Volume 8, No. 2: Section 9
Strategic Career Planning
We Want to Hire You!
We have previously described steps to get to this milestone – deciding it’s time for a job or career transition, preparing an Executive Summary, sending this and your CV accompanied by a cover letter tailored to the specific position, and successfully standing out from the crowd in the initial interview. You passed the initial interview, returned for follow-up interviews, and continued to stand out. You did your homework on documents sent to you and asked clarifying follow-up questions showing you know your job. You sent thank you letters, tailored for the key people (including helpful staff people) you met. You did your due diligence, learning whether you “fit with the organization” by asking non-threatening questions, observing carefully how people treat each other, how formal or informal the culture is, how collaborative or competitive the people are, how well details (particularly financial details such as reimbursements) are handled, and how family-friendly the school is.
And now, they are offering you the job and want to know what the offer needs to be for you to accept. So, it’s on to negotiation – and it’s NOT all about salary and benefits. First, understand clearly what your potential employer needs and wants; then provide grounds for a match between these needs and your skills, abilities and experiences, and state your case assertively so most of your needs and wants are met. In good negotiating, each side will make concessions and the aim is for a WIN: WIN solution. Negotiating well is also a science. What follows are some variables to consider.
Timing is crucial . Your best opportunity for negotiating is between the time they extend the offer and before you accept it. Avoid discussing your needs before an offer seems to be forthcoming. Even when you’re asked early on what it would take to get you to come, try to respond in general terms. Avoid either: (1) leaving yourself little negotiating room by stating needs that are too low because you want to be sure you get the job or (2) putting yourself out of running because the school thinks they cannot attract you since your needs are too high. Trying to add yet another benefit after reaching an agreement can cast a shadow on your arrival. And, once on the job, your bargaining power is greatly diminished.
Do your due diligence. This is the time to learn as much as possible about the position and its context. For example, if you are being offered a newly formed position that reports to two entities (school and hospital), who will be responsible for your performance and determine your salary and promotions?
Re-examine your skills, abilities, values and experiences . How unique a combination are they? How closely do they match the particular needs of the organization at this time?
Assess your needs and wants . Faculty tend to forget the full array of issues that can make the difference between struggling in the new job or being ensured you’re successful. Consider:
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For example, consider negotiating for parking. In a recent ELAM on-line discussion, the Fellows discussed negotiating that they would be more productive with a guaranteed parking spot since the job required travel between sites numerous times during the day/week or required working late in an unsafe environment leading to lower productivity with the wait for a security escort. Fellows also discussed negotiating for initial professional development that would ensure success in reorganizing a troubled department or dealing with complex personnel issues, so that the Fellow and the Dean could achieve more rapidly the vision both desired.
Research comparable recruitment packages . Contact organizations, colleagues in similar positions in similar settings, or any mentors. This is NOT the time to go it “alone” or to be shy about money issues. Ask your colleagues what they wished they’d asked for, given what they know now.
Prepare a proposal of what you need (based on the above four areas). This may be totally for your use, a document that you will use in setting your priorities, and planning and rehearsing your face-to-face or telephone negotiations.
Sometimes you are asked to send a written proposal. This document has mixed functions – both additional interviewing and negotiating. The interviewing aspect is critical when, as is occurring more often, a school negotiates with more than one candidate at a time. The reasoning is that if one candidate’s needs cannot be met or other issues come up (such as dual career move challenges), then the school can immediately move on to one of the other candidates and not lose the time and expense of starting a second search.
There are no clear answers about what is best for such proposals. You might indicate this is a draft business plan, phasing in and out what you need over a 3-5 year time period. You would include in this your estimates of when grants could come in, when additional clinical revenues become real, etc. For example,
“I very much appreciate your interest in my coming to XXX as YYY. I am sending you a DRAFT business plan, with some of the major elements that I know will be needed to ensure the rapid success of YYY that I know we both want. I will be refining this as we talk and as I gather more information about the specific situation at XXX.”
This shows that you are approaching the position in a business-like manner, and gives you at least some latitude to add or modify.
Plan and rehearse your negotiating strategy, preferably out loud with someone else . Your negotiation sets the precedent and tone for the relationship you’ll have with your future employer. You need to learn the preferred communication style of your future boss (email, phone, face to face; big picture, full of details; etc.), and adjust yours accordingly.
Proceed with an attitude that persuades rather than pushes; wins them over rather than wins over them; and, above all, treats with respect. You may need to use behavior that seems opposite from that you would naturally exhibit, for example:
- Listen – when you feel like talking. Be very aware of the non-verbal cues if negotiating face-to-face.
- Suspend your reaction – don't strike back. Feel your feelings and try to understand what is coming up for you, before you respond.
- Question – when you feel like telling. Probe for the issue underneath the first “surface” question; do not be satisfied with accepting the surface response – probe further in a respectful manner. We often hear clients say, “I assumed that was what he/she meant when they answered xxx to my question; I didn’t think I needed to ask more.”
- Bridge – don't push for your way. Acknowledging their points does not mean agreeing with them. You could say something like, "I see how you can see it that way... and…." Or “I’d like to come back to that later, after I have thought more about your perspective, since we seem to differ in our views.”
- Educate – don't escalate.
Focus on concerns and priorities for mutual gain, not individual interests . Explore each issue as a search for mutual benefit, focusing on their needs and values and what you bring to meet them. Reinforce the match between your skills and experience and their needs, and the fact that the negotiated item (such as a MBA department administrator rather than a regular administrative assistant; or a postdoctoral fellow paid for the first two years) will ensure both of you that their needs (smooth financial management or securing grants) get met more rapidly or effectively than without that item.
Set your priorities carefully! Be fully aware of what you are willing to give and what your limits are. Be clear about what you MUST have in order to come. If it becomes evident that what you MUST have cannot be offered, graciously say you’re sorry that you cannot reach agreement and withdraw from further consideration.
As an example, in one negotiation for a clinical department chair position, it was clear that the dean had decided that that department was not in his top five for development, but was to be one of the mid-level departments. The candidate was clear that she wanted to be chair of that department in a medical school in which the department would be one of the school’s top priorities, with a goal of being one of the top five in the country in terms of research and scholarship. So the two graciously stopped the negotiation with both respecting the needs of the other. After all, it is the very rare medical school where every department in the school can become one of the top five!
Don’t burn any bridges in your negotiations. The person with whom you are negotiating may move to a higher position in another medical school, and you may be back in negotiation with him or her several years later!
WIN:WIN – aim for a fair and equitable agreement. Seek to understand and meet each other’s needs. Present all areas to be negotiated at the same time although you may sequence them. Generally it is best to obtain agreement on some simple items first, to create a sense of partnership before moving to the more difficult issues. Remember , pulling one more issue out after all is thought to be on the table will serve to create suspicion.
Be sure to receive the negotiated offer in writing before writing an acceptance letter . If it is not the institution's policy to do so, summarize your understanding of the terms you agreed upon. In your acceptance letter, restate your understanding of the terms you agreed to, including your starting date. In complex negotiations (e.g., department chair or dean level, or complex clinical practice situations) you will probably seek legal counsel before finalizing the contract.
If you end up negotiating with two places, there are additional considerations; the references below give some tips for these. We’ll next discuss transitioning from your current job into the new position. Please send us feedback on experiences you have with negotiation!
Page Morahan, PhD, and Judith Kapustin Katz, EdD
Page S. Morahan, PhD, and Judith Katz, EdD, work with scientists and faculty to provide strategic planning for rewarding careers. They are independent consultants and members of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Leadership Program Consulting Alliance ( www.drexel.edu/elam ). Contact Dr. Morahan at (215) 947-6542 or psmorahan@att.net and Dr. Katz at (610) 664-4785 or katzknect@aol.com .
This article includes information from Chapman J. Negotiating Your Salary. 4th Ed. Ten Speed Press © 2000; Citrin JM, Harvard Business Review November 2005: 46; and Kolb DM. It pays to negotiate: negotiating conditions for leadership success. CGO Insights. January 2006; Briefing Note No. 23. www.simmons.edu/som/cgo).
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