Negotiate a Job Offer

How Should I Negotiate Job Offers?

Let’s meet Alicia.

Alicia has come a long way.  When she graduated from high school she didn’t have any money but she did have determination.  So everyone wanted to help her.  Her high school counselor gave her the personality strength tests, and she got her PSA©. 

She worked her way through college for years and just graduated – YAY!.  She is the oldest of their five children.  When she can, she will help the younger ones go to college, too.

What did Alicia get her degree in?

Her supervisor Karen advised her to get her degree in business with a concentration in marketing and a minor in fashion design.She did that.  Two years ago Karen alerted management that Alicia is an employee to watch.  Now that she has graduated the company just offered her a job as a buyer for women’s clothes.

Head hunters have been calling Alicia.  Companies really like employees who work their way through college.  Some of the companies are offering signing bonuses and compensation that are more those that her present company is offering her.

As you study her PSA© what do you think she should do?   Give particular attention to what her values are.  What does she need in a company that she will make her professional home?

Print out Alicia’s Test Results so that you can look at them as you read more about her as she makes this important decision.

Open Alicia’s Test Results Here

What does Alicia do?

Actually, she has been talking to the head hunters.  She takes her PSA© to job interviews.  When someone asks, “What are your strengths?” she shows it to them.  She gives examples of how she intentionally applies her personality strengths to reach her goals.  She has several job offers.

How does she negotiate the various offers?

At 95% higher than we are in Theoretical Value she examines all of the offers very carefully.  Social Value at 91% requires that she find how well the company treats their employees.  There must be a strong opportunity for her to have personal Achievement (99%) that she can do, at least part of the time, by herself (Autonomy at 90% higher than the rest of us).  A culture where people can ask for help (81%) without being seen as weak is important to her.  She can Endure (75%) whatever she has to in order to accomplish her goals, but you must pay her well for doing so (Economic Value at 75%).

Which job will she take?

The one who takes care of its employees the best – assuming that she has room to Achieve (95%) what she can do, and they give her the Autonomy (90%) to carry out what she plans.  Additionally, they simply must show her that they have thought through her career path to success.  Will she accept the promotion to buyer from the company that employed her while she earned her degree?  She wants that to happen – when they show her a career path with a powerful mentor.  This company has good salaries, other good compensation, and good health benefits.  Her values fit the company culture.

What makes her select the job that she takes?

Remember, people say “Yes” when you give them what they value.  If her present company gives her a package that she values more than another company does, she will stay.  If it does not, she will start a new career somewhere else.

Let’s meet Edward.

How Edward Uses His PSA© to Decide What His Next Career Step Will Be

When Edward graduated from high school, and he had no clue what he wanted to do with his life.  His parents paid for him to get his PSA© to help him figure out what career to have.

Edward is a natural born leader – people just want to follow him (Dominance at 99% and Political Value at 99%).  They may follow him because they really like him.  People are drawn to listen to him and follow him.  He is higher in Dominance, Political Value and Sociability than 99% of us.   He got an entry level sales position.

His supervisor Walt sees his natural sales talent. Gets him raises and promotions.  Then he told Edward that if he wanted to go very much higher in the company he would have to get a college degree.  Edward got a business degree in marketing.

Edward met Kevin in business school, and he works for a competitor.  They are hiring.  Kevin tells his company about Edward, and Edward is interviewing there.  And head hunters are calling him, too.  Edward likes Walt and the company…but he thinks that he is not moving up the ranks as fast as he wants.  Other companies are talking signing bonuses and more money.  What should he do?

Walt overhears Edward talking with a head hunter.  He has already recommended that Edward be promoted and get a territory that puts him in charge of half of the state.  He finds out that Edward has gotten the promotion.  If Edward accepts the promotion he will start in the management development program for sales personnel they are grooming to open new offices as they take a larger market share.  The company is growing so fast that training managers fast enough to staff the new offices is becoming a problem.

Edward has a job offer from Kevin’s firm.  It is for more money and a signing bonus.  And it is a promotion.  This is really tempting. He hasn’t even started negotiations yet.

Do you think that Edward should take the promotion, negotiate the offer with Kevin’s company, or get back with the head hunters to see if there are more job possibilities?  He reviews his PSA© as a way to consider which option is best for him at this point in his career.

Print out Edward’s Test Results so that you can look at them while he reviews it to make this important career decision.

Open Edward’s Test Results Here.

What does Edward do now?

Reviewing his PSA© reminds him that he has built up years of good working relationships with production here.  Clients so often want something in the product changed to fit their specific requirements.  How easy would it be to work the guys in production at a new company be?  Does he really want to start that process over again?  That’s not any fun!

And he has made friends with some long terms clients. Does he really want to give up ALL of these friendships?

The money is good – salary, commissions, and other compensation.  And the health benefits are good.

Walt has really gone to bat for him – all of the years.  How does he know what his new boss would do?

Any new company will know that this company gave him tuition reimbursement to get his college degree.  And then he left them immediately…How’s that going to look?

Edward is tempted to take the promotion and stay – for now.  Go through the management development program.  This company is growing SO fast with so many new profit centers.  He will see what this promotion and the management development program do for his career.  Walt is a good guy – and a good mentor so far.  Who would be his mentor at Kevin’s company?   Who knows?  Nope, for now Edward will stay.  Later, who knows?

Can I use my PSA© to help me figure out if I want to stay where I am or accept a job offer at another company?

Sure.  Use your PSA© to make a chart like this and figure it out.

You already learned a lot about how you can use a PSA© by reading about Alicia and Edward.   You know a lot about your current situation.

1.  If you haven’t already done so:  Print out Alicia’s and Edward’s PSAs© – and this case study –  to remind you of how they use them to decide what to do about job offers when you get your job offers.  Scan them and save them as documents in a folder named “My PSA© and My Career.”

2.  To order your PSA©:  Go back to the Home Page.   When you take your tests:  Think of yourself as you are when you are at your very best.

3.  After you get your PSAs©:  Use it to see how to use your personality strengths to make your career all that it can be.

4.  The more you think about your strengths the more you will see how to make them work together…and you get to see how they build together for all of your life.

You can do this!

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