{"id":2017,"date":"2016-07-27T12:25:23","date_gmt":"2016-07-27T06:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jodi365.com\/singledout\/?p=2017"},"modified":"2020-10-19T17:08:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T11:38:12","slug":"how-to-negotiate-higher-salary-or-better-funding-term-sheet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jodi365.com\/singledout\/how-to-negotiate-higher-salary-or-better-funding-term-sheet\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Negotiate a Higher Salary or a Better Funding Term Sheet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night, I came across a young woman’s post on a Facebook group relating to startups in India. \u00a0She was posting on behalf of a friend, an MBA graduate who had “14 months of work experience,” including at a startup, and was looking for new opportunities… with an “expected salary of 8+ LPA (fixed)”. \u00a0To those who count in millions and billions, and not in lakhs and crores, that’s short for eight lakh rupees or more per annum (\u20b9800,000+).<\/p>\n

Median Salary Data for Fresh MBA Graduates in India<\/h2>\n

It didn’t seem unreasonable. \u00a0The median salary for those graduating from a top-tier Indian MBA program is likely north of\u00a0\u20b915 LPA. \u00a0Take for example, the data in the table below, which shows 2012\u00a0<\/em>campus placement data at IIM Ahmedabad<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"IIM
IIM Ahmedabad Post-Graduate Program\u00a0Placement: 2012 Salaries<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The median salary for fresh graduates of Tier 2 MBA programs<\/a> (Top 30) in India, if my understanding is right, is in the range of\u00a0\u20b9800,000 per year, while those graduating with an MBA\u00a0from Tier 3 programs (Top 75) receive median offers of\u00a0\u20b94\u00a0LPA.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Laws of Supply and Demand<\/h2>\n

That young woman’s earnest post seemed to have rubbed some in the group the wrong way. \u00a0“\u20b98 LPA with only 14 months of experience?” and “He should stick to his current job” were two of the snarky comments\u00a0that I noted.<\/p>\n

I felt like chiming in with thoughts of my own, but unfortunately, the post seems to have been deleted. \u00a0If I could still get through to that young woman and her friend, this is what I would say:<\/p>\n

I am used to seeing “fixed price” beside fruits, vegetables, and household goods. \u00a0I can’t recall seeing “fixed [price]” beside a candidate’s expected salary. \u00a0My take on the situation: While the candidate may be strongly signaling what vendors do \u2013 “No bargaining”\u2013 it may help to remember that just about everything in life is negotiable. \u00a0In a free market,\u00a0the clearing price of a good or service is that which someone is willing to bear and the other is willing to accept.<\/p>\n

I am not passing judgment on the expected figure (it could well underestimate the candidate’s worth). \u00a0I am simply pointing out that there exist laws of supply and demand<\/a>. \u00a0If there are no takers at the candidate’s asking price, then his\u00a0price will have to fall, if he wants a job.<\/p>\n

\"Law<\/a>
Supply and\u00a0Demand<\/a> | \u00a9 Steve Dashiell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Game of Chicken<\/h2>\n

In some situations, there may be merit to declaring that you will not negotiate. \u00a0A government’s signaling that it will not negotiate with terrorists in a hostage situation may result in a short-term loss (of the hostages’ lives). \u00a0Yet, it may be justifiable as part of a strategy to deter terrorists and thereby to\u00a0result in fewer calamities in the long run. \u00a0In another scenario, while driving on a narrow, two-way road little\u00a0more than one vehicle wide and approaching an oncoming vehicle, yanking the steering wheel off one’s car and visibly throwing it overboard may be an effective ploy to get the oncoming driver to blink and steer his vehicle off course, to make way for you. \u00a0However, this game of chicken<\/a> requires the two parties to face off in a deal-or-no-deal situation, which is not the case at hand, where potential job providers haven’t even been identified, let alone engaged in a face-off.<\/p>\n