Simple Mistakes First-Time Interviewees Make and How to Avoid Them to Secure the Compensation Package You Deserve

“Don’t leave money on the table.”

You probably agree with this phrase. But do you make sure you leave no money on the table in offer negotiations? How would you even know how much money is on the table in the first place?

Let’s try to answer these questions.

Do you leave money on the table?

Here is a typical conversation I’d have with a junior person when helping them with tech interviews and offer negotiations:

Them: I think the final round went well. They’ll probably come back with an offer.

Me: Awesome!

Them: What salary can I expect for this role?

Me: $xxx,xxx would be reasonable.

Them: Oh, great! So if they offer that do I need to negotiate?

Me: YES! You should always negotiate! This is not all the money on the table and you don’t want to just leave the rest there! Do you?

Them: No!

How do you know how much money is on the table?

Well, you don’t!

This is information your potential employer is keeping from you. But you also have your own information you should keep from them. Yours is how much money you want to see on the table.

Hide your information and do not commit to a number prematurely. You first need to know how much money they’re willing to put on the table.

You need to have a strong negotiating power

This is possible by having multiple offers on the table.

Manage your interview timeline with different companies and slow down or speed them up as required to make sure all are wrapped up around the same time. This way all potential offers are in at the same time.

Now you can tell companies how much others are willing to pay for you. And this is as close as you can get to estimating how much they are willing to put on the table.

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