{"id":193,"date":"2023-12-29T22:18:03","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T22:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/?p=193"},"modified":"2023-12-29T22:23:49","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T22:23:49","slug":"negotiation-101-career-tips-help-an-osu-grad-land-his-dream-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/2023\/12\/29\/negotiation-101-career-tips-help-an-osu-grad-land-his-dream-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Negotiation 101: career tips help an OSU grad land his dream job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Adam
Adam Sibley, an OSU graduate student in the College of Forestry, found a career combining his love of the outdoors with his skills in data.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adam Sibley\u2019s done a lot of things in his career: earned a PhD. Maintained climate stations in remote tropical rainforests. Co-authored peer-reviewed publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing he\u2019d never done until this year? Negotiated a salary offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJob interviewing and negotiating in particular make me very nervous,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where meeting with his OSU career advisor, Britt Hoskins, came in. She provided tips that eased his doubts and helped him negotiate a competitive job offer with a company doing cutting-edge work in his field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Landing a job offer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Adam earned his PhD in plant ecophysiology from OSU in 2021 and then stayed on as a post-doc research associate with the College of Forestry\u2019s Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society. Through his time at OSU and in previous jobs, he built up a unique skillset that focuses on the technical side of plant science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found out about myself that what I am best at is working with electronics and hardware. Also software, writing code, working with equations. There is a place for people with those skillsets in plant sciences,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of people in this field don\u2019t really do the scripting stuff that I do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His expertise left him well-positioned when a friend of a friend reached out to him on LinkedIn and asked if he might be interested in a job with Chloris Geospatial<\/a>, a Boston-based start-up that aims to impact the climate crisis by providing companies with cutting-edge climate data analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was thrilled when he was offered the job \u2013 it gave him a chance to continue his work in satellite image analysis and data science, plus it would allow him to move back to the east coast, where he is originally from. But he felt very unsure of how to ask for what he wanted after receiving the job offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Asking for help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, he already knew Britt Hoskins, career advisor for the College of Forestry; she\u2019d helped him adapt his academic CV to a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 for a job in the private sector. He made an appointment with her again to talk through his negotiation questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNegotiating for a salary feels awkward. It almost made me feel ungrateful,\u201d Adam said. \u201cAnd I was thinking, \u2018How am I going to negotiate with a CEO? I\u2019ve never even talked to one before!\u2019 But she prepared me for the negotiating process and it all worked out exactly how she said it would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two takeaways that were key for Adam:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s okay to ask for what you want. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In his case, that was a delayed start date. His original offer included a start date of July 1, but he wanted to remain at OSU until August to wrap up his current work. Britt assured him that this was not an unreasonable request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I told her what I had in mind, she said it was completely okay \u2013 they might say no, but I should still ask. She gave me the moral support that was very needed,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salary negotiation is normal, expected and typically follows a standard process. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Adam was worried that salary negotiation might involve a tense back-and-forth conversation in which he\u2019d have to make a case for himself on the spot. Britt walked him through what a typical salary negotiation process looks like, and provided advice on a reasonable counter offer for his career field and level of experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her salary negotiation tips: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Let the company provide you with a salary number first.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. When you receive it, tell them thank you and wait a day before responding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Follow up with your counter-offer and a short justification.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Let them respond to your counter-offer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWithout her advice, I would not have known that was the protocol,\u201d Adam said. \u201cShe gave me really good advice and helped me find a reasonable target.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 3: Nailing the negotiation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The result? He got the job, with a salary higher than the company\u2019s initial offer, and the freedom to wrap up his work at OSU before starting his new job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    His tips to other students in the job market? Don\u2019t be afraid to go after what you want, and seek out advice when you need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cJust talking things through with people is one of the most important things you can do. There are a lot of things about jobs that aren\u2019t rocket science and that you already know \u2013 it\u2019s the doubt that is the problem,\u201d he said. \u201cIt helps to have someone talk to who will tell you, \u2018Yes, you can do that!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Want to learn more about salary negotiation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n