Job hunters make big mistakes when they negotiate from a win-lose mentality. It’s a buyer’s market. The jobs are few and the applicants many. If you project an attitude of arrogance or indifference, don’t bother to show up. There are plenty of applicants out there who understand how that game is played. Your win-lose gambit will turn into lose-lose outcome.
Applicants make big mistakes when they negotiate from a lose-win mentality. Sure it’s a buyer’s market, but if you appear as though you are willing to compromise your values, and trade your experience and talent for a job that demands only a fraction of your ability, savvy buyers will take a pass. They know that you’ll either leave as soon as a better opportunity comes along, or that you’re not nearly as good as advertised. Bottom line, you’re not worth the investment, no matter how small it is. You’ve managed to turn lose-win into lose-lose.
Well, if lose-win and win-lose both turn into lose-lose what does win-win, in a buyer’s market, look like? Like this:
You understand and can clearly and articulately describe your strengths, skills and abilities. You know which workplace environments and management styles bring out the best in you.  You consistently and proactively generate revenue (and/or save your company time and money) through effective and efficient practices. You’re a good hire, you know it, and you want to prove it.
You have carefully, realistically, and objectively evaluated your personal finances, expenses and obligations, and know what dollar offer you can afford to accept. You know where and what you can compromise and what line you will not cross. You believe in yourself. You’re centered, focused, optimistic, and energetic.
Employees make big mistakes when they blame others for errors instead
of accepting responsibility for them. Blunders happen. The most well meaning, talented, and competent (along with the most absent-minded, lazy, and misdirected) slip-up. It’s critical to acknowledge the error as quickly as you recognize it and to report that error to those who are most apt to be impacted by the unchecked consequences of your unintended action. Managers and supervisors agree, “Don’t surprise me. If I know in time I can do something to ward off the ramifications of the mistake. If I don’t know, we’ll all be affected, and it won’t be pretty.”
Interviewers make big mistakes when they overlook red flags that job applicants throw into the final stages of negotiation. A prime example: applicants who delay accepting a bona fide offer, saying they need more time to think. Prospective employers can conclude that applicant are indecisive, which can be a deal breaker, or continuing to look for something better, also a deal breaker. If you’ve been made an offer that is acceptable, based upon the criteria you’ve set for yourself and the employer, accept it. If it isn’t, reject it. Either way, get back to your interviewer in less time than you’ve been allocated to make the decision.
New employees make a big mistake if they act as though they know it all and there’s nothing anyone can teach them. A little humility goes a long way when the terrain is new and the colleagues newer. When you’re new to a company you don’t know what you don’t know. So, asking specific questions about expectations and outcomes and general questions about company culture, protocol, and politics will provide invaluable information about what works, what doesn’t, and why. Watch how people interact, listen to how they communicate, and incorporate that learning into your professional vocabulary and style.
Employees of newly merged companies make big mistakes if they fight the process and attempt to hold on, too fiercely, to the past. Managers on both sides of the merger are watching their employees very closely. They want to hear upbeat, positive, can do language, coupled with heads-down, get it done behavior.
Keep in mind: Employers are looking for decisive people who will fit into their culture, play on their team, work hard, enjoy what they’re doing, and above all, make a difference. If you’re that person you’ll naturally negotiate from strength, not weakness and operate from a win-win perspective, no matter the situation or challenge you face.