Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough

Chapter 29. Negotiating Your New Job

When you’re in an HJM research meeting that morphs into an actual full-blown job interview, the subject of money is bound to come up. Compensation negotiations might seem a little trickier in the hidden job market arena, because if there is no posted job to begin with, there’s no posted salary range either. So, you might have the feeling that you’re trying to get numbers-specific in a vast landscape where no one really has any data to use as a starting point. The answer “I dunno, what do you think?” just won’t cut it.

Because you’ve begun the conversation in an informal, unofficial meeting, you have several variables working in your favor:

You’ve probably bypassed the whole HR “we won’t let you past reception ...