ALT-2 How to Make sure you really have a new Job Offer
The best way to make sure you really have a job offer is to ask the offering employer to put it in writing. If the employer balks, that tells you something. A serious employer will be willing to back up a verbal offer with one in writing. Whenever I coach people on salary negotiation, I encourage them to keep negotiating for benefits after the offer has been made. The key to this is that an employer who has extended a job offer is emotionally invested in the outcome. Once you know they want you, you are in the best position to negotiate for things beyond the salary. Here are a few ideas:-Extra vacation days-Health Club Membership-Education Benefits-Memberships in Professional Organizations-Paid parking space-The opportunity to earn bonuses-The ability to re-evaluate your salary in six months based upon performance
When you get the offer in writing, you can add these items to the list. Whether or not you can legally hole the employer to the agreement, it creates a psychological commitment. Car salesman use the technique when they are trying to pressure people to buy the car that day. This is your opportunity to create the same sort of pressure on your future employer to stick to the deal they are putting on paper. It can also impress the new employer that you negotiated shrewdly and followed it up with a request for a written offer. You are demonstrating to this new employer that you know what you want and you know how to sell yourself to get it, traits that are valuable in any organization.
