re not allowed to give
- Exceptional circumstances involve elevation to higher level executives or even breaking policy
- Other considerations: equity considerations, salary compression
- How to find out:
- Read the organisation’s official policy
- Talk to others who’ve worked there
- Befriend and talk to HR recruiters not directly involved in your hiring process
- When to negotiate
- Timing varies – often after job is offered but before acceptance. Can establish ballpark compensation range before going through extensive job interview process though (e.g. with high level industry jobs)
- How to negotiate
- There are lots of bad ways, and some good ways
- Practice makes perfect: with a colleague, friend, family member.
- Key thing to remember is you need to work with these people afterwards (either at same institution or as colleagues) – but that shouldn’t stop you from being firm and clear in what you need
- Never ever make threats: threats are made by people who aren’t in a position to be making them!
- Need to make a compelling case
- Bad examples:
- I want more money
- I have this other job, match it or I walk (even if true, you don’t say that)
- Good examples: I really want this job, it’s my primary preference. But I have to consider my family and situation, including supporting young kids and needing to buy a house. I have this offer X: I understand completely that you can’t match industry, but anything you can do to reduce the gap so I can offer some financial security to my family would be great.
- Good simple example: don’t want go backwards from my current role
- Get it in writing!
- The person you negotiate with may not be there in 6 months time, academia is highly mobile
- Writing (official letter ideally, email better than nothing) is much better than verbal promises
- If conditions change, your verbal promise will be the first thing to go
- Final thoughts
- Negotiation most effective at a transition point between organisations – you are fresh, the “new” exciting thing
- But you can also re-negotiate if there are compelling circumstances