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Any good result will necessitate
proper preparation, planning and
strategy. In the words of one of my
dearest friends and colleagues, Dr.
Dan Schaefer, the founder of Peak
Performance Strategies: "Prepare To
Compete". Dr. Dan works with a
number of Professional Athletes and
Executives, and uses the 'football
team' model as an example. "You
will never see a professional
football team take the field on
Sunday, without being prepared."
Their preparation begins way before
the game. They scout, review films,
and analyze the other team's
strengths and weaknesses. Then they
create a strategy to ensure a win on
Sunday.
You may find it helpful to think
about the result you want, and then
work backwards to make it a
reality. This should be a part of
your preparation process.
When one
prepares to compete in business or
in a negotiation, remember, all
situations are different and
individual. If it's a salary
negotiation, the following are
things Dan and I have heard were of
value and importance to many people
we've come in contact with:
-
What value are you bringing or
have you brought?
-
Make a list of your strengths
and weaknesses. Review them in
advance.
-
Know what your market will
bear.
-
If it's an interview or
negotiation for a new
job/position, try to learn why
the last person left.
-
Spend some time analyzing and
understanding the short term
needs of your firm and boss.
-
Rehearse the conversation and be
prepared.
Jonathan Broder, a
top Legal Recruiter, for Robert Half in
Miami, was kind enough to spend a few
minutes speaking with me on the same
subject. Jonathan told me something I
didn't know. "There is a recruiter for
everyone". Part of a good recruiter's
job is to help you accomplish your long
term career goals. One should take the
time to seek out and meet with
recruiters in your field. Once you've
found the right one, cultivate a long
term relationship with them. A truly
professional recruiter can prove
invaluable. They should be
knowledgeable about the short, medium
and long terms employment needs and
outlook for your industry.
According to Jonathan, these are a few
of the things you may wish to consider
when faced with a salary review or
renewal of a yearly employment contract:
-
Unerstand the Company metrics.
-
As an employee, it is incumbent
upon you to set the right tone.
-
For a review, be prepared and be
reasonable.
When moving from one position to another
Jonathan's experience suggests you:
May be able to expect a 7-15% raise
when changing jobs. This is of course
dependent upon what your current salary
is, and the state of your industry.
Be realistic.
Once you've mentioned an offer from a
potential new employer to your current
firm, be leery of counter offers to stay
with your current firm. In general,
these are not a good thing or good long
term solution. Odds are, when you agree
to accept the counter offer from your
current firm and stay put, you'll
probably be looking for another job
within a year. Your current employer
will see the picture as if you've
breached a trust, and the reasons you
looked for a new job in the first place
are not likely to be resolved with just
a pay raise. Keep in mind, employers
can sometimes be vengeful.
If you have done your homework and are
truly prepared and well rehearsed, and
truly comfortable dealing with your
manager or boss, you may want to
consider utilizing two other negotiating
strategies when an offer has been made.
Again, these strategies are not for
everyone and should be used with great
discretion.
-
Silence can be golden and
enhance your negotiating
position. Sometimes, it will
prompt the other party to up an
offer, perk or benefit.
-
There is nothing wrong with
postponing your acceptance of an
offer. This does not mean that
you can take an unreasonable
amount of time to accept.
Given the above mentioned
strategies, the best advice is still
to do as much homework as possible
and to be prepared for any and
everything. Rehearse the up-coming
discussion, try to anticipate the
conversation and review it aloud
with your career or life coach,
recruiter, or if necessary someone
you trust and respect. When you
rehearse, try taking the other
person's point of view, and learn
better how they think. Ultimately,
you may find this of great benefit.
To learn more about Dr. Dan
Schaefer, you may contact him at
www.peakperformancestrategies.com.
If you are an Attorney looking to
affiliate with a firm or company,
you may wish to contact Jonathan
Broder at jonathan.broder@roberthalflegal.com
. Please be sure to mention this
newsletter when contacting them.
Still wondering what 'R & R' is?
It's not 'rest and relaxation', it's
Research and Rehearse. So, if you
want more R & R, you might just get
it if you're prepared to do a little
more R & R. Just ask yourself if
the short term pain is worth the
potential long term benefit?
If, you want more help with your R
& R and want to create a successful
strategy for your next negotiation,
please contact me at
info@JohnLieberman.com .
Until next time, we're wishing you
every success.
All my best,
John
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