Career Services Office
When to Negotiate
After you have received a hard copy of the offer letter, you can begin negotiation. Negotiation is the process in which two parties decide upon the resources they will give and take in an exchange. Your goal in negotiation is to satisfy your preferences. However, for success, the tactics used must be collaborative and both parties should end negotiation feeling that they received something of value. According to Pinkley and Northcraft, only about 25 percent of job applicants attempt to negotiate. Women are often more reluctant to negotiate than men, and this disinclination accounts, in part, for continuing wage discrepancies between the sexes. However, virtually all employers agree that it is appropriate to negotiate as long as it is done professionally. Many organizations report that the first offer extended to an applicant is less than what they are willing to pay because they expect the applicant to negotiate.
Negotiate only after an institution has given you a formal job offer. At this point, you can be certain that they are fully invested in you and that they want you as a part of their department. The time between when you are given an offer and when you accept the offer is your prime window of opportunity for negotiation. At this point, many departments would prefer to satisfy your requests (provided they are reasonable), rather than reconvene to decide upon their next course of action—to present an offer to their second choice or begin a new search.
