Negotiating the Offer

[depends]

OMG...my response is "depends" again ;D Anyways, when they say firm, they usually mean firm. I was told by a dean this year, "The offer is a take it or leave it type of deal." In this type of economy, they may be very serious about this. However, with the job that I took this year (not with the the same dean just mentioned), the dean told me that the moving expense in the innitial offer is at the top of their budget. Despite the official moving expense cap, I asked for a little more (additional $1000) because I was moving my entire family across the U.S. The dean had to talk to the provost but I got the extra money. For the most part, they know that you want to get the best deal that you can possibly get so they understand that this is part of the process. However, try to be sensible when negotiating. If you come across as a pompous @$$****, I'm sure they won't work as hard to get you to accept the position. Remember that if you don't have an offer in hand, "something" can always happen and it will be out of the hands of the search committee. This is based on my experience with SLACs and small public universities, so this may be different if you are a superstar with a job offer at a R1.

[depends]

Also, I agree with the person who said that negotiations should be done over the phone. All the deans that I have had to deal with seem to prefer to discuss things over the phone. Having recent experience as a finalist, I certainly understand that it's easier to ask for something via e-mail because you can carefully type out your requests. However, I think the decision to negotiate over the phone is to avoid misunderstandings and to avoid potential legal issues. Again, nothing is official until it's in print.

[taketwo]

Question: if you have two job offers, one you really want but the salary is on the low end and the other job offers 15k more, how much of a pay bump is reasonable to ask for from the low end school?

[anon]

Apr 23, 2011 13:28:27 GMT -5 taketwo said:

Question: if you have two job offers, one you really want but the salary is on the low end and the other job offers 15k more, how much of a pay bump is reasonable to ask for from the low end school?

You can't get what you don't ask for. Tell them what the other offer is.

[tell them]

Apr 23, 2011 13:28:27 GMT -5 taketwo said:

Question: if you have two job offers, one you really want but the salary is on the low end and the other job offers 15k more, how much of a pay bump is reasonable to ask for from the low end school?

Maybe tell them exactly what you say here and ask what they can do, because you really really want to take the job, but other school is offering 15K more per salary and you have all these student loans...

[anon]

Just mention that you have a competing offer, and ask if they will match. No need to mention preference for one school or another, because you don't want them to think that they have you "as is."Just say that a matching salary offer would certainly make the school more attractive for you - and would likely be the decisive factor for you. Matching salary offers is customary in negotiations (exceeding salary offers, though, is not).

[taketwo]

Thank you all so much! Very helpful :-)

[how to negotiate]

Thanks, 'depends'. I emailed my 'request for salary increase' before the phone negotiations and although I was told it was firm, I was given additional 1,000 for relocation expense which I do not have to submit receipts for. It was for a VAP position and so I thought it was good enough especially because the offered salary was already good anyway. I just thought I might as well ask. As they say in the thread, the worst thing that could happen is that they say 'no'.

Thanks everyone for the good advice on the thread (and on other threads)!

[drcompton]

If you feel like the salary is low and you do want to take the job...like you do like the department, etc. You should let them know. This actually happened with me, my offer was quite a bit lower than what I was hearing of offer's other candidates were getting from my program at the same time. So, I made note of this...that I really did like the program but I did have options and that was my concerned. They came up with a whole slew of options for me including a great start up, course releases, I get a full time GA when I teach methods courses--really helps with the time spent grading, and they let me know of other funding possibilities on campus for research stipends (with an accurate portrayal of how obtainable they are). So far I have yet to make my actual salary --I have always made 10-18% more due to their summer programs. Also, I strongly second Course Release! Maybe you cant get them rt away or in consecutive semesters...but yes, your first year you want as few preps as possible and as little load. You will be making your first impression and you will feel discombobulated.

Another thing you can check out if it is a state school is what other new profs are making and what everyone in your dept is making. I was able to find this info so I knew most everyone's salary when they made my offer and I knew they were being honest with me.

And dont forget to weigh "your" cost of living and concerns into the equation. For example, I spend less on travel because I live in a hub city, and overall its easier and cheaper for me to get home (which is required of me every couple months). Usually that is a $2000-5000 savings a year at least compared to if I were living in a different place.

[wondering]

I have a very basic question. If someone called to offer me a job, and I want this job, would I accept the offer at that time, then negotiate terms later? Or do I say "I want to think it over" when the offer is made, then come back with specific requests (salary, moving costs, etc.)?

I'm just unsure at what stage in negotiations I make it clear that I will accept the job but want to negotiate the package.

[anonyu]

You should say, "This is so exciting! I'm so glad to hear this news. I look forward to hearing about the details of the offer!"

Or, if they give you details - say - "This is so exciting; great news - I really hope we can make this work out! I'm going to discuss the terms of the offer with my advisors and I'll get back to you soon."

Something like that would be my advice. Definitely don't accept on the spot - then you don't have any leverage. Rather than telling them you plan to accept - you can imply that with something like "I hope we can work this out - I think it's a great opportunity."

Hope this helps.

[saythis]

Negotiating 101: don't accept right away. That's the only negotiating power you've got. Get all the details out of them and say you'll get back to them soon. Then call the next day and say that you're definitely interested, but you could have a decision for them by X time if they could give you X Y and Z. It's not like they're going to pull the offer. Then they get back to you about XY and Z, and you call them back a day or 2 later to accept.
You've got to negotiate whenever you can. Whether you can get more $, fewer courses, or whatever out of it, you're setting a baseline for yourself for years to come, so take whatever you can get. It's just business.

[laughthroughit]

Think of negotiations like compromises. Generally, they make an offer first, then you might accept some things and ask for changes on others. Then they either accept your requested changes to the offer or deny those requests for whatever reasons. This goes back and forth for awhile until everyone is mostly happy with the terms of the contract. Don't continue to counter their offer for too long - you can go back and forth with them a few times, but if you're both unwilling to budge and you find it unacceptable, then just don't accept the job.

If they made a salary offer, you asked for more, and they said their previous offer was firm, you can't really insist on more. They may be bound by the institution to a set salary (and they're also not going to pay a starting assistant professor what their current associate profs make), but may be able to negotiate on other things. I mean, if they can't give you more money, and you want more, then you need to move on, accept the salary they're offering, or ask for something else in the contract since you can't be paid more. Not all negotiations will end up in our favor and we need to be prepared for that - prepared to either suck it up and take what they're offering, or prepared to reject the offer if we really can't live with it.

In my opinion, a lower salary at a school you like is worth way more than a higher salary at an institution you hate.