Job Negotiation

Analysis Research on The Job

The job that I am looking for is full-time accountant and many companies have openings for staff accountant. Though I have Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and will gain Graduate Diploma, my shortage is that it is my first time to find full-time job and I have little work experience. So I set my career level as entry level and find relative jobs that only need less than 2-year work experience or that have no requirement on years of work experience. Under this situation, I can highlight my unique education, skills and intern-experience.

According to my research on Monster. com, there are now 162 jobs matched my requirement in the latest 15days. The industries that need accountants range from education to Energy and Utilities, from Insurance to Transport and Storage. Based on the result, we can see that accountants are greatly needed in the market. About the job, different companies have different specific requirements but generally speaking, responsibilities are almost the same, such as reconciliation of accounting subjects, preparing periodic reports and supporting accounting and financial analysis.

All jobs require at least Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. The majority companies give a range on salary and the overall salary range for the job is between 30,000-77,000 annually, depending on education background and experience. Except basic salary, some companies also have profit share projects. Benefit packages also vary from companies and companies. Ideal one covers health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, paid time off, housing allowance, transportation allowance and etc.

For instance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, a Fortune 100 company, provides a comprehensive benefits plan. Based on historical statistics, first-year accountants earned a median salary of 43,660, according to Salary Wizard. The middle 50 percent of entry-level accountants earned between 39,737 and 48,257. The bottom 10 percent earned below 36,166, while the top 10 percent earned above 52,442. Accountants who have received a master’s degree in accounting are offered 49,786 as a first-year offer. Other issues such as location of the job, scale of the company also decide the salary.

For example, the salary of Associate Accountants in Liberty Mutual Insurance is between 42,400 and 58,300. Other than competitive pay, the company also provides comprehensive benefits packages and outstanding advancement opportunities. Furthermore, the job location is Boston. This job is an ideal option for me. But at the same time, I also realize that I have to face reality. The economy in US is not prosperous and some companies just hire US citizens. Thus, during the negotiation, I will make some concession and try to build relationship with employers.

PLANNING DOCUMENT FORM

1. Issues that are most important to me Salary. Salary is of the most importance for me. I want salary above the average level and if recruiters can raise my salary, I can make concession on other issues.
2. Annual bonus. For new employees who work less than one year, most companies will just provide half annual bonus, based on the performance. For me, the biggest difference is whether I can or cannot have annual bonus. I do not care the actual percentage of annual bonus, because after one-year work, I can renegotiate about this issue.
3. Benefits packages (insurance, housing allowance and etc. Different companies have different regulation on benefit packages, but most companies will cover at least several issues, such as health insurance, retirement plans. Thus, this issue may be not significant for recruiters because the majority companies have regulation on benefits packages and the plans must cover several issues I raise.
4. Vacation time For a new employee, I do not care much about vacation time. In other aspect, paid-off vacation time increases employee’s salary.
5. During the negotiation, recruiters want to decrease my vacation time and I can use this item to exchange other important issues.

Location As an international student, I am flexible about the location of job. It is perfect if I can go to big cities, but I cannot, it is also fine. But for recruiters, the cost about jobs in different location can vary a lot. My BATNA, Reservation Price and Target Back in China, I have a good job offer. Also, I may get another job offer at a similar firm and I can choose from different offers.

My reservation price is 40,000 and any job below that salary will not be accepted even though the job has good benefits package. And my target is to get an accountant job in a well-known company with about $52,000 salary per year, which covers annual bonus plan and basic benefits package. My sources of power I will get my Graduate Diploma in summer. Since accountants are in great need in the market, I can have more choices and change decision during interview or pre-hire. I can go to Career Center to talk to professionals and get information and advice on this kind of job.

Also, career center can provide historical statistics about a company, such as average salary. Moreover, alumni who work in this field also can give me valuable advice, such as the salary, bonus they get. Last, I have a good job offer in China. If there is no satisfied offer here, I can go back. Issues that are most important to recruiter

1. Salary
2. Annual bonus
3. Vacation time
4. Location
5. Benefits coverage
6. My opponent’s BATNA, Reservation Price, Target

The recruiters can hire another candidate.

For recruiters, their reservation price is giving me the highest salary and bonus they set and providing me good work location, the most days of vacation and a comprehensive benefits package. For example, there is a salary range for Liberty Mutual Insurance and its reservation price is the highest , which is 58,300, at the current situation. But in fact, employers want someone who can meet all their demand at a low or reasonable cost. My opponent’s sources of power First, the recruiters can get information about me from the school or on Internet (such as Facebook and Twitter).

The greatest power for them is that they can choose from different candidates. They know conditions rose by different candidates and can make comparison. For me, I have no idea about other candidates, which is my disadvantage. My opening move/first strategy My biggest weakness is that I do not have enough work experience in this field, so I want the other side to make first offer. Based on the information provided by recruiter, I can choose making concession or raising my own demand.

Also, it is important for me to ask question and through the answers, I can verify whether their preference and priorities are the same as I estimate. Moreover, I can provide multiple equivalent packages to determine the other side’s preference and priorities. For me, salary and annual bonus are more important than other issues and I will not make huge concession on the two issues. I can exchange vacation time and location for the first two issues. I am not worried about benefits package because every company has its own regulation and I certainly can have several items.

Being a candidate, I also have to avoid behaving aggressive because building relationship with the other party is important.

Reference

1. http://www1. salary. com/Accounting-Salaries. html
2. http://blogs. payscale. com/salary_report_kris_cowan/2012/05/most-us-workers-dont-use-vacation-days. html
3. http://www. glassdoor. com/Salary/KPMG-Salaries-E2867. htm
4. http://www. glassdoor. com/Salaries/accountant-salary-SRCH_KO0,10. htm
5. The Average Salary of First-Year Accountants | eHow. com
6. http://www. ehow. com/info_8271661_average-salary-firstyear-accountants. html#ixzz2LBOGC4OR