Negotiation tactics and counter-attacks. (pt.1)
Unless your education and experience are so incomparable that companies are fighting to have you, you will be in the weak position of the recruting process. Especially if you are an expatriate in a foreign country. Therefore when an employer presents you with a working contract, it will be up to you to initiate any negotiations.
To begin, there are three basic perceived outcomes for negotiations:
Win-Win Both parties benefit from the working relationship.
Win-Sum One party benefits and the other breaks even.
Win-Lose One party benefits and the other suffers a loss.
Ideally a win-win situation should be sought as it provides the best long-term outcome for you - you receive a work visa to legally stay in your target country with a consistent income - and for the employer - who receives a quality employee who is sufficiently enough paid and rewarded to stay with the employer for the long-term, thus increasing your ROI .
If the employer is an above-board employer, then you can expect your starting salary to be roughly the going industry rate.
However if the job position in which you are applying for is easily replaceable: such as a bartender’s position, if there are a large number of closely qualified applicants for the job and the employer doesn’t perceive you (an expatriate) to be worth the additional investment of purchasing your working papers, or if you discover during your pre-interview research the company has a high employee turnover rate, then it is possible that the employer may approach your candidature from a win-lose perspective, expecting to exploit you for all you’re worth before disguarding you, and it will be up to you to convince the employer that you’re worth the investment or get as much as you can out of the situation.
If the employer does attempt to take advantage of you, how do you successfully combat and respectfully defend yourself against any manipulative ploys without 1.) insulting the employer, 2.) Risk having to step away from the working contract, and 3.) perhaps your working visa altogether?
First and foremost, be it inadvertently or with malicious intent, the most important thing you must do is to learn to separate the negotiator from the tactics s/he is employing against you. Other than in an extreme situation where you are left with no other choice, it is not advisable to directly accuse the negotiator of being manipulative, as it will only damage the relationship and halt the job hiring. Instead, separate the employer from the tactic, respond to any presuppositions to neutralize the tactic.
A second approach is to build as much rapport as you can in the short amount of time possible. ”Befriending” the negotiator may dissuade him/her from taking advantage of you. “Befriending” the negotiator may also give you a good base for understanding his/her basic personal behavior, which can later be used as a benchmark and truth assessment method when/if more serious negotiations begin.
The greatest way to protect yourself from being taken advantage of is to do as much pre-negotiation research as you can so that you can competently and confidently talk about all aspects of the working contract.
Not being prepared for the interview is like saying:
“I unconditionally trust that the employer is objective and only has good intentions, and I don’t need to question the employer’s intentions because I’m confident the employer’s acting in my best interests as well.”
Instead, approach the negotiation with the mentality:
“I have read over the contract. I’m sure over all a trustworthy person and neither do you want to break any employment laws. If I do have a few questions, I’ll be prepared enough to offer some other mutually beneficial alternatives which will allow us to have exactly what we both need.”
photo from here.
