www.business2community.com: Negotiations – you either love them or hate them. In either case, you will have to do it when you’re in the business world. For those who would rather not deal with them, it’s a necessary evil. The good news is that once you learn how to negotiate effectively, you won’t dislike it as much anymore. You may find it to be the most fun part of your work.
12 comments:
The first internship I had my mother told me to ask for what I wanted, this being more money, help with the cost of getting out there, etc. etc. But feeling like as an intern not even in college yet, who had no real world experience in the graphic design field it would be rude of me to ask for extras when I knew the other interns weren’t, I didn’t and it was only until I got to negotiate the contract with my second internship that I realized what a mistake that was. I wish I had had someone familiar with the business of contract to give me pointers on marketing myself for a job. If someone had said to me, “they offered you the position because they wanted you, not because they were out of options”, I definitely would have been ready to employ some of the points in the article. In that respect, I think the first step to negotiation you r contract, is being aware of your worth and not low-balling yourself.
These tips are really quite helpful. In the theatre tech world they're even more helpful, because when you work from show-to-show you are constantly signing new contracts (or at least we hope) that really could be taken advantage of if you know exactly how to work the terms. In any workplace where you are given a salary as an offer, it's definitely something that you have to take advantage of. The employer has gone out of their way and spent HR and time resources on scouting you out or interviewing you for employment, and they obviously want you. If they're an intelligent employer or have experience working with intelligent people, they also must expect a bit of negotiation to go on regarding the terms of the contract. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that you don't want to ask for too much or bother the employer especially when you aren't currently a part of their firm, but in the long run even asking will have made you happier.
This article points out the obvious of negotiating contracts that lazy people hate to do. For instance, this article talks about "consider the following..." When I read what the article has to say I immediately think that most of those would be topics I would think about before I sign a contract. However, some topics I didn't take into account when I was thinking about negotiating a contract. Some of those were knowing my own worth, writing an argument down on paper, and check your inhibitions at the door. Not that I wouldn't do them, but when I read about them they passed my mind completely. I think knowing my own worth is very important to know. I also think this relates to having loads of experience with job and having a good reputation. That's why I love going to Carnegie Mellon University because they push you to be good at knowing what you're worth and how to negotiate in any situation.
I thinks is article is great, and it very clearly lays out a good negotiation strategy as long as a good way to approach life, and collaboration. The thing that struck me the most about this article is the stress on niceness. I have found in my own life that being kind and listening to others as you would want to be listened to is invaluable. I was also happy that asking questions was stressed. The best thing I think you can do as a member of a team is clarify, even if it seems unnecessary, someone appreciates the repetition even if its not exactly for you. I think all 12 of these tips are very easy to relate to oh her parts of professional life not just negotiation, and I am glad to have had new ideas presented to me, and old ones reinforced.
I have never negotiated a contract before because I feel awkward asking for more money, but I know that is not the right way to go about a situation. As a young stage manager I am not sure how much I should be getting paid for my work especially when it was at a community theatre that did not have a lot of money. They would always pay me a lot less than I should have been getting paid based on the amount of work I did. One time I told someone on the board what I was getting paid and they thought it was ridiculous and they ended up talking the treasurer into giving me another check. I need to be more confident and stand up for myself more. Now that I have more experience and I am older, hopefully the next time a situation like this occurs, which I am sure it will, I will be able to negotiate for more money.
I think the biggest takeaway (and hardest part to do) from this article is to check your inhibitions at the door. This is especially difficult for someone who is still in college or has recently graduated. Asking for what you want is important, despite how the employer reacts. Of course, the employer is looking to get the best possible deal, just as the applicant is. However, if you don't ask for what you want, and you take the job, you will likely be unhappy and spiteful in your position. Asking for what you believe in and not wavering when the employer shows a negative reaction is essential to being happy in any new job. For one of my summer internships, when the job was offered to me, I had known the job was unpaid but asked anyway just to confirm. I was told that indeed, it was unpaid. Two hours later, however, I got an email offering me a substantial amount of money to do the internship. This experience showed me that sometimes even asking the question can get the employer to change their mind. Of course, this depends on the circumstances the employer is in. In my case, my employer was in a fairly desperate need for help, and I do not think they could afford me turning down the job. If I had been offered an internship with a big company with many applicants, I may have had to be more aggressive.
One of the best pieces of advice that directing class has given me is that if you demand the best from the people you're working with, they will give it to you and respect/love you for it. It is interesting how true this is in the business world of negotiation. To sit down and tell a boss that you are worth something and willing to fight for it is essentially to promise that the work that you do is something worth paying for. Owning this leaves everyone happier. The advice given in this article is substantial, and for theatre it works on all accounts. If we displaced the negotiation into a design meeting, discussing the design between Director and Designer, the same rules apply, just in a slightly different way. The director may negotiate with designer over the way in which they wish to produce the work, the designer may negotiate with the director over maintaining their vision, and ultimately, when these rules are followed (checking inhibition, knowing who you're working with, knowing your worth etc.), the show ends up best for all. Follow these rules in our daily lives, and will be much happier artists, and paid the right amount of money.
To be honest every time I think about the future I get nervous about making my way on my own. I feel that I don’t know important key facts that I should know when I step out of school. So articles like this help me stabilize my nerves because I want to know as much as I can now so that when I get out there I can make the right decisions and make what I am worth. These were great steps to keep in mind. I don’t like confrontation and asking for more money is even harder for me. It was nice to view asking for more money as a reason to being worth more. I always viewed it as people being greedy but it’s more to do with how much you are worth as a person in that job. We should always fight for equality and worth in all areas of our lives.
In general, negotiating can be extremely difficult especially when it comes to contracts and what not. What I think is really important to know is what your bottom line is. I say this because it really helps put things into perspective. You will always want to be making more money and working less hours. However, how much do you actually have to be making before you can not afford the cost of living, or how many hours can you work before you can not work any more? Knowing this is extremely important. I would start with asking for significantly above that number because you can. Like, what do you have to loose? Then you begin going back and forth trying to get it to a happy medium. If the number gets close to your bottom line than it might be time to walk away. That is why knowing your bottom line is so important.
I like these tips, they are pretty basic, but good things to remember. This article also reminds me of a great 30 Rock episode where Jack (the boss) was going through a contract negotiation with one of the actors on his television show. Jack brings up most of these points when he reviews how to pull off a good negotiation. One tip that people I think forget, but Jack was so kind to repeat, ‘know your opponent’. When I go into a planned conversation/meeting with anyone I like to know who those people are, what their company is about, and all that good stuff. A lot of negotiation is about being able to read the other person, tell what types of decisions they may make with information you give them. Having information is critical to a negotiation, but the attitude can be the other half.
It is crazy to think someone could lose upward of 60 million for simply not presenting a counter offer. I wouldn’t say I’m the best negotiator but I can defiantly hold my own when it comes down to it. Personally I go in with a price in mind and stick to it. I recently bought a bike for my first semester of college and the guy I was buying it from was asking for $80. That was not a steep price for the bike but I was only willing to pay $60. I responded with $40, knowing that he would not take that it and had an expectation that he would meet somewhere in the middle. Sure enough he came back with a price of $60. Most sellers are always going to try and up sell you. I’ve learned a lot seeing my parents buy cars, their main rule is to never take sticker price, and you will almost always be able to talk them down. Trust me, take the time to negotiate, you don’t want to be the person that throws away millions just because you’re lazy.
I think this article is pretty useful and practical, especially tip #9 and #10, and that one doesn't compromise the other. Being nice doesn't mean that you have to compromise your worth. Similarly, knowing your worth and sticking up to it doesn't mean you can't be nice. Knowing your bottom line is important but so is how you do that. I'm not a good negotiator because often times I compromise too easily, and this article really helped.
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