[masraum]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

But, harsh as she was she left the door open in a couple ways when she said they wanted you to be happy and asked for a counter-offer.
The question is, how much higher are they willing to go? is their low-ball offer really low, or just a little low?

That's how I felt. It didn't feel like it was a hard and fast offer, but it certainly sounded pretty firm.

Next question, is she the only person you can deal with? is there any way you can get the person you'll be working for involved?
If it's just her, she has no dog in the hunt except to get it over with. She doesn't care about you, you're just another task on her to-do list. If you were talking to her and being nice, then you'd become a person to her and she MIGHT care.

KC nailed it, that's not the type of thing I'd like to do over the phone. In person you could really turn on the charm

Yes, I asked my manager for a chat after the call. I didn't really feel like things were going well, and didn't feel like she cared too much how things went. I feel like my manager is a pretty straight shooter. I told him some of my thoughts and how I felt. He was aware of the numbers. He said that the number that they had given was pretty much the number that they were willing to offer. There are a handful of other folks that are all converting at the same time. He finally asked "what would it take, don't BS me, just give me a number." I said that I had really been looking for 10%, but I could make due with 5%. He said he would get with the HR chick and let me know. I felt a lot better dealing with him. It was face to face, and he's got more of a direct interest in keeping me where like you said, to her, I was just a task that she needed to get done.

I suspect I'll hear more tomorrow. She'd tried to press me for an answer tomorrow, but I'd put her off until Monday. Hopefully, that means that she's motivated to get moving and I hear something tomorrow.

Thanks all for everything. I may not have successfully negotiated much this time, but it's certainly been educational.