Negotiating Your Job Agreement, Part 1

Negotiation is extremely important to your financial situation. If you are getting paid $8/hr or $9/hr, the truth is that you need to sell your talents better and learn how to negotiate. You are worth so much more! This is the first of a seven part series to introduce the concept of negotiation.

Excerpt from the book, Get The Job You Love by Marjorie Weingrow.

The final step in the hiring process is the negotiation of your employment. If this is your first professional job, your temptation may be to sign immediately. It’s often worth it to take some time to consider and potentially ask for a change to the terms.

You’ll know you’re successful in negotiating the contract when …. the agreement or contract is signed by both parties, there is a win-win, and your new employer appreciates the entrepreneurial and engaging attributes you have demonstrated throughout the process.

The meaning of “negotiate”

In terms of the job offer, negotiation is a collaborative process in which the two parties arrive at a mutually agreeable contract that benefits both. It should be the first of many business-focused conversations between you and your employer in which both parties are invested in the welfare of the other. What often gets in the way of rewarding win-win conversations is our fear of rejection or potential conflict. Even in a tough job market, when the employer wants you, there is usually something you can negotiate.

Negotiating is a learned skill that needs to be developed. This chapter covers:

• The dynamics behind the employment contract conversation
• How to make terms win-win
• How to seal the deal

Go to Part 2.

This post was reposted from http://finlit.biz/business/negotiating-your-job-agreement-part-1/, originally written on February 25th, 2013.