Allen Voivod asked:

If it weren’t for the whole “copyright violation” thing, I’d reprint a certain article in its entirety on my blog. It’s called “The Salary Game,” by Donald Asher, and I love, love, LOVE it. It made me laugh out loud, and it reminded me strongly of the absolute impenetrability advised in my favorite section of J.P Donleavy’s hysterical book, The Unexpurgated Code: A Complete Manual of Survival and Manners. (That would be “Upon the Sudden Reawakening of Your Sordid Background.”)

It’s from the US Airways in-flight magazine, and Asher’s “Save Your Career” column in the February 2008 issue, and hopefully you can still read it online by the time you read this article. He has a wealth of practical responses you can use to turn the salary question back on a prospective employer.

The simple truth is, employers start with the upper hand when it comes to salary. They know what their budget is, they know what range of compensation they set, they know what the last person got paid, they know how much money they need to save on the next person they hire, and if they’ve got a bead on two otherwise identical candidates, they’ll go for the one who’ll take the lower salary.

What’s more, money’s still one of the greatest taboo topics in our nation. Sure, we constantly hear about the millions that celebrities make, but when it comes down to you and me – regular folks who happen to be good at what we do and deserve to be well-compensated at it – we often find ourselves uncomfortable when it comes to asking for the money we deserve. Not out of greediness, but from a place of sheer authenticity and integrity.

So when it comes to salary and negotiation, I beg these three things of you:

1. Read, re-read, and find more. Commit Asher’s article to memory, and keep seeking out more ways to handle the salary conversation.

2. Role-play. Find someone you feel comfortable with, and practice putting these tactics into action. You want them to feel so natural coming out of you that, when you get into the real situation, you get the hiring managers to automatically bend to your will.

3. Focus on the value, not the cost. Sales-type questions, like “What would you have to see in the first 60-90 days to know you’ve made the right decision?” take the focus off salary (an expense in their eyes), and put it on results (their income). And making a point throughout the hiring process to focus on results and performance makes it easier for a hiring manager to choose you over a candidate who may take a lower salary but isn’t as results-focused. That way, there’s a clearer ROI with you than the other person, and an easier decision.

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