Hi, I’m Taylor Maurer Founder and Senior Management Partner with Heavy Civil Resource Consultants back with another 2-MT tip of the week. We’re not just construction recruiters helping find exceptional construction talent for our clients, we are career advisors to some of the best talent in the construction industry. This week we are covering the strategies for successful offer negotiations. If you have not seen our video of differing the compensation question until the right time then you can find it and all of our interview strategy resources on our website hcrc.us. All right. Let’s dig in…
In my 20 years of construction recruitment, I have learned that the two main keys to negotiating an offer are being reasonable and justifying the ask.
Being reasonable comes without saying. You will not Typically find a company that will give you a 100% increase in salary unless you are delivering something that no other candidate can and will have a tremendous positive impact on profit and revenue.
Justifying the ask can come in many different forms.
- Are you walking away from an end-of-year bonus?
- Are you leaving any type of equity in the company? Often this cannot be completely made up on the front end.
- Are you expecting a raise in the near future and how might that affect you financially
- What are the risks or trade-offs of taking this new position?
- How do the overall benefits packages compare to one another? Securing detailed information about this prior to making a salary request is key. You can download our offer comparison spreadsheet here (Include link)
- How bad do you want this job and what are your motivations for leaving your current employer? Do some real soul-searching here. What are you leaving and what future opportunities or advantages does this new opportunity offer? Don’t price yourself out if you really want the job.
- Imagine if the new company offered you $2,000, $5,000, or even $10,000 less. Would you take it? Considering this should you ask for less?
- How confident are you in the security of the position?
- What is going on with the economy in general? Consider inflation and the housing economy.
If your position requires relocation then start doing your homework before you get to the offer stage: Things to consider are:
- What is the Cost-of-Living Difference? There are many COL calculators on the internet. Look at a few of them to try to get the best read on what this might look like.
- Are you losing an income from a spouse or other family member
- Research the housing market. You can call a realtor or dive into websites like Zillow.
- What will it cost you to relocate? Go ahead and get 3 quotes from moving companies. Do you have any items or things that might need special consideration when moving? Boats, Sports cars, motorcycles, horses, etc.
- What are the advantages of the new area you might be looking at? Better schools? Friends or Family? Better opportunity for a spouse’s career? Cheaper cost of living? Some of these factors might actually make you consider making your ask less.
- If you own a home what does selling it look like? Or will you rent it? What kind of money do you need to get into the new housing market?
- Considering your overall finances and housing situation; will you require any assistance on temporary housing? What are your expectations for how long you will need assistance? It is rare that I have seen companies offer more than 3 months.
Thanks for watching and please book into my calendar here (add Calendly link: https://calendly.com/hcrc/career-consultation-call) if we can assist you in making the most out of your next career transition.
