When I speak on the topic of pay negotiation, I always get asked this question. “What if I try to negotiate my offer and the employer rescinds (takes away) the offer?”

My response: “That tells you a lot about the culture of that employer.”

“We Don’t Negotiate Employer” Assumptions: They dictate what happens. There probably isn’t much room for negotiation related to resources or time to get work completed. They do not like conflict and avoid it. You must go along with what senior leaders say. No questions asked. No arguments. No sharing of context. Probably little to no empathy or compassion from senior leaders is demonstrated. You’ll get a work culture that is miserable to exist in and impossible to thrive in.

We don’t live in a black and white world. There are lots of shades of grey - especially when it comes to pay and where to pay someone within a base salary range. There is no “one number” you should pay someone. And yes, this is true even when you consider internal pay equity.

(Caveat - If the job truly pays all employees one base salary and there is no variation for anyone performing that job, then by all means - pay that one base salary number to every employee performing the job. But I’ve done compensation work for more than 20 years and this is rare.)

I’d be thrilled to have this knowledge about the “we don’t negotiate employer” up front during the job offer process. If you ever have an offer rescinded, be grateful. You probably would have been miserable working there.

I’ve spoken to hundreds of people about effective pay negotiation tactics. I’ve only heard of two instances where the offers were rescinded, because the candidate wanted to negotiate.

Run if the employer won’t negotiate. It’s a BIG RED FLAG. Kind of like that “we are a family” phrase.

Nope. Next.

BTW - Negotiations are conversations where you explore what each party needs and wants. Through listening and considering each person’s needs equitably, ideally you arrive at a win-win solution. But unfortunately, not everyone understands or wants this back and forth conversation or is able to hold space for what can be an uncomfortable sharing of perspectives.

#paynegotiation #rewards #payequity #paytransparency #compensation #humanresources