[masraum]

Man, I hate this stuff. I'm going in to begin negotiations tomorrow. Wish me luck. I've been reading the info in these threads as it seems pretty good. Sammyg2 seems to really have a handle on this stuff. I'm hoping I can channel a little bit of him.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/640122-job-interview-what-does-one-do-when-asked-about-salary-expectation.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/550518-advice-job-offer.html

I am currently working contract to hire. This is the "to hire" part. I would be willing to accept about 10% more than their initial offer, but of course, would welcome more than that. I assume that I should I counter offer a bit over that and then try to negotiate down to what I want.

I think I'm in a decent position. I've been told my manager that it takes 11 months for a top notch person to get up to speed. I've been here 5 months as a contractor and I've worked lots of OT so they would be throwing away a healthy investment of time and money if they don't hire me. Not only that, but they are paying handsomely for me as a contractor. I also think that the manager is happy with my performance and the fact that I've worked more OT than anyone else, and I think I'm more knowledgeable and experienced than the other folks (there are a handful of us contractors) that they are converting. Unfortunately, I don't think my manager is very involved with the process other than I assume telling them how he thinks I am performing and how much he wants me. My negotiation is over the phone with an HR person several states away. That really sucks. I think this would be a bit easier for me if it were face to face.

Wish me luck!