RUNNING HEAD: Week 8 Assignment: Final Project: Negotiating a Job Offer 1

Week 8 Assignment: Final Project: Negotiating a Job Offer

Class: HRM 5050

Johnson and Wales University

Week 8 Assignment: Final Project: Negotiating a Job Offer 2

Job Offer Negotiation Details

 Base Salary – $104,000

 Signing Bonus – $15,000

 Performance Bonus – up to 25%

 Pension – 10%

 Health Coverage – 85%

 Paid Vacation – 12 days

 Moving Expenses – $6,000

 Start Date – May 4, 2020. Need to be in Paris on May 11th, 2020.

1. What were the easiest terms to negotiate? Why do you believe they were easier to

negotiate, and did it surprise you that these terms would be among the easiest terms?

The easiest terms to negotiate would be the health coverage, as it was already set, as it is

a companywide plan, and cannot be negotiated. Also, the initial contract for the friend of the

candidate also included 85% of health coverage, so it was evidently the same if you are

comparing the two. The performance bonus was also easier to negotiate, it was up to 25%

and it would stay that way, as it is only affected by the candidate’s performance, so it is

based on that, and not anything else. The previous candidate’s friend who was hired also has

the performance bonus up to 25%.

2. What were the hardest terms to negotiate? Why do you believe they were harder to

negotiate, and did it surprise you that these terms would be among the hardest terms?

The hardest terms to negotiate were the base salary, the signing bonus, and the vacation

days. We compared the base salary to the previous candidate, which had the base salary of
Week 8 Assignment: Final Project: Negotiating a Job Offer 3

$104,000. We then matched that, to make it fair and even. The candidate wanted to make

over $100,000 a year, so we granted that for them as long as it fit into the signing bonus, and

was under the budget of $120,000. The signing bonus of the previous candidate was $14,250.

We agreed on the signing bonus of $15,000, because the budget was still under $120,000.

The signing bonus was also higher than the previous candidate, because we had previous

discussed a start date in June, and we needed this new employee to start in May, which is

sooner than expected, so we agreed to increase the signing bonus. The vacation days were

also a little harder to negotiate. The base vacation days was 10 paid vacation days, and we

agreed on 12 vacation days, because they were within reason, and still under two weeks of

paid leave. The vacation days could also be used as paid sick days, so we thought it was fair

incase family needed to be taken care of, and the employee had fly back to the states. I didn’t

believe that these terms would be easy to negotiate, because it is part of the reason the

employee is deciding to work here, as with how much they would be paid and compensated.

3. Describe the negotiation process that took place. For example, but not limited to,

how many sessions, how long were the sessions, how did the parties separate the topics

to be negotiated?

The negotiation took place over the course of two sessions, with the candidate coming

back after the first, after thinking about the initial offer, and coming back with a rebuttal

about the vacation day’s increase. The salary was also talked over the two sessions, as the

candidate wanted it to be on par with the previous candidate’s salary. The easier topics as

discussed above in the first section, were settled in on session, and the harder variables were

discussed over two sessions, with both parties coming to an agreement calmly at the end of
Week 8 Assignment: Final Project: Negotiating a Job Offer 4

the second session. Each session took about 40-50 minutes of talking, comparing and

contrasting terms and conditions.

4. What strengths and weaknesses did you observe about yourself in the negotiating

process?

Since I did both the negotiation and the candidate’s response, I think the strengths and

weaknesses would be if the parties had lack of negotiation skills. If the candidate was fresh out

of school and has lesser knowledge of negotiations, the candidate might come off too strong, or

too weak and timid. If the candidate’s responses were strong, and they endorsed their own

credentials, their argument for a better salary and compensation would be stronger and they

would come off confident. If the candidate’s attitude was timid, they may not get everything they

are asking for as their negotiation skills wouldn’t be strong. I think as the recruiter/negotiator,

you have to have a somewhat strong personality, to counter back an offer on the terms of

employment. I am somewhat in the middle, and I think I will have to work on my skills to be

more confident but still understanding in my future career as a Human Resources

Manager/Hiring Manager.
Week 8 Assignment: Final Project: Negotiating a Job Offer 5

References
MBA Job Offer Negotiation: Recruiter. (n.d.). Harvard Business Publishing. Retrieved from

https://hbsp.harvard.edu/download?url=/courses/648475/items/W05014-PDF-

ENG/content&metadata=e30=