I was voted as the most ruthless negotiator in class because as soon as the negotiation began, I rushed to anchor the most extreme position. The rest of the negotiation was how I might budge a little bit. In all but one case, the party budged and I got a super awesome deal--and the points. In one situation, the party didn't budge and neither of us earned any points.
It all really boils down to options and what is at stake. In my class negotiation, I literally had nothing at stake(the grade wasn't tied to winning negotiations). In real life though, if you don't have options and you only have one offer and you are pretty sure you won't get any more, this is harder to execute. On the other hand, if you don't have a lot to lose, you can be somewhat irrational.
Note, you are not giving your current salary number, just what you expect.
If it is way overboard, the company should still make you an offer if they like you. From then on, it is up to you: if you have a better option, go with it; if you don't, emphasize that you are willing to find some middle ground because you dig something unique about the company. You can say how you understand they can't pay what you'd like but because you are excited about industry x and enjoyed the culture, you'd consider middle ground figure of _____.
Final caveat: There is such as thing getting TOO good of a deal ... and then getting fired soon after because you couldn't deliver on the expectations you set relative to your salary.
It all really boils down to options and what is at stake. In my class negotiation, I literally had nothing at stake(the grade wasn't tied to winning negotiations). In real life though, if you don't have options and you only have one offer and you are pretty sure you won't get any more, this is harder to execute. On the other hand, if you don't have a lot to lose, you can be somewhat irrational.
Note, you are not giving your current salary number, just what you expect.
If it is way overboard, the company should still make you an offer if they like you. From then on, it is up to you: if you have a better option, go with it; if you don't, emphasize that you are willing to find some middle ground because you dig something unique about the company. You can say how you understand they can't pay what you'd like but because you are excited about industry x and enjoyed the culture, you'd consider middle ground figure of _____.
Final caveat: There is such as thing getting TOO good of a deal ... and then getting fired soon after because you couldn't deliver on the expectations you set relative to your salary.