Take Charge of the Interview to Win the Job

Like many people, I was out of work for quite some time, job searching and interviewing without much success.  I followed all the standard advice:  I dressed for success, arrived a the interview 10 minutes early, greeted the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake, rehearsed all my answers to the  (hated) behavioral interview questions, researched the company ahead of time, had my own questions prepared, and had my “elevator” speech well prepared.   After what I thought was a great interview, I’d us usually never hear from the company again.   What was I doing wrong?  I had no clue until I read Ask the Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job

, by Nick A. Corcodillos.   What I learned from his book (admittedly I didn’t even read the whole thing, only the chapters I found of interest), was so revolutionary that I had to share it with you here.  Based on what I learned, I might just as lwell have been sleepwalking through all the prior interviews.  I needed to stop doing what everyone else was doing

I know that all the interviewing books admonish you to prepare for behavioral questions by being able to relate every possible problem you solved and situation you took charge of in past jobs.  You must still do this to prepare for the inevitable behavioral questions, but nobody cares about it, not really.   What they care about and what you must sell them during the interview is how YOU CAN SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS.  If you can effectively do this during the interview, you’ve nailed the interview and are likely to get an offer.  The candidate who proves during the interview that he can do the job better than any other candidate will be the one hired.

Very well, you say, “How do I sell myself and prove I can solve their problems during the interview?”   These methods are intended for the hiring manager, not the HR Manager (unless he/she is the hiring manager).  The following is from Ask the Headhunter.

You must:

• Prove you understand the job you need to do

• Demonstrate you can do the job

• Demonstrate you will do the job the way your manager wants you to do it.

• Prove you can do the job profitably for the company

To accomplish the above, the first step is research.  You want to know about problems and issues currently facing the company and industry.   A general problem the industry is facing might be better since you can address it without too much specific company information.You will probably also find article written on it.  You can also research the company online and gain information on the work environment, culture and problems on sites like www.glassdoor.com.  Other research resources include:

• Corporate Affiliations: Contains public and private business profiles and corporate linkage (“who owns whom”) for approximately 184,000 companies worldwide.
• Hoover’s: Provides qualitative company profiles which contain company overviews, competitors, officer names and salaries, subsidiaries, financial data, including access to annual reports and SEC filings and much more!
• Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage: Provides a comprehensive, professional source of investment information and analysis on industries and companies.
• The “Careers” Section of a Company’s Website: The best place for finding a company’s job openings, internships, benefits, corporate culture, hiring practices, etc.
• www.vault.com.   Vault offers great career advice and extensive access to company research, profiles and message boards. Access Vault by clicking on “External Links” from your BTT Gateway account.

Once you’ve researched the company culture and identified one or two problems specific to the area you are interviewing at, you can think about and prepare some solutions for the company.   Let’s say employee morale and high turnover have been problems.  How would you reduce turnover and improve morale?   Alternatively, perhaps they’ve had a recent merger or acquisition and have had difficulty integrating the two corporate cultures.  How would you ensure a smooth transition?

One important note:  If the questions begin as soon as you walk in, ask if you may ask one of your own first.   The most important questions you can ask are:  1) what areas do you think your department or organization could improve in /what are your biggest challenges? Moreover, how would you describe the perfect candidate for this job?   You can then tailor your answers accordingly.

If the interviewer wanders off-track, you need to get them back on track.   Wait until a good time to break into the conversation and then ask a question to get the discussion back on track, such as, “You had mentioned you used an ERP, can you tell me more about that and its strengths and weaknesses?”

Don’t treat this as an interview.   Act as though you are a consultant giving your recommendations on solving an important problem for your manager and the company.

You do not want a one-sided interview, with the interviewer asking all the questions and you passively answering them.   At appropriate times, ask follow-up questions and turn the interview into a two-way discussion.  For example, “You said you used a number of compensation surveys. Which surveys do you use and would you like a suggestion to supplement them?”

One of my favorite interview questions is, “what’s the first problem I could tackle for you?”  Once the manager has defined the problem, check for understanding by summarizing the problem.  “ I understand that you’ve had increased turnover in the marketing division recently and that you suspect the turnover may have to do with inconsistency of supervision.”  Then, gather additional information.  “Have you done any exit interviews?   Can you tell me about your supervisor training programs?   Do you use 360-degree feedback in your performance reviews?”  Then, pull all the information together and define a simple strategy for uncovering the causes of the problem and taking action to resolve it.   “Depending on the outcome of X, I would do X, Y or Z and see if that improves the situation.”

Once you’ve given your recommendations, ask the manager whether s/he has any concerns about your approach and at what points s/he would like to be involved and how.  Adjust your approach if necessary.

Then summarize how you will solve the problem and how this will benefit the company.   Ask the manager for feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your problem-solving approach.

If you can demonstrate how you would solve a problem for your prospective manager, you already have one foot in the door.   This approach should vastly improve your odds of being hired.

For additional resources, please see:

Ask the Headhunter by Nick A. Corcodilos

Ask the Headhunter website

Follow me on Twitter:  @brokenwing2005

FAQ’s from Getting Paid What You are Worth

FAQ’s from Getting Paid What You are Worth.

Getting Paid What You Are Worth

Getting Paid What You Are Worth.

FAQ’s from Getting Paid What You are Worth

FLSA

Q1:      You mentioned jobs misclassified as exempt under FLSA.   What are the most frequently misclassified jobs?

A1:      Frequently, jobs are misclassified under the “Administrative” exemption.  These jobs often include higher-level clerical staff like Executive Secretaries.  Any job that is largely “manual” work (including operating a computer or clerical work) is likely to be nonexempt unless it has significant decision-making responsibilities.  It boils down to how independently the employee works and whether he or she makes important decisions related to the management of the business.   Inside salespeople are sometimes mistakenly classified as exempt.   In order to be exempt, salespeople must a) have a primary duty of sales and b) regularly work away from the employer’s place of business.

Q2:      Do the FLSA regulations on payment of overtime apply to independent contractors?

A2:      If the company you work for has told you that you are an “independent contractor,” is paying you on a 1099 rather than a W2, you will usually also be ineligible to participate in benefit plans as well as ineligible for unemployment compensation.  If you are agreeable with such an arrangement, your “independent contractor” rate should be significantly higher than what you would receive as an employee.   Since you are forgoing benefits, I would take your calculated salary range midpoint and increase it by approximately 30% to compensate for lack of benefits, then double that figure to account for equipment, supplies and overhead.   An independent contractor is considered self-employed and you will be responsible for your own estimated tax payments and benefits.

There are detailed DOL and IRS regulations governing independent contractors. Companies sometimes misclassify employees as independent contractors because they realize a savings on payroll and unemployment taxes as well as benefits.   This can be a costly mistake, however, with significant IRS penalties.  Generally, independent contractors work on a fee basis rather than being paid an hourly rate or salary, are free to offer their services to other companies, set their own work schedules, and provide their own equipment and supplies.  Employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors are taking a big risk by violating both DOL and IRS regulations.  The IRS has recently cracked down on independent contractor misclassification.  Below are links to what the DOL and IRS have to say on the subject:  You may want to consult an attorney if you’ve been misclassified as an indepependent contractor, as this is a complex area of law.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs13.htm

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15a.pdf

Market Pricing

 

Q3:      What do you consider a “fair” offer?

 

A3:      If you’ve done a good job in your analysis by correctly matching the jobs and using 2-3 sources, you will have calculated a good approximation of the salary range for the job.  The employer’s range may be different, but you should be close.  For a direct hire job, a fair offer would be within plus or minus approximately 5-10% of the range midpoint you calculated. Please note that larger employers have a tendency to pay more for the same jobs than smaller employers do, although this isn’t true in all cases.

Q4:      Employer A calls a particular job a “manager “while employer B calls it a “director.”  Is there any guide to how to compare jobs from company to company?

 

A4:      Unfortunately, no.   If you find such a guide, please send it to me! This is why it’s very important not to rely on job titles to do your matching.  Job tiles can vary widely and you need to compare the advertisement or job description to survey job descriptions.  Matching the jobs correctly is the most difficult part of this exercise.   Survey jobs (called benchmark jobs) are generic job descriptions that are common across different employers.  Examples could include, for example, Help Desk Support, Administrative Assistant/Executive Secretary, Purchasing Manager or HR Manager.

Q5:      Why is it important to use 2-3 job matches?  I can’t find that many.

 

A5:      By using 2-3 matches, you can have increased confidence in the reliability of your data, if the salaries roughly agree. You will never find a survey description that matches your job description perfectly.  A 70% match is a good match.  Be careful if you have large variations between survey data–for example if one survey median is $20k and another is $50k. This shouldn’t happen if you’ve matched the jobs properly.

Q6:      What should I do if I can only find one good survey job match for the job?

 

A6:      If you are confident that it’s a strong match, use the one you have.  If not, keep looking.  In some cases, you can “blend” the data from two different jobs to get a better survey job match.   For example, if you are applying for a Supervisor of Accounts Payable and Payroll, you could use 50% Payroll Supervisor data and 50% Accounts Payable Supervisor data.

Q7:      I’m applying for temporary or contract jobs.   How does this apply to temporary jobs?      

 

A7:      For temporary jobs, I would recommend that you take your calculated salary range and reduce the midpoint by approximately 10%.   Temporary jobs will pay you lower and will then mark up the rate they charge to the client by approximately 40%.  In most cases, you are the temporary company’s employee, not an independent contractor.

Q8:      Why do you recommend trending the data by 2% a year if the survey data is more than a year old?  Haven’t salaries fallen during the current recession?

 

A8:      A recent presentation on a large locally conducted survey I attended indicates that this is not the case.   Same company year-to-year comparisons indicate that average salaries have not fallen, but they’ve grown very slowly.   Employers may or may not have adjusted their salary ranges.  Employers severed a large number of employees, leaving the recession “survivors” to do the work of several employees.   As business slowly improves, they are now trying to replace the severed employees with lower-paid new hires.

Salary Negotiation

Q9:      If I receive a “fair” offer, should I continue negotiating for more?

 

A9:      If the offer is fair, accept it.   You could miss out on the job entirely if you continue to negotiate for more.

Q10:   If I receive an offer that’s low, should I go around the HR Representative and contact the hiring manager directly?

 

A10:    I wouldn’t recommend it.   The HR Rep is offering the amount authorized for the job.   You should follow the proper protocol and conduct your negotiations with the person who extended the offer.   Going behind his or her back will alienate them and is unlikely to work.

Q11:   A company contacted me about an advertised job and asked for my salary requirements.  What should I do?

 

A11:    Use the salary expectations techniques discussed during the presentation and in the “Getting Paid What You Are Worth” article.  For example, say “negotiable” and ask for a salary range.   If pressed, say that you don’t have enough information about the job to answer that question.  You will be happy to discuss salary requirements during an interview.

Q12:   Should I tell the employer the salary survey sources I used to come up with the market data for the estimated range midpoint? 

 

A12:    I don’t recommend it.  Just say that based on your extensive research, these types of jobs are paying approximately $70k, for example.   If you reveal your sources, they could say, “we don’t use those; we use other surveys.”

Q13:   I’m unemployed.  Doesn’t that mean the employer will offer me the lowest possible salary knowing that I must take the job?

 

A13:    Being unemployed makes it more difficult to negotiate a starting salary, but it’s still possible if you know your worth.  People have used this technique successfully even when unemployed.   You are required to apply for “suitable” work while unemployed.  While unemployed, you should join and be active in professional organizations to keep up with developments in your field.  Also, take advantage of continuing education opportunities.  Get involved in volunteer work, especially if related to your field.  They know that you aren’t currently working, but they don’t know whether you have other offers pending. You need to brazen it out by making them think they risk losing you.   By negotiating you aren’t turning down a job; you are simply trying to get a better offer.   You aren’t in the position of potentially turning down an offer until the employer offers you a specific pay rate, job title and start date and says it’s their best offer or it’s “non-negotiable.” You then have the opportunity to consider the job and accept or reject it.  Never reject a fair offer unless you have a better one.

Q14:   I have significantly higher qualifications than those listed in the job posting.  Why shouldn’t I target a salary near range maximum?

 

A14:    There are several reasons you shouldn’t target range maximum.   First, employees paid at range maximum are usually ineligible for base pay increases until the salary ranges increase.   Second, they probably don’t have any other employees paid at range maximum. Bringing you in at a starting rate higher than a long-time employee will create an inequity that most reputable and conscientious employers try to avoid.  Finally, if you have a PhD and 10 years experience in Clinical Psychology and are working as a Pharmacy Technician, these additional qualifications are of no value to the employer while you are in that role.   They are only going to pay you based on what the job requires, not your qualifications.

Getting Paid What You Are Worth

“Knowledge is power.” Sir Francis Bacon

 

What’s the best time to get a raise?  Would you say after 6 months on the job?  After a year?  After completing a major project?  Oddly enough, the best time to get a raise is before you even start the job.  When you have received but not accepted a job offer is the best time to negotiate higher pay.  You are in a position of power because the employer wants you in the job and risks losing you if they do not make the compensation and benefits package attractive enough.  If you walk away from the offer, they are back to square one. They’ve spent several months interviewing candidates and conducting reference checks.  They’ve eliminated other candidates and selected you as the best candidate.   They most definitely do not want to start over.

In order to negotiate a market-competitive salary you must first:  1) understand how most companies determine rates of pay, 2) determine what the external labor market pays for the job that interests you.     I’m going to share my 15 years of compensation experience with you. You may be surprised at how easy this simplified process I’ve developed for you is.   Anyone with basic math skills and access to salary survey data can come up with a reasonable approximation of a salary range and starting salary.

First, you need a job description.  This is usually in the job posting or advertisement.  Once you have a job description, you can search through publicly available surveys for matching job titles and descriptions. Match the jobs based on the descriptions, not titles since titles can vary widely.   Make sure you pay close attention to the job qualifications.  If the job requires 2 years of experience, match it with a job requiring 2 years, not 5 years experience, since experience can make a big difference in pay.   Next, once you’re reasonably sure you have a good survey job match, look at the survey salary data.   If both median (50^th percentile) and average are available, choose the median salary for the job.  Why is this?  It’s simple – because the average is more susceptible to “skewing” or distortion by large differences in salaries.   The median is the middle value if you arrange all salaries from low to high.  It is therefore a better measure of central tendency.  If the median isn’t available, the average is perfectly acceptable.

Once you’ve gotten one median salary, aim to find other survey job matches.  Ideally, you should have 2 to 3 survey matches to accurately market price a job.  Pay close attention to geographic area on the survey.  In most cases, unless you are an executive, will want local or regional survey data.  What a job pays in New York is usually not relevant to what it pays in Michigan.   Also, pay attention to the effective date of the salary data.  If it’s a year or more old, you can “age” or “trend” the data to bring it up to date.   Recent local Detroit area surveys have shown year-to-year base salary growth of approximately 2% for most jobs, so I would increase the data by 2% per year.   However, don’t use data more than 2 years old, since labor markets tend to change over time.

When you’ve selected your survey sources, you can put them in a simple excel worksheet to calculate averages and percentages.   You can also do these calculations on a sheet of paper.   First, calculate an average for your survey market data.   Once you have that average, you can calculate an approximate salary range.   For example, let’s say the average is $50,000.   Since many employers use a salary range with a 50% range spread (difference between the highest and lowest salary), you can calculate the range minimum by multiplying the average by .80.  In this case, 50,000 x .80 = 40,000.  To calculate the range maximum, take the average and multiply by 1.2.  In this case, 50,000 x 1.2 = 60,000.   You’ve just calculated your first salary range.  Minimum:  $40,000, Midpoint $50,000, Maximum $60,000.  Most employers develop their salary ranges by collecting market data on all their jobs, then arranging them in a hierarchy from high to low and calculating salary grades then slotting the jobs into the grades.   Usually, salary grades will increase between 10-20% from midpoint to midpoint.   That means a job that’s one grade higher will pay on average 10 to 20% more at market median.

The employer’s salary range will probably not be identical to the one you’ve developed, but it’s likely that if the employer’s HR staff knows what they are doing, it will be close.  To determine a starting rate for the job, if you just barely meet the minimum requirements, I’d expect to be between minimum and midpoint and would target a number slightly below midpoint.   If you surpass all the requirements, you should probably aim for a salary close to range midpoint.  Please be aware  that most employers won’t bring you in above range midpoint, so don’t aim for it.  You are likely to be disappointed and price yourself out of the salary discussions.

The following are examples of the process described above.

Position: Support Technician I

Description:  The Support Technician provides installations, modifications, and minor repairs to personal computer hardware and software systems in use by staff, faculty, classroom labs, and provides technical assistance and training to system users. This position focuses on end user support.

Help Desk Technician
Survey	Position	Min.	Base 50%	Max
Salary.com	Help Desk Support		47,135
DOL Michigan	Computer Support Spec.		56,400
Adecco Guide	Help Desk Spec.		44,400
Estimated salary range:		39,449	49,312	59,174
Estimated hourly pay range:		18.97	23.71	28.45

Position: Administrative Assistant II

Description:  Performs a broad range of secretarial duties or typing assignments for a mid-level executive. Performs advanced confidential secretarial duties, working within established parameters. Prepares correspondence, memoranda, reports, etc. Composes routine-correspondence. Screens telephone calls, receives and directs visitors and may resolve routine inquiries. Schedules and maintains calendar of appointments, meetings, and travel itineraries, etc.

Administrative Assistant II
Survey	Position	Min		Base 50%	Max
Salary.com	Administrative Assistant II			42,400
DOL Michigan	Adm. Asst/Exec. Secretary			41,600
Adecco Guide	Administrative Asst II			40,500
Estimated salary range:		33,200		41,500	49,800
Estimated hourly pay range:		15.96		19.95	23.94

Possible sources of salary data on jobs:

• Salary.com — Surveys companies and publishes survey data.  Also aggregates survey data from other published surveys.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics — U.S. DOL conducts surveys of corporate payroll data.
• SalaryExpert.com – self reported salaries by employees (use with caution).
• PayScale.com — collects salary data directly from employees (use with caution).
• Robert Half or Adecco Salary Guides – give salary ranges for common financial and IT jobs.
• CareerJournal.com — has articles about salary trends.
• Industry Salary Surveys – (check effective date and geographic area)

To convert an annual rate to an hourly rate, use the standard computation of annual rate divided by 2080 = hourly rate.  Why 2080 hours?  40 hours x 52 weeks = 2080 hours/year.  To convert an hourly rate to annual, simply multiply x 2080.  Even for hourly jobs, surveys usually report annual rates of pay based on 2080 hours per year.

I must include a word about salaries and hourly pay.   Although most surveys report annual salaries, I’ve converted both of these pay ranges into hourly rates because I believe they are in fact what the government calls “nonexempt” jobs.   According to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, all jobs except those that fall into one of the following exemptions need to pay an hourly rate plus time and a half overtime for any hours over 40 in a workweek.   Employers sometimes erroneously classify employees as exempt because it is cheaper and some of the laws are confusing.

Exempt jobs (that don’t have to pay hourly or overtime) are the following:

1)     Executives and Managers that supervise two or more full time employees.

Supervisors who hire/fire and manage performance also qualify.

2)     Learned Professionals who require advanced education such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, architects, engineers and pharmacists.

3)     Creative Professionals—including performers such as musicians and actors, graphic artists and possibly journalists.

4)     Outside Salespeople – who call on the customer at the customer’s place of business.

5)     Computer Professionals – such as systems analysts and programmers.  Additional minimum pay requirements apply.

6)     Exempt Administrative employees who

1. Perform office or non-manual work
2. Directly related to the management or business operations of the employer.
3. Who perform work that requires independent judgment and discretion about matters of significance?  Translation:  they make important decisions.

As you can imagine, the most troublesome exemption for employers is the Administrative Exemption.   Administrative in this sense does not mean clerical.

The Department of Labor (DOL) considers clerical work or operating a computer to be manual work and therefore nonexempt.   There are other requirements for exempt status such as a minimum salary that cannot be subject to reduction because of quantity or quality of work.  For additional information on the subject, you may consult the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.  Penalties for misclassifying employees and underpaying overtime can be quite severe.  For non-willful violations, if the employer failed to pay one hour of over time, the employer would owe double what they failed to pay (1.5 hours x 2), or 3 hours total.  For willful violations—situations where the employer knew they were violating the law and  continued to do so —triple damages and possible jail penalties are possible.   For additional details, you may consult the U.S. Department of Labor’s website at http://www.dol.gov.

There is no limit to the number of hours your employer can require you to work.   However, if you are nonexempt, the employer must pay you for working over 40 hours per week. If you are exempt, the employer does not need to pay you for additional hours since you are paid a fixed salary to do the job, rather than by the hour.  After the mass layoffs of the current recession, employers often required the recession “survivors” to do the jobs of 2-3 people.  This is because 1) exempt employees don’t need to be paid overtime and 2) paying overtime to nonexempt employees is cheaper than hiring additional staff.

If you receive a salary offer for what is clearly a nonexempt job, be careful.   If overtime isn’t required, an annual salary will be equivalent to an hourly rate.   On the other hand, if large amounts of overtime are required, the employer could be taking advantage of you.   Few people would like to work 60 or more hours a week in a low-paid clerical job that pays for only 40 hours.  Your only way of recovering payment for unpaid overtime would be to file a Department of Labor complaint.  If that happens, don’t expect a Christmas bonus.

Negotiating a Fair Compensation Package

Have you ever started a new job, only to find out your colleagues are all paid at least $10k more than you are?    If you start low, you will never catch up with your peers.  I’m going to educate you about the well-kept secrets of getting a fair starting salary.

Now that we’ve covered how to determine a fair rate of pay for the job you are applying for, let’s discuss salary negotiation.  Often, one of the first things an employer will ask you in an interview is, “what are your salary requirements?”  In any negotiation, the first person to answer the salary question usually loses.  The first commandment of salary negotiation is “thou shalt not speak too soon.”

If you give them too low a number, you are shortchanging yourself, but if you give them too high a number, you will price yourself right out of a job–hence, the importance of the market pricing exercise we completed above.  In addition, if you give your salary requirements up front, the employer will likely focus on whether you are worth $70k, for example.   If candidate A says $70k, candidate B says $50k and candidate C says $40k, they are bargain-shopping for the lowest priced candidate and will likely choose candidate C.  Your objective during an interview is to delay the salary discussion so you can sell the hiring manager your skills, experience, and capabilities.

You can respond to salary expectations questions by saying that you are flexible and would prefer to wait until they’ve established that you are the best candidate for the job before discussing salary. You can also ask them whether there is a salary range. Often, they will share this with you — usually only from starting rate up to midpoint—or their highest starting salary.  Sometimes, however, they won’t share a salary range.  What do you do then?  If pressed, you can say you expect to be paid “equitably in relation to my peers and the external labor market for the job.”   This is an excellent answer because the goals of most compensation programs are internal equity and external labor market competitiveness.  It answers the question without giving a specific number.  Since you have no information on their employees’ rates of pay, you must base you estimate on publicly available survey data.   If they continue to press you on the salary, you can give the number you’ve carefully researched.  This should fall somewhere around midpoint of the salary range for the job if their HR department has done a good job.

If you give a salary requirement during the interview, make sure you can live with it.   HR people think there’s a special place in Hades reserved for candidates who give one salary requirement during the interview and a higher one after the offer.

When you receive a “low” offer at a specific salary or hourly rate, it’s important not to say, “OK,” or you risk sounding as though you’ve just accepted the job. A good negotiating tactic is called “the Flinch.”  In response to their offer, you say only one word — “hmm.”   Then you mentally count out 30 seconds and don’t say a word during that time.  The pause is absolutely critical; it will make them uneasy.  You can then respond, “Of all the interviews I’ve had, this is the job I want and I would be honored to work for your company, but I was wondering if there’s any room for flexibility? I was really looking for $50,000,” for example. If you’ve done good research, the chances are you will get the salary you want or they will at least meet you halfway.   They have too much invested in you to go back to square one.

Please note that you have not turned down the job at this point.  You’ve simply asked whether there is room for negotiation.  The HR Representative will likely respond that they need to check with someone for approval and will get back to you, or they will say, “That’s our best offer.”  If the Representative says “That’s our best offer,” you can thank them, say you need some time to consider the offer and give them your answer in a reasonable period of time – usually a day or two.   If you receive an offer that’s fair based on your research, take it.   Don’t keep pushing for a higher salary or you may lose out on the job entirely.

If there is no room for negotiation on the salary, perhaps you can negotiate a bonus, additional vacation time, unpaid time off, or flextime.   When asking about a bonus, ask, “what’s the bonus for this position?” rather than asking whether there is a bonus.

Don’t shortchange yourself by not negotiating a fair starting salary. You have nothing to lose by negotiating.  At any rate, once you receive an acceptable salary offer, you should always ask to consider the offer overnight.  This is an important decision that will affect your life for many years and deserves careful consideration.  It’s important to ask for written confirmation of the offer.  Any reputable company will provide a written offer letter.   If they don’t, you should be very skeptical about the company and send your own letter confirming the terms of the offer.   If you have no written offer letter, what happens if you show up on day one and your boss has left?  It happened to a friend of mine.

In my experience interviewing candidates, I found that far more men than women negotiate salary offers.  About 80% of the time, the candidates who negotiated got the amount they sought.  Perhaps an additional 10% got an amount between the original offer and their goal.  You can get the best offer by knowing your worth, delaying the salary talk, targeting midrange, negotiating benefits, and getting the offer in writing.