Need help with negotiating offers for internship

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>Hi, I believe I messed up badly when I got one of my internship offers, and I'm currently unsure whether I should still try to negotiate or not.</p>

<p>I got a phone call from HR with a verbal offer that stated the salary for the internship, to which I replied "OK" just out of habit. HR then asked me when is the earliest I can start, and I told him "I'm not really sure, I would have to have the housing figured out and discuss with my parents... maybe this weekend? (said this on a wednesday)" and HR laughed and replied "oh there's no need to be that early" and then I replied "oh ok, yeah I'm not too sure when I can start" and HR said "ok just send us an email when you have it figured out."</p>

<p>Though I never directly said I accepted the offer, I am not sure if by saying I can start in 3 days, I've indirectly accepted the offer because I've hinted I wanted to start right away. Now I am not sure if it's wise for me to send back an email requesting the offer in writing and some time to think about it, as well as asking if the offer is negotiable or not. For what it's worth, I did some research and I believe the offer I got was low based on the entry-level salaries for this type of position in this particular high cost of living city. The company is pretty small and I am probably going to be the only intern, so I don't think the fact that certain companies pay all interns a fixed non-negotiable salary applies.</p>

<p>Would appreciate it if I could get any help on what I should do next. I am taking this internship no matter what, I am just uncertain if I should try and negotiate or not. Is there risk they might retract my offer if I do?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>If you haven’t sent in a written acceptance, you’re still ok.</p>

3

<p>I also have another question I forgot to ask:</p>

<p>Are written offers usually sent automatically, or do I have to actually request one? I made no mention of requesting a written offer from HR (this is my first offer ever, and I had no idea I’m supposed to ask for one), so we only left the conversation with him anticipating an email from me saying when I can start and when I have to end.</p>

4

<p>it might be nice if you had some numbers… “housing costs me X per pay period, food costs Y per pay period, you offered me Z per pay period, but based on my costs, I was wondering if there is anyway I can get a slight raise of A per pay period, or possibly a transportation subsidy”… something like that.</p>

<p>you should definitely get the offer in writing…</p>

<p>if you don’t, it could turn into a discussion/fight/disagreement over what was promised.</p>

5

<p>idk, it sounds like you gave a verbal acceptance to me. </p>

<p>If you are going to do the internship, which you said you plan to, i would NOT try to negotiate. Since they think you accepted their offer, and you did not correct them, the time to negotiate has passed. If you insist on bringing it up, be very careful about it, and make sure that they know that if they say no, your still very happy to do the internship regardless. They will not take kindly if they think your threatening to back out. </p>

<p>Don’t do what soccerguy suggested, way too much detail. </p>

<p>When i got my internship, the company sent me an offer letter…however, it was only officially sent 2 days b4 my start date. So i had already moved to the new city and everything before I got it. The verbal warning took precedence. They not only honored what they had said verbally, but I actually got a $1/hour increase. </p>

<p>If you want an official offer letter, just ask for one. I wouldnt worry about it though if they are a legit company. But they wouldnt take offense at your asking. you could even say that you think you may need it as proof of employment when your looking for housing in the city where your internship is located. </p>

<p>GoInni: thats unethical. wouldnt you be ****ed if a company gave you a verbal offer and then rescinded it because they changed their mind?</p>

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<p>^ I meant verbal offer, lol, not warning.</p>

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<p>Uh, welcome to the real world, Whatdidyou. If it isn’t in writing, it isn’t official. When they gave you an offer, that is exactly what it was: an offer. Neither you nor they are bound to the terms of their offer.</p>

<p>If you are in HR, you give someone an offer. You would like them to accept it on the spot, but you realize that the odds of this are very slim, unless the person has no experience whatsoever with negotiations. You expect the person to thank you for the offer and let you know that he will be considering it along with his other options. Either you give or he requests a deadline for response – typically this is two weeks.</p>

<p>During this two week span, HR people expect those they offered jobs to receive offers from other companies. These people are clearly desirable to the company, so the HR folks will bend to get them to sign the contract.</p>

<p>If you have not signed a contract, you can still continue pursuing other jobs, and you can still negotiate!</p>

<p>So far, you seem to have handled it adequately, and now you get to do your homework to be fully prepared for your next interaction. Here are things to consider…</p>

<ol>
<li>Do you have other offers? How do they compare to this one? If they are for less money in salary/stipend, do they have other factors that would give you incentive to accept?</li>
<li>Where is the internship located? If it is NYC, San Francisco or Chicago, you should expect a higher salary than Boston, Houston or Washington, D.C. Remember that housing in NYC will cost between $1,200 and $1,800 per month, if you are living in Manhattan in a studio or one bedroom, but in Boston, you could get housing for literally half that amount. </li>
<li>What perks do you get? A $1,000 per week stipend is worth less than a $700 per week stipend with a $1,500 per month room and board allowance</li>
<li>How far away is the internship? If you are going to be forced to move far enough away to require a flight home, you are making a sacrifice, and the company should compensate you for this accordingly.</li>
<li>What is industry standard for interns? Specifically, what is company standard for interns? Check Glassdoor for salary information… you may not get compensated at the same level as first year FT employees, especially since it is pretty late to receive your offer, but you should have an idea of what is realistic.</li>
</ol>

<p>This information should get you to a number that gives you enough to comfortably pay for housing, utilities (remember, you will probably pay for cable, electric, natural gas and internet), transportation and miscellaneous expenses, while still allowing you to put a good bit into your bank account for use next academic year.</p>

<p>Recognize that you are valuable to the company. If they are going to hire you full time, they would rather hire you as an intern to put you through training in a setting that does not bind them to anything… for them, they have the flexibility to extend an offer to an already-trained employee, or they can decline to extend an offer to someone they believe is unqualified, but they have no strings attached like they would if you were a hired, FT employee.</p>

<p>When you call back, try this as a negotiation strategy… mention that you are grateful for the offer they give you, but you were hoping that the salary could be a little more competitive. You will know right then and there if they are going to play ball, or if they gave you a non-negotiable offer. The next logical think they will do is either ask you what you were thinking is fair, or they will give you a new number to consider. Your goal is to NOT give them a number, because once you give a number, you have revealed a number you WILL accept, so they will not go higher than that under any circumstances. Once they reach a number that is in the ballpark for what you want, only then should you give a number of your own… be reasonable about it, and they will probably meet you half way. </p>

<p>A rule of thumb is that HR people are authorized to give you X, and they will offer you 70-80% of X, so your negotiating area is essentially within 30% of the offer they gave you (i.e. if they say $1,000 biweekly, you could probably get them up to $1,175-$1,250 biweekly).</p>

<p>If you have questions, feel free to PM me!</p>

<p>For reference, my negotiating experience is from two wage job offers during school (upped wages by 15% each time), salary job offer for real life (upped by only 5%) and a recent automobile purchase (upped trade-in offer by 30% and reduced sticker price by just under 20%, meaning instead of receiving $2,500 for a trade and buying a $32,900 car, I received $3,200 for my trade and bought a $27,000 car). I will admit that my negotiating skills are only in a fledgling state, but they’ve worked half decently so far :)</p>

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<p>^^ Your strategies/advice seems like it applies more to students with multiple offers from large top companies, but could still work, depending on the company. </p>

<p>The threadstarter said his/her company is small, and that he/she will take it at the offer price even though he/she is unhappy with the offer price, but is scared of asking for a raise. To me this sounds like he/she doesnt have alot of competing companies/offers. That is why he/she is scared of the comany rescinding the offer. </p>

<p>Most small companies do not provide stipends/housing allowances/substantail monetary perks. Alot of companies will give you some time to think it over, if you ask for it, but would prefer to hear from you asap. And the fact that he/she sort of verbally accepted the offer already probably means that HR could have informed the other candidates that they were not chosen. Also, at small companies someone in the department you will be working, not in HR, may have handled the recruiting/interviewing duties and may not so knoweledgable about the recruiting practices/understandings that take place in big corporate companies (like chrisw clearly does). </p>

<p>Alot of students are lucky to get internships and cant afford to be picky. I, myself, would never do an unpaid internship, but would consider doing an internship with pay just enough to cover my living/travel costs during that time frame. It sreally up to you. </p>

<p>But like chris said, FT employees generally get paid quite a bit more than interns. So dont think your offer is low just because of that.</p>

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<p>whatdidyou… this is my opinion: if it’s not in writing, you don’t have an offer. Period.</p>

<p>A verbal offer is fine and dandy, but there is absolutely nothing that would keep the company from saying “well, we changed our mind, we don’t want you anymore” if there is no signed paperwork.</p>

<p>I also believe it is good to have justification for wanting more money. If you say “I would like X per hour instead of Z” then an obvious response from HR would be “why do you want the higher amount?” and preferably you will have something other to say than “umm… b/c… i like money, and more is better, duh”</p>

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<p>Yeah, it doesn’t matter what kind of company you’re talking about… large or small, it is always okay to negotiate. If they tell you that their offer is final, then you know you cannot negotiate any more, and you get to decide whether they have offered you enough to accept… if you only have one offer, then that is a resounding YES… if you have multiple offers, then you’ll likely need to step back and consider a bit more.</p>

<p>No company, no matter how small, should expect those to whom they give offers to accept or decline on the spot. They should give you adequate time to consider, since it is in their best interest to have interns and employees who are satisfied with the process by which they gained employment. Remember that companies don’t hire to be nice… they hire to make more money, so if you are getting paid $1,000 a week, you should theoretically be making that company $3,000 a week; if you’re an intern, you will probably not be making them money, but you will be saving them future training costs, which could amount to more than $3,000 a week, so you are still saving/making the company money in the long term. You are making them money, so they should be willing to pay you accordingly, whether there are ten people or ten thousand people working.</p>

<p>You have not accepted the offer until you say, explicitly, “I accept your offer,” and it isn’t really binding until you sign your name on a contract. If a company informs its other candidates that they were not chosen, based on the fact that an offer may possibly have been accepted, then they have no idea how to run their business. Further, the negotiation methods I outlined are acceptable for anyone receiving an offer from any size company, not just large corporations.</p>

<p>Negotiating is NOT going to make you look greedy; it will NOT make a company rescind its offer to you; it will NOT make you seem ungrateful for the offer. It is a fact of life that companies want to save money… a good company will hire for the minimum amount of money that it takes to get a happy and effective employee, which usually means they will give a number lower than they are willing to actually pay. You then can negotiate up to the level they expected to pay in the first place. But don’t think that negotiating will give them second thoughts about whether you’re a good choice. They chose you over other candidates for a reason, and they need to be willing to pay you accordingly!</p>

<p>The most important takeaway is that you should always negotiate your offer until you can’t negotiate any more. If that means a 20% raise, great! If it means the exact same amount as originally offered, you haven’t lost anything, so that’s great too.</p>