Negotiating is not easy, especially if you are negotiating for yourself. Most people find it difficult to talk about their positive qualities and even harder to ask for what we want, or think we deserve. But sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and get in the negotiating game in order to get what we want. Here are a few tips to help you get what you want the right way.

Be Clear and Specific

If you are negotiating your salary and benefits before you take a position you need to be clear and specific. Being clear means that you don’t beat around the bush with maybe’s or could be’s, but instead make a clear demand for what you want in order to come on board. The next step is to be specific. If you are talking about salary it could be a yearly amount or it could be a range. But you want the person you are discussing this matter with to know your specific position on this issue. Then, they can make a counter-offer to your specific proposal.

Be Firm but Flexible

This sounds like a contradiction, but it actually the key to successful negotiations. Back to the salary discussion, you need to make clear your position, but also signal if you have any room to move. That’s where using a salary range might be useful. You can argue and try and negotiate for the top level, but you are also willing to consider another starting point, as long as it is within the range. On some matters, like vacation leave, you might just have to be firm. If you want 4 weeks’ vacation starting off, then stick with that through the negotiation process. It may be easier to get some benefits than it is straight salary compensation.

Be Open to the Compromise

Negotiations are a conversation between 2 parties. Good negotiators come prepared to fully engage in the conversation. That means you have your demands, but you also listen to get a sense of where the other party is coming from. That way you can decide which issues they might be likely to move on and others where they have little room to maneuver. A positive set of negotiations is when both sides come away satisfied that they have been heard by the other party and that they have both won something. That’s an important thing to remember anytime you are negotiating at work.

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