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You have worked hard at finding your next job. You have come through many obstacles and have reached your career objective. You have received a job offer. You’re thrilled. Mission accomplished. After all, what else is left to do?

A majority of job candidates do not negotiate their offer. They are happy just to have received it. They just want to start their new job and start getting paid again. Besides, there’s a myth that the process of negotiating could turn the employer off and cause the offer to be rescinded? Does this kind of thinking sound familiar?

Offer negotiations are certainly an optional part of the job search process. You don’t have to negotiate. Should you? Absolutely! In fact, when you don’t negotiate, negative ramifications can occur.

For example, you’re in Sales or Customer Support or any other profession that requires a persuasive style. As a final “test”, an employer may extend to you the position contingent upon how persuasive you are at negotiating the offer. If you don’t negotiate, or negotiate poorly, you lose. A runner-up may be offered the position on a similar basis.

Even if you are not in a profession that requires a persuasive style, you should seriously consider engaging in a negotiating process. Employers expect you to negotiate. There is always a higher amount that you can receive over and above the compensation you are initially offered. How much more will be a function of the bargaining chips you have, and the finesse used to negotiate them.

Let’s take stock of the bargaining chips you may have:

o Your educational degrees

o Being currently employed (assuming you are)

o Your level of expertise and number of years in the field

o The salary you currently command

o Your assessment of your true worth

Depending upon the type of position you are seeking, each of these areas has validity and relevance, and a specific “chip” value that can be called upon when negotiating. Probably the most esoteric yet most valuable of these is your own assessment of worth.

Your true worth is far greater than your current compensation, or what a salary calculator would reveal. Your worth can be defined by what you bring to the table that is unique and valuable. Look at the skills, strengths, core competencies, marketable assets and accomplishments you can declare as your own. This is what describes your uniqueness. It is what differentiates you from the crowd.

What number would you associate with your worth? If you’re having difficulty coming up with a figure, just ask your spouse or best friend how much they think you are worth. You’ll probably get a surprisingly high yet fairly accurate number. Let’s assume you came up with one million dollars. I know, that doesn’t even come close. The point is, can you expect an employer to pay you this amount as your compensation?

For sure, salary negotiations based on your true worth or unique gifts take on a whole new dimension. No, you probably won’t be compensated one million dollars; however, with the right blend of negotiating skills and patience, your efforts will be substantially rewarded!

I have seen up to forty thousand dollars added to starting compensation through diligent negotiations. It is common for signing bonuses, stipulations calling for substantial six-month performance-based increases, several weeks of additional vacation time, stock options, profit sharing, and more to be added as part of a negotiated package.

Negotiating is an opportunity to get what you truly want, and deserve. It is a way to significantly raise your standard of living and sense of self, simply by taking stock of what you have and then knowing how to use it for your advancement. Remember, what you receive now becomes your benchmark for future positions.

We all have choices. Some people would rather keep things the way they are. That’s ok. However, you have worked very hard to come to this point, so why stop short of getting what you truly want, and deserve. Wouldn’t you rather be compensated more on the basis of what you’re worth than on some arbitrary figure designed to keep the status quo? Go for what you are worth – your life will never be the same!

Copyright © 2005 TopDog Group All rights reserved.

Purchasing a new car can become a fairly complicated process. It means spending hours on researching a suitable car, testing long forgotten math skills to calculate the finance terms and prepping to get the best price out of a car deal. However, the benefits to negotiate a car price are plenty. With a negotiated price, not only do you pay less money but you can also use the money and invest it elsewhere. Learning how to effectively negotiate a new car price is a skill that you can master. Keep the following tips in mind while you set out to negotiate the price of your next car.

1) Do Your Homework

Before turning up at the dealership, make sure you have done enough research regarding the car you wish to purchase. Conducting a good research will assist you in getting a clear picture of the type of car you want, the required features and the approximate budget you can allocate to the car. Many car manufacturers have special prices on their website. You could use the research to your advantage during negotiating the price of the car. If you go into the dealership with an idea of a fixed car and an approximate price, you will be able to dismiss any attempted sales tactics to make you buy an unnecessarily expensive car.

2) Visit Several Dealerships

After conducting a thorough research, try to visit more than one dealership. Amongst all the prices, compare the price of the lowest deal with another dealer and ask if he can beat the previous price. Another reason to visit various dealerships is to get the car with all the features you require. Expanding your reach will enable you to obtain the best price while still retaining all the features of the car you wish to purchase.

3) Negotiate on the Total Amount

Many a times, an illusion of a lower monthly payment clouds your judgment. A low monthly payment is usually spanned out over a long time frame with a heavy interest rate. In order to negotiate the lowest price, make sure you negotiate the final price based on the total amount of the car. Additionally, if you provide a down payment and repay the remaining amount within a short time frame, you will be able to make a better offer to the dealer.

4) Lay a Floor Price and a Ceiling Price

During the process, have a mental range between which you would like to negotiate your car. The floor price is the lowest price at which you should start negotiating. Usually, the floor price is 5 to 10 percent lower than the car manufacturer’s price. Alternatively, a ceiling price is the final price up to which you are willing to pay. If any dealer quotes a price that is higher than your ceiling price, you should shop around and look for other options. Therefore, a floor price and a ceiling price will assist you in cracking your deal and help you purchase the car within your range.

While purchasing a new car may be a long process, negotiating the deal doesn’t have to be. Consider the above pointers before you set out to negotiate the price of your next new car.

Have you ever gotten frustrated trying to buy Christmas presents for the men in your life? One thing you can try is involving them in the decorations for the seasons and I don’t mean the lights display on the outside. While he may not be interested in fussing over wreaths and such, he would probably enjoy having his tastes reflected in unique ornaments that belong only to him hanging on the Christmas tree.

Ask yourself this list of questions for each of the men in your life. You should come up with some good ideas. Many of them you can fulfill by doing some simple searches, but if that doesn’t work, there is always the custom option. Many individuals who create Christmas ornaments will be happy to design or modify one specifically for you.

What is his favorite sport? You can go with the obvious balls and other accessories or make it more obviously Christmas-themed. A Santa with a baseball bat or kicking a soccer ball is an option, for example. Plus there are ornaments that feature team logos.

Where is he from? There could be an idea in his birthplace or the places he’s lived before. Maybe you could get him an ornament featuring a school he attended. Most colleges have Christmas ornaments in the catalogs they send alumni. If you don’t want to pay for the licensed design then pick something in his school colors.

What activities does he enjoy? Maybe he is passionate about grilling and would be entertained by a small grill or tools or a reindeer with a cooking apron. Maybe he used to play the guitar and doesn’t pick it up very often anymore but would enjoy a little hard rock reminder.

Does or did he have any pets? An ornament that looks like a favorite childhood dog will let him know that you’ve been listening to his stories, for example. Or maybe a snake coiled around presents would show that you really are accepting that unusual companion.

What is his cultural heritage? If you have different backgrounds, then you can give him an ornament that reflects his. If you have the same background and live in the same house, then you might be careful with this suggestion because he might feel that you are actually buying the ornament for yourself.

Does he like bright colors or rich colors? Any of the themes above can be represented many different ways. They can be humorous or serious. They can be complicated and realistic or cartoon like. You can even go for more abstract images.

The one thing that you must do if you give a man some unique Christmas ornaments is allow him to put them on the tree this year and every following year that he wants to. Otherwise it will be as if you didn’t give it to him. So don’t buy him something so awful you never want to see it again. Unless, perhaps, it’s for your brother-in-law and you want to get your sister back for the year she the candy out of your stocking and put it in her own.