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  • 1.  Employer perceptions of new hires who negotiate

    Posted 02-14-2010 15:22
    Dear Colleagues,

    I have been receiving questions from my Negotiations students
    regarding the wisdom of negotiating a job offer in the job market we
    are faced with now. Many of them feel that negotiating the offer will
    be perceived as being "difficult" and "whiny" and will have long-term
    relational costs. Is there research out there that specifically
    addresses employer perceptions of new hires that do or don't negotiate
    their offers? Would love to back my arguments with some actual data!

    Thanks,
    Julia

    Julia A. Minson, Ph.D.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Operations and Information Management
    The Wharton School
    University of Pennsylvania
    office: (215) 898-3025
    cell: (650) 283-4609


  • 2.  Employer perceptions of new hires who negotiate

    Posted 02-15-2010 00:23
    Dear Julia,

    I'm not familiar with the current literature on this, but I do remember seeing something awhile ago about companies offering a range of benefits from which newly-hired employees could choose. To me, that is a form of negotiation. I also know that negotiating a "package" is quite common at the mid to senior job level.

    That said, I think the problem may be temporary in any case. There is a shortage of skilled labor, and as the economy improves, companies will begin to scramble for whoever they can get. It's just that between now and then, this probably won't be the case. Students should concentrate on how the job they get will make them more employable because that's what will matter most in the medium term. If a company thinks that the only reason they want the job is because of the benefits, then I think they will have a reason to be concerned. Of course, it also depends on whether or not they sound whiny.

    Your students can expect to have a career consisting of a dozen or more jobs. The days of staying in one spot for 20 or 30 years are over for most people. So they need to think about how their first job will prepare them for the next one and the one after that.


    Cheers, Bruce

    Bruce Hoag, PhD, CPsychol
    Work Psychologist

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    On 14 February 2010 21:21, Julia Minson <jminson@stanford.edu> wrote:
    Dear Colleagues,

    I have been receiving questions from my Negotiations students regarding the wisdom of negotiating a job offer in the job market we are faced with now. Many of them feel that negotiating the offer will be perceived as being "difficult" and "whiny" and will have long-term relational costs. Is there research out there that specifically addresses employer perceptions of new hires that do or don't negotiate their offers? Would love to back my arguments with some actual data!

    Thanks,
    Julia

    Julia A. Minson, Ph.D.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Operations and Information Management
    The Wharton School
    University of Pennsylvania
    office: (215) 898-3025
    cell: (650) 283-4609