Salary negotiation can make you or break you. Ask for too little money and you’re in trouble for a long time. Ask for too much and you won’t have the chance to see if you’re in trouble.
The eminently approachable Jim Hopkinson, in “Salary Tutor: Learn the Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You,” tells you how to sail through the process (Business Plus, $13.99).
“Don’t fear the IRS,” he says. He doesn’t mean the Internal Revenue Service, but something you pull together, an “Industry Research of Salaries.” Scour the Web, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics; check in with colleagues, recruiters and friends; gather the data you need to determine a salary. At the best time, share the details to remind the employer of the market.
That best time comes after you persuade the interviewer to suggest a range. Then, when the guy/gal speaks, “zip it,” Hopkinson recommends.
Double up on the awkward pauses, “which an interviewer may rush to fill,” he says. State the higher number, say “Hmmm ... (silence),” and keep listening for the jackpot rolling out of the slot machine.
By the end of the interview, crown yourself the Artful Dodger as you walk out the door onto the high road.
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