Robust Routers Job Offer

The negotiation exercise this week was the Robust Routers Job Offer. It was interesting to change things up and do the negotiation as a class.

 However, I don’t think that the “Joes” put the situation into perspective. Yes, it was important to get the best deal possible, but I could not believe that the “Joes” would think about talking to a potential future boss in the manner that they did. I guess it depends on each person’s personality, but I would never repeat over and over how great I am or talk down on the opposite sex. It’s one thing to tell someone that the situation is out of your control or take the blame for something away from you, but it’s completely inappropriate to disrespect anyone, especially in a professional setting.

I think that both of the “Leighs” handled the situation very well, staying professional. Emily did a great job of sticking to her guns and not raising the salary. Also, when Dan went back and tried to renegotiate the relocation without changing the signing bonus, Emily stayed persistent and said hey we already agreed on this, we’re not changing the relocation without changing the signing bonus as well. I think that Greg did a great job of negotiating because at the end Matt didn’t get a very good deal for the “Joes” but Matt still felt like he got a good deal.

Overall I don’t think that Matt settled on a good deal for the “Joes”. He was too concerned about the department, when the change of department was guaranteed within 2 years. If I were to negotiate this case, my first priority would be the title. I would strive to get the product manager position because management levels and job titles are directly linked to the size of year-end bonuses and options. My second priority would be the salary. I would not have accepted anything below $83,000 (because of the trade off). My next priorities (in order) would be: relocation, signing bonus, stock options, start date and assignment. The relocation and signing bonus weren’t as important because they are one time collections. On the other hand, the title determines the bonus each year and the salary will be paid each year, so these are continuous collections that build up. The start date would definitely be used as leverage for a higher salary. I would even consider using the relocation or signing bonus as leverage also.