Two examples where one word inadvertently ruined a job offer
Did you know that one wrong word during a job interview could result in a much lower salary offer?
Hi there,
Did you know that one wrong word during a job interview could result in a much lower salary offer?
In this issue of the YourNegotiations newsletter, we’ll show you two real-life examples of how job applicants unknowingly gave away their negotiation power—and what you can do to avoid the same mistakes.
TLDR: prep early for negotiations, before you even apply to jobs.
Example #1:
How sharing seemingly harmless details can hurt your job offer
A job applicant was interviewing with Google, and knowing not to overshare information about the other companies she was interviewing with or had an offer from, she only mentioned that her other offer was from an "AI company."
That small detail, however, gave the Google recruiter a lot more information than you’d think!
Why?
Because in tech, we refer to companies like Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon as 'Big Tech,' not 'AI companies.'
The recruiter could, therefore, infer that the other company she had an offer from was likely a smaller company. And smaller companies usually pay below market, or at least they pay less than what Big Tech does.
This gave Google more confidence to extend an offer on the lower end of the compensation range, betting that smaller companies don't pay as much and that the competing offer was not as strong.
Even the simplest piece of information, like saying "AI companies," gave the employer an advantage.
Example #2:
How overconfidence can lead to oversharing and giving away your leverage
Another job applicant was interviewing with a startup and proudly mentioned that he had an offer from Amazon, thinking it would be a powerful move and would make the startup want him more and extend him a better offer.
However, the founders of the startup had left big companies like Amazon and Meta to start their own venture, rejecting the "big company" mindset.
Instead of valuing the Amazon offer, it signaled to them that maybe he wasn’t the right fit for their scrappy, startup culture.
They could also deduce that the Amazon offer would be very difficult for them to match, so they didn’t even try and chose not to move him to the written offer stage after all.
In the end, something that he thought would give him an edge in negotiations actually backfired.
The lesson here?
Be careful what you communicate. Even though over-communicating is an asset in the workplace, it could hurt your leverage in negotiations.
Tread carefully when sharing about your other offers or companies you’re in conversation with.
Mention that you’re talking to other companies, but don’t get specific. It’s safer to avoid sharing too much detail, even if it seems innocent.
The less information you give, the more control you maintain over the negotiation process.
Stay tuned for more tips in our next issue!
Best,
Gerta & Alex
Co-founders of YourNegotiations.com
P.S. Those of you who read our last issue had a few questions about what it’s like to work with us. See below for more details on that!