Quote:First off, congrats on the new gig!

 

I don't think negotiations are hostile. I've only been in one salary negotiation that even crept towards contempt, as the hiring manager discussed one salary with me in the first interview, then came back in the final interview and presented me with an offer for a considerably lower one. Didn't take that job, obviously.

 

There's an element of integrity in it for me. If I ask someone on a job application (or in an initial screening interview) what salary they're looking for and they give me a number, my offer will be based on that number. Might be lower if they're asking for the moon, probably won't be higher because I'm a businessman and morals are for hippies. If someone tells me that they want $75,000 per year, I bring them an offer of $75,000, and they counter me at $85,000, that's going to raise a red flag. If I give someone exactly what they're asking for and they counter by raising their price, it would definitely create some trust issues on my end, and I would probably make up some excuse to get them out of the office so I could call my second choice back and see if they'll take that offer instead.