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Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

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Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#21

Post by k__ »

stephc_int13 wrote: post #12

General tip when negotiating: never ask more than 50% of what the other party had in mind before you talked. Asking too much is a rookie mistake, you can quickly look like a clown if you do. Do your homework, you can't negotiate blindly, you need to understand the market and the current trends.

Funny thing is, you only look like a clown in the eyes of the company you're interviewing with.

Just because they are cheap, doesn't mean your request is unreasonable.

I got laughed at by some companies for the hourly rate others would pay without asking twice.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#22

Post by PragmaticPulp »

> The question is, when they offer me with a lower rate how should I deal with the situation so that I don't loose the position and get away with the best deal?

There are no guarantees in negotiation. Projecting confidence and being willing to walk away from a lowball offer will help you negotiate.

If you give the impression that you have no other options and that you will be taking the job even at the lower price, they will likely offer the lower price.

If you give the impression that you are not interested in the job unless they accept your higher price, they will be more likely to negotiate. However, they might also look for alternate candidates who are willing to accept the lower rate. This is a risk you must accept.

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to continue searching for other jobs until you have accepted an offer. Getting too attached to any one job will diminish your negotiating position and the other side may sense this. There will always be more job offers, so don’t sacrifice your requests just to take the first one.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#23

Post by rjzzleep »

excitednumber wrote: post #8
excitednumber wrote: post #7

My 2c: never name the price first. If they undercut you, act extremely shocked. always ask for higher than you're willing to settle for. Ask for things in the margins at the last minute. Another vacation day. An upgrade on some ergonomic equipment. Etc.

Also - work for an employer who values you and who can justify your number. Be sure to know if you're learning or earning. Eg is the employer paying you to learn and implement a new tech or are you the expert? Getting paid to learn can happen and may be worth the wage sacrifice. If you're just executing and you're the expert, imo, don't settle

I'd actually disagree here. If he has a job lined up then yeah, your advice is solid. But if he doesn't it's better to accept and then immediately start looking for someone that values you.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#24

Post by polskibus »

busterarm wrote: post #16

I know not the advice you're looking for but this thread makes me sad. For those wages, even at what your initial ask, it's impossible to get good developers in the US unless there are extenuating circumstances (someone's first job, etc). This company thinks you are worth less just because of where you're from and not what skills you bring to the table. If they offter you something you will take, accept it, but keep…

the rich expect price of goods and services from poorer countries to be lower than in their own country. This is standard, not just in IT, but also in clothes, manufacturing, etc. It's capitalism at its finest.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#25

Post by misiti3780 »

When negotiating salary, always throw the first figure, and make it higher than you expect. It's called anchoring (read about it in Thinking Fast and Slow). It is a lot easier to come down to 120->100/hr then it is to come up from 50->100/hr.

This can be applied to selling/buying a home and a lot of other things.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#26

Post by busterarm »

polskibus wrote: post #24
busterarm wrote: post #16

I know not the advice you're looking for but this thread makes me sad. For those wages, even at what your initial ask, it's impossible to get good developers in the US unless there are extenuating circumstances (someone's first job, etc). This company thinks you are worth less just because of where you're from and not what skills you bring to the table. If they offter you something you will take, accept it, but keep…

the rich expect price of goods and services from poorer countries to be lower than in their own country. This is standard, not just in IT, but also in clothes, manufacturing, etc. It's capitalism at its finest.

> This is standard...

That's what people tell themselves to justify their exploitation.

I am in the business of providing value. That's what you pay me for and it's commensurate with the amount of value that I can provide.

Your recruiting costs also don't get any cheaper just because I'm not in the same location as you. If you're just looking at a calculation of how many asses can you get into seats for as low an amount of money possible, sure, but I guarantee that makes you a shitty company to work for. Also getting quality output out of a globally distributed team isn't exactly cost-free either.

People really need to stop thinking like employees and more like they're in business for themselves.

I shop out work to artists/artisans all over the world and I can assure you that the illustrators I've contracted in the Philippines and metalworkers I've contracted in China all charge high (normal for US) rates when their work is good. And I'm happy to send them repeat business.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#27

Post by k__ »

onion2k wrote: post #15
yewenjie wrote: post #9

I have a similar question - If I am applying for a remote position, is it justifiable to ask for the average salary of the country the company is incorporated at, even if living cost in current country is much cheaper? I know that some remote first companies (such as Gitlab) has a complex salary calculator which takes into account all sorts of things, while some companies (like oxide.computer) pays a flat compensatio…

Working for a company where the salary is based on location means when you eventually go to meet up (at a retreat, a conference, etc) you will know that you're paid much less than your colleagues for the same work. That will suck. Avoid those companies.

This.

Only do such things if you're in for the exprience and want to leave soon.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#28

Post by busterarm »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #22

> The question is, when they offer me with a lower rate how should I deal with the situation so that I don't loose the position and get away with the best deal? There are no guarantees in negotiation. Projecting confidence and being willing to walk away from a lowball offer will help you negotiate. If you give the impression that you have no other options and that you will be taking the job even at the lower price, t…

This is the best advice I've seen offered in the thread.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#29

Post by sys_64738 »

There’s a reason they’re negotiating rate with you whereby they want to hire but could also have another they’re negotiating with in parallel. It depends on the value of the position to you. Sometimes they have a budget to fund the position so they genuinely can’t meet your request. But if they’re close to your number they can often figure a way to make it work.

Re: Ask HN: Negotiating Salary

#30

Post by ams92 »

busterarm wrote: post #26
polskibus wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the rich expect price of goods and services from poorer countries to be lower than in their own country. This is standard, not just in IT, but also in clothes, manufacturing, etc. It's capitalism at its finest.

> This is standard... That's what people tell themselves to justify their exploitation. I am in the business of providing value. That's what you pay me for and it's commensurate with the amount of value that I can provide. Your recruiting costs also don't get any cheaper just because I'm not in the same location as you. If you're just looking at a calculation of how many asses can you get into seats for as low an amo…

Thirty dollars per hour is a really good wage in a lot of countries where the cost of living is much lower. Nobody is making OP work for the company that they’re interviewing for.

Also, would we be complaining if the company opened up an office in the OP’s home country and offered the same wage? There are companies that are location agnostic as well when it comes to salary which the OP could be interviewing for.

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