Thinking Like The Employer

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A lot of people have issues with that and say, "Hey look, you should talk about it right away because you need to know whether or not you're wasting each other's time."

Now I get that in theory, but this is one of those coaching moments. Knowing this can really separate you and get you the success you're looking for. You're not thinking about it from the employer's point of view.

You know they're actually a company that's buying your services. You're a business of one selling your services, and anytime we buy something, we have to really think about it, especially something expensive. And guess what? You're expensive. Your salary and benefits are not cheap.

Respect And Trust Come First!

In those early stages of the interview process, they're trying to understand whether or not they trust you, whether or not they respect you, whether or not they think you'd be the right fit. After they figure this out, then it makes sense to talk about salary negotiations.

I want you to imagine for a minute, if you were to walk in a store and you were about to buy something expensive, and the salesperson walked up to you and in the first few minutes of the conversation said, "How much are you looking to spend?"

You're In The Driver's Seat

"I don't want to waste my time here." That's exactly the impression you're giving when you, the job seeker, start asking about salary and benefits in the very first interview. It's just a disrespectful thing. You need to wait your turn.

It's up to you to sell your skills and abilities. You want them absolutely in love with you so that when they decide you are the perfect person for the job and they extend you the offer, you are in the driver's seat. You'll be able to negotiate for what you really want because you've earned that opportunity.

When You Get An Offer

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Now, when you get the job offer, if it's not exactly what you wanted, you could then say, "Wow, I'm so excited about this opportunity, but this wasn't exactly the salary I was looking for, and here's why."

Explain to them if they could pay you a bit more, you would be so much happier and able to fully complete the job for them.

Increase Your Negotiation Power

They're going to be listening to this because they don't want to lose out. They don't want to pick their second best candidate. They want you, and this is where your negotiation power really increases.

So, when you talk salary and benefits in the beginning, not only do you send a bad message, but you actually take your own negotiation power away. You don't want to do that.