

Ask HN: Negotiating with Several Offers? - tqthrow

Dear HN,<p>I&#x27;d like your advice on something.<p>I&#x27;m working in software and recently decided to switch jobs. Last week I finished interviewing and now have four offers from four smallish companies. They&#x27;re all exceptional places to work: very talented engineers, very friendly employees, driven and knowledgeable founders, very interesting work, and so on. I would be happy working at any of these companies, although I have put together a ranking of which companies I prefer to work on.<p>So my question is: Given that I have four good offers, how can I negotiate a better offer?<p>It feels unprofessional to ask for a certain compensation, and then, if given that compensation, reject the offer anyways. But on the other hand, if all the companies were willing to offer 15% more compensation, perhaps the company I want to work for most would be willing to offer it as well, so it seems like I should try to negotiate with several offers at once.<p>What would you do in this situation (if negotiating a higher compensation were important to you)? What is a professional and tactful way to, roughly speaking, discern what a company is actually willing to give to hire me?<p>Thanks!
- Dave
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partisan
Dave,

Figure out where you want to work the most. Don't be a fence-sitter in this
regard. Follow your gut.

Next, let that company know that you have another offer that is better than
theirs. Explain that you really want to work with them and ask if they would
be willing to match the offer. Negotiate for more vacation time as well, but
do it all at once.

If they don't match the offer then see what the best they can do actually is
and take it. A few dollars here or there aren't going to change your life in
the long run. Go and be happy.

~~~
gt565k
Can't upvote enough. Many people I know, including myself, made the mistake of
going for the highest salary / best benefit package, disregarding other
factors. Big mistake!

Taking an extra $5000 on your salary, while you might think is good, doesn't
necessary translate to a better work environment. I see this problem a lot,
where people go for the highest monetary offer. Some places have more to offer
than a few extra bucks. They can offer a long career plan, smarter/better
colleagues, and ideally a place where you will continue to learn even 3-5
years in.

I highly encourage you to take partisan's advice.

Waking up every morning and being excited to go to work is much more important
than making some extra $$ and having low morale.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Can't stress this enough. I took a 30% pay cut from my previous employer to
work at my current job, and I could not be happier. Work from home,
interesting/hard problems, flexible hours, and most importantly, I could not
find team members as smart or kind as I currently work with.

You spend a third of your hours alive working (roughly speaking); enjoy them.

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davidw
[http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-
negotiation/](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/) has
some good advice.

~~~
tqthrow
Wow, that's an awesome resource. I think I read this earlier, actually, and it
helped me get over my initial aversion to negotiations, but it doesn't mention
trying to use several competing offers as a negotiation point.

That said it is also coming from a slightly different perspective; perhaps
trying to "play" companies off each other is really a little sleazy, I don't
know... It certainly sounds worse when I put it that way.

~~~
fijal
And what do you _think_ it's their basis for salary? What other people are
willing to work for, so "sleazily" playing other people against you. For
example, for some reason e.g. google in europe pays a lot less than they pay
in the states. It's not because people in Europe provide far less value, but
because they can. Salaries are market-based and that works both ways, the
better market you find yourself in, better for you (companies are not going to
look twice).

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chrisbennet
It wouldn't hurt to ask them if they could pay "market value". After all,
those other offers are proof of your _actual_ market value - not some abstract
idea of what you are worth.

I wouldn't mention your other offers unless they press you to justify how you
arrived at your "market value" number. No one wants to be in a bidding war. If
they give you the "We think we are offering matches the market." then ask them
if it would change their minds if you could show them what the actual market
it.

"I've considered everything and if you raise the offer to market value and add
bit more vacation I can start on Monday."

"I'm looking forward to working with you. Make it $N and X weeks vacation and
we have a deal."

Let's face it though, some places just do not value engineers. If they are
cheap at the start, they will never, _ever_ "make it up to you".

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ljk
just be careful when asking online! [http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-
way-to-start-my-career...](http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-way-to-start-
my-career-Uber-or-Zenefits)

~~~
liquidcool
There seems to be more backlash against the CEO for revoking the offer than
the asker.

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JSeymourATL
> how can I negotiate a better offer?

Which company most believes you can add real value, create the biggest
positive impact, & help generate revenue? Understanding others perceptions is
essential to successful negotiation.

Suggest reading Stuart Diamonds brilliant book, Getting More. Here's his
presentation @ Google >
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOZo6Lx70ok](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOZo6Lx70ok)

