Common Mistakes People Make Negotiating Benefits
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
There are 10 common mistakes people make negotiating benefits PLUS 1 bonus I include that can help you correct the mistake.
00:00 Intro
00:42 The first mistake
01:15 The second mistake
01:38 The third mistake
02:16 The 4th mistake
02:43 The 5th mistake
02:53 The 6th mistake
03:08 The 7th mistake
03:43 The 8th mistake
03:56 The 9th mistake
04:08 The 10th mistake
04:19 A bonus!
04:48 Outro
FEELING DEPRESSED About Your Search? Struggling? Feeling Fatigued?
Today we’re gonna look at common mistakes people make negotiating benefits. I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I started to be called The Big Game Hunter when I did recruiting. Did it for a long time and filled a lot of positions globally. Now, people hire me for No BS coaching and career advice. Again, my work is global in scope. And the work involved job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, resolving workplace issues, because I make things easier for people. And let’s look at some of the mistakes that people make when looking at benefits.
And the most common one is, they only focus on salary, they don’t look at the benefits, they don’t understand the benefits, they don’t understand when the benefits go into effect. They don’t understand the limitations of the benefits. They just focus on salary. They don’t understand how stock works, restricted stock units, profit sharing what circumstances are like in case they’re terminated, no result of layoffs. They don’t understand any of that stuff. They just look at salary. That’s mistake. Number one.
Mistake number two is not even understanding the benefits, even if they see them in the brochure. And thus, they wind up being confused by them. They don’t ask questions. And that’s just immature. Don’t just look at salary. If you’re looking at benefits, understand what they are, what the limitations of them are.
Number three is assuming that the initial offer is nonnegotiable and thus, you know, it’s a mistake that if they’ve come in low, that you can improve the salary, that the benefits at many firms can be negotiated or improved upon in some way. It can happen. You don’t have to accept the fact or they don’t have to accept the notion that this is it. You’re stuck. This is the way it is for everyone. Take it or leave it. You can always try and do better.
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The next thing is not communicating what their needs are, and their priorities are to the potential employer. And thus, they wind up being in a situation where the employer is kind of surprised, because it’s never surfaced along the way. Asking questions at different points in the interview process allows you to discern what benefits are going to be like, and thus how the offer is going, to be trusted.
And thus making demands without providing any reasoning justification or context becomes another mistake people make.
And again, I mentioned this earlier, accepting a benefit without fully understanding the terms or conditions of hit. You may have heard the words, but you haven’t asked follow-up questions because you don’t want to come across as being dumb, do you?
Failing to understand the long-term impact of the benefits being negotiated. Like there’s someone I’ve been working with for a long time and in his contracts, he’s able to negotiate termination circumstances because he’s stepping into C level roles. He knows management can change. And thus, he’s been able to negotiate six months severances and more. In one in the countries that he’s working in, six months is the norm. He goes for more and sometimes has been able to get it.
Next is not considering the needs or concerns of the employer. What’s the messaging that they take from your inquiries? And thus, it’s a dance for you. You have to be sensitive.
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Being too aggressive, or confrontational is a problem as well. When you come across as angry, when you come across as annoyed, that will impact you once you join, as well.
And thus, the next thing is not following up. And thus, the terms and conditions are not included in any offer once they’ve been adjusted.
Now I’m going to add one more here and that’s the notion of . . . and I’ve mentioned this in other videos, there’s a theater to interviewing. There’s a theater in negotiation as well. You can’t just go in there and start punching them in the mouth and assume that they’re going to respond well to that. You have to always have a degree of concern for them, communicate well with them. And you may need to practice prior to doing this.
I hope you found this helpful. I’m Jeff Altman. Visit my website, TheBigGameHunter.us There’s a ton in the blog that can help you. In addition, you can schedule time for Trusted Adviser Services, help with salary negotiation. If you’re interested in my coaching you long term, you can always schedule a free discovery call with me or schedule time for coaching so I can help you.
Also, I want to encourage you, depending upon where you are in the job search process, you might find my video courses, books, and guides helpful. Lastly, connect with me on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter.
Have a terrific day and most importantly, be great!
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ career easier. Those things
can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues.
Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2500 episodes.
Website: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Courses: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses
Main YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jobsearchtv
No BS Job Search Advice Radio Podcast: https://anchor.fm/nobsjobsearchadviceradio
Video Podcast of No BS Job Search Advice Radio: Spotify
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffaltmancoach
Medium: jeffaltmancoach.medium.com
Resume & LinkedIn Profile critiques www.TheBigGameHunter.us/critiques
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