10 Salary Negotiating Mistakes to Avoid

Not much makes job-seekers more anxious than negotiating--or even discussing--salary. After all, you might ask for too much, ask for too little, or otherwise sabotage your own chances of getting the best possible salary. Negotiation will go more smoothly if you know what landmines to avoid.

When it comes time to negotiate salary for a new job, make sure that you don't make these 10 key errors:

1.   Being unprepared: At some point, employers are likely to ask what salary range you're looking for, possibly as soon as their first contact with you. If you're caught off-guard, you risk low-balling yourself or otherwise saying something that will harm you in salary negotiations later. It's crucial to do your homework ahead of time so that you're ready when the question comes up.

2.   Negotiating before you have an offer: There's no point trying to negotiate before you have a job offer; after all, the employer still hasn't even decided if they want to hire you. Your leverage will be far stronger once someone is certain that you're the one they want.

3.   Relying on online salary sites to give accurate information: While salary sites might seem like the most obvious way to figure out what to ask for, these sites are frequently unreliable, in part because the job titles they list often represent wildly different scopes of responsibility. Professional associations in your industry might do more reliable salary surveys, but even then, you're more likely to get the right range by talking to people in your field.

4.   Discussing salary in your cover letter: Some candidates announce their salary requirements in their cover letters without being asked, and some even include their salary history on their resumes. There's no reason to talk money at this stage, and doing it unprompted at the application stage can come across as naive.

5.   Citing your finances: Salary conversations should be solely about your value to the company, not about your own finances. Employers don't pay people based on financial need, so don't cite your mortgage or your kid's college tuition as a reason you're asking for more money.

6.  Asking for too long to respond to an offer: It's normal to request a few days to consider an offer, and sometimes employers will give you a week or so. But if you ask for much time beyond that, you risk signaling that you're not excited about the job, but might settle for it if you don't get any other offers. That's a good way to lessen the hiring manager's enthusiasm and bring into question your own.

7. Not factoring in the benefits package. Salary is only one part of a compensation package; you also need to factor in benefits like healthcare, retirement contributions, and paid leave. After all, if you'll be paying significantly more for healthcare or receiving fewer paid vacation days than you're used to, that might cancel out part of any salary gains you hope to make. On the other hand, being able to work from home or having an on-site day care might be benefits that make it worth it to you to take a slightly lower salary.

8.   Underestimating happiness as a factor: A higher salary generally won't make up for a job where you'll be miserable, so think carefully about factors other than money: the work you'll be doing, the people with whom you'll be working, the company culture, and even the length of your commute. It might be worth giving up a bit of extra pay to ensure that you're happy going to work every day.

9.   Listening to bad advice: Negotiation advice that worked a few decades ago isn't always effective now. In fact, some of it can hurt your chances. For instance, delaying the salary conversation as long as you can or refusing to name a figure first--common advice in previous generations--can backfire today by turning the employer off and making you look like you're playing games.

10.   Not negotiating: Whatever you do, negotiate. If you simply take the first salary you're offered, you'll never know if you could have received more by simply asking.

15 Ways Good Bosses Keep Their Best Employees

1. They stop by.

Whether it’s the person who visits a coworker in the hospital or the manager who walks to the employee’s office, there can be a powerful signal in the willingness to be there. That’s one reason why Management By Wandering Around can have such impact. People want leaders who know what their work area is like and who are not above dropping by to chat.

2. They return calls and E-mails.

When you don’t return a call, that’s the silent way of saying, “You don’t count.” If you’re busy, leave a quick message to buy time for a more lengthy discussion, but get back to the person. With E-mail, unfortunately, our technology gives us new and faster ways to show our indifference.

3. They don't fire for every mistake.

Many employees fear that they will be set adrift in the wake of a reasonable decision that didn’t work out, or after a minor blunder. They worry that for all of the talk about loyalty, if loyalty becomes inconvenient, management will not support them. Vague standards and arbitrary enforcement of rules foster that fear. Employees gain confidence when they know where the swamps are and how to avoid them.

4. They listen well.

I knew an executive whose career success was widely attributed to his extraordinary ability to listen. When he was with you, he was with you. Some tips: Listen for the main message. Subdue your ego—stop thinking about the eloquence of your reply or whether the speaker is indirectly talking about you. Let your body language declare, “I’m paying close attention.”

5. They are servant-leaders.

One extraordinary leader I knew operated with the rule that his followers should be consulted, developed, and praised. When the media came to cover accomplishments of his department, others were permitted to take credit. I would rate him as one of the toughest leaders I’ve ever encountered. But the team was always his focus. He spent time in the field listening to people, joking with them, and searching for ways to remove obstacles.

6. They build trust through courage and discretion

There are moments when courage demands less discretion and greater candor, and when discretion restrains courage. Both qualities require the regulator of good judgment. They are essential, however, if you are going to succeed in the workplace and, for that matter, in life.

7. They give just enough information.

NETMA (Nobody Ever Tells Me Anything) is a major problem in many organizations. Employees aren’t briefed on activities directly related to their jobs and the rumor mill thrives. But what about ETMTM (Everyone Tells Me Too Much)? More information does not give you more power. It simply gives you more information. If employees have little power to alter events, learning more may simply fuel their frustration.

8. They delegate.

You will not be an effective manager unless you learn how to delegate. The question, “Should I be handling this?” must be asked frequently if you are to develop your associates, build a strong team, and avoid being swamped.

9. They advocate for going slow.

An African leader once admonished his followers that they must go slowly because they were in a hurry. President Dwight Eisenhower used to tell his cabinet: “Let’s not be a hurry to make our mistakes.” We should remove the stigma that is too often attached to the individual who is unwilling to rattle off solutions. Those fast answers are often eloquent, witty, and wrong.

10. They aren't afraid to set tough standards and confront.

Unfortunately, far too many new supervisors equate being demanding with being cruel, unpleasant, or uncaring. They seek an arrangement with the employees in which neither side demands too much from the other. In their quest to be kind, they can create a highly demoralizing environment for those who are looking for challenging and meaningful work.

11. They check up on details.

We shy away from details because we don’t want to micromanage. At the same time, we are reluctant to create systems because we don’t want to be bureaucratic. And then we wonder why we get ambushed by small things and why our performance is inconsistent. The details do not take care of themselves. Someone needs to check them.

12. They motivate by getting out of the way.

Eliminate those weekly staff meetings that have turned into giant time wasters. Only hold meetings that are necessary. Replace the stirring speeches with as many one-on-one meetings as possible. Ask employees what stands in their way. Keep a commitment to reducing or eliminating anything that is unnecessarily hindering your employees.

13. They get rid of negative energy people.

These characters can destroy a team’s morale within minutes and create an environment in which other people don’t want to come to work. They may be bright and talented, but something happened along the way that soured them. Don’t leave them in a job in which they can bring down the spirits of others. They are a bad fit.

14. They praise employees the right way.

No back-handed compliments. No praise inflation. Show sincerity, genuine enthusiasm, and good timing. A lack of appreciation is often cited as a reason people leave jobs, so many organizations encourage supervisors to heap on the praise. It's a good example of how the opposite of a poor practice is not always a good practice. Handled poorly, praise can be a de-motivator and even a form of humiliation.

15. They go see.

E-mail, video conferencing, and speaker phones can convey a feeling of closeness, but they are shadows of what can be noticed when you are alert and on-site. The intangibles don’t tend to get into reports and flowcharts and yet they can trump everything else. In order to find them and measure their significance, you have to go see. Let the accountants groan about your travel budget. There is no substitute for being there.

10 Signs You Have a Bad Boss

Everyone likes to complain about their boss now and then, but here are 10 signs that you have a truly bad boss, the kind worth getting away from. And if you’re a manager and recognize yourself in any of the below, it’s time to immediately send yourself to manager rehab!

1. Yelling. Managers who yell actually diminish their own authority because they look out of control. After all, a manager confident in her own authority doesn’t need to yell because she has far more effective tools available to her. Don’t yell, and don’t work for yellers.

2. Fuzzy expectations. If your manager doesn’t communicate clear, concrete goals for your work, and convey to you what success in your position would look like, she’s falling down on one of her most important jobs. A good test: If you and your manager were both asked what’s most important for you to achieve this year, would your answers match?

3. Unreliability. She says she’ll review your report by Tuesday, but it doesn’t happen. She promises to join you for your important meeting but doesn’t make it. She says she’ll forward you a client’s contact info, but it never arrives. You need to be able to rely on your manager to do what she says she’s going to do, just as she needs to rely on you for the same.

4. Unwillingness to make decisions. This often takes the form of managers neglecting to address performance problems or not firing low performers. But it surfaces in other ways too, like not taking responsibility for moving work forward or punting in favor of trying to reach consensus.

5. Unreasonable demands. Holding staffers to a high standard is a good thing. But insisting that people work over the weekend to complete a project that isn’t time-sensitive, or demanding that an employee do the truly impossible, is the mark of a tyrant.

6. Indirectness. When a manager sugarcoats to the point that her message is missed, or presents requirements as mere suggestions, staffers end up confused about expectations, and the manager ends up frustrated that her “suggestions” weren’t acted upon.

7. Ruling by fear. Managers who rule through rigid control, negativity, and a climate of anxiety and fear don’t trust that they can get things done any other way. Of course, it backfires in the end because fearful employees won’t bring up new ideas for fear of being attacked and won’t be honest about problems. Moreover, very few great people with options are going to want to work for a fear-based manager.

8. Defensiveness. Managers who respond defensively when their decisions are questioned end up quashing dissent and making employees less likely to suggest new and different ways of doing things. Managers who are secure in their authority aren’t threatened by dissent, and they recognize that others’ ideas are sometimes better than their own.

9. Drama. A good manager minimizes drama, rather than causing it. If everything is a crisis around your manager, she’s probably what’s at the center of the problem.

10. Fear of conflict. If your manager avoids conflict and tough conversations, chances are high that employees don’t hear much feedback and problems don’t get addressed.