The time to negotiate was before you declined the original job offer

Q: I was offered a job and declined. Four days later I called back. The offer is still open so I went and talked with them again. I have not done any new negotiating yet. The salary they offered the first time is OK, but I would like more if possible. I am going to spend a day at this company, observing the department that wants to hire me before making a final decision. Since I declined and now am back kind of begging for the job, have I lost my negotiating power?

NICK'S REPLY: Your negotiating position isn't exactly great at this point. You went back to them; they didn't come back to you. If I were the employer, I would put the original offer back on the table. I would not negotiate with you.

The employer is demonstrating good faith in reinstating an offer you rejected. If I were you, and if you really want this job, I'd return the good faith and accept the offer as it stands.

While I think it's smart to spend a day observing, what I can't figure out is why you'd go back if you're still not sure you want the job. If it's because you weren't sure the first time around what the job was really all about, I'd tell them that now. In doing so, you would essentially be starting the interview process afresh. Your position could be that you've reconsidered, but you need more information. That might give you a bit of leverage in negotiations.

Whatever you do now will influence the way the company treats you after you're hired. I'd say you have something to prove to them. Taking a job isn't just about the salary. It's about your work ethic and your ability to make a serious commitment. In a sense, you have a strike against you already, so be as enthusiastic as possible.

And remember: the salary you accept now isn't the final word. If you perform well, you should be able to negotiate a good raise down the road.

THE HEADHUNTER TIP:

Don't get stuck in the moat.

Personnel departments control hiring but certainly have no expertise in the jobs they fill. Something is very wrong here. It permeates every aspect of job hunting, from classified ads to employment agencies to job interviews.

The job doesn't matter to these go-betweens as much as the hiring process. And the job seems to matter less and less in the traditional employment process in America.

"The job" is lost in this infrastructure. It takes too much time and effort to navigate around all the people who represent "the process," before the job seeker and the hiring manager can talk about "the job." Personnel jockeys have built a moat around American business, and they pretend to control the drawbridge.

The solution? Avoid the employment go-betweens, stay out of the moat, and go straight to the hiring manager if you want to talk about a job.

Copyright 2009. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.