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Gillian Ku's Tips on Negotiating Job Offers and Compensation Packages

Last Wednesday we were excited to host our first webinar with Professor Gillian Ku from London Business School. The purpose of the webinar was to shine a light on how to successfully negotiate job offers and compensation packages. Considering the current economic climate, it’s no surprise that people were keen to jump on the call and soak up all the advice that they could. Gillian broke the ice immediately by explaining that she would like to take a conversational approach to the webinar, encouraging attendees to speak out and participate. Within the first few minutes, participants felt it was safe to share that many of them simply don’t feel comfortable when it comes to negotiating job offers or packages. Here are a few key tips to take away from the chat. 1.Don’t ask? Don’t get. The first nugget of advice Gillian bestowed upon us seems obvious. If you’re unhappy with your current position or want more from it, the most important thing you can do is ask. As Gillian said in the webinar, unless you put yourself out there and try for more, it’ll be very difficult for more to magically land on you. The problem of course, is how to ask. For women, this can be extra tricky. Gillian highlighted a study which revealed that men were more likely to land higher starting salaries while women were less likely to ask in the first place. Considering the webinar was mainly comprised of women, this certainly got a lot of attention. If you’d like to learn more about gender differences in the workplace, Gillian recommended picking up the book ‘Women Don’t Ask’ by Linda Babcock. 2. Be prepared! With the ‘don’t ask, don’t get’ strategy in mind, the next phase is to figure out how to do that. Gillian says that the negotiation process should always start outside the negotiation room. In other words: prepare, prepare, prepare! Whether you’re looking to negotiate with a job you are already in or are looking for an entirely new one, it’s vital that you’re able to highlight the key issues you would like to discuss. Examples include salary, holidays, flexible working, and shares. Understanding your preferences and priorities among the issues raised will help your employer get a better idea of what exactly it is you want. 3. Consider your company's needs as well as your own. While some issues being raised might bring you value, it may not be costly to the company. For instance, asking to work fully remotely won't cost your company a thing. Going back to being well prepared, it’s vital that you do your company research and have a broad picture of their needs. When doing your research, consider questions like ‘what are the company’s alternatives?’ ‘Who are you negotiating with?’ ‘What benchmarks are available?’ ‘How much have previous hires gotten in your type of position?’ Ultimately, when negotiating you are crafting a deal that is beneficial to both sides rather than you just selling yourself. Remember, value for you = value for the company. 4. Always have alternatives. Gillian went on to explain that in a negotiation, your greatest strength is having strong alternatives. In negotiation talk, this is known as improving your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiation agreement). The stronger the alternative, the easier it will be to go into the negotiation room and confidently ask for whatever it is that you want. That way if the other side declines your offer, you can safely lean on your alternatives. For people looking for new jobs, ideally, it’s a good idea to have multiple job offers at once. Gillian explains that if you have the skills needed for the market you are applying to then receiving job offers shouldn’t be difficult. 5. Create a goal for yourself. When negotiating your job offer or current position, Gillian says it is imperative that you have a clear stretch goal in mind. For instance, a key topic of negotiation is salary. When negotiating money, setting a realistic reservation price makes all the difference. That way, you will be less likely to get a bad deal as you know not to accept anything below your benchmark. Additionally, your stretch goal should encapsulate all the issues you have rather than just the salary number. You can do this by placing all the issues onto one metric and then come up with an overall goal. 6. Be realistic When it comes to negotiating, it's important to set goals that are achievable and realistic for the company as well as yourself. For example, in the midst of a recession a company's budget may not be able to give you the exact salary or bonus you desire. In this situation, Gillian suggests requesting a review or bonus within a 6 month time-frame. This way you can anchor the first offer which suits you. Negotiating job offers and packages can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve never done so before. But with these tips and tricks in mind, hopefully you’ve got a better idea of what it takes get what you're after. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Gillian Ku once again for hosting this webinar and for bringing us some clarity in these turbulent times.

Startups Beating the Recession Blues

From pandemics to the cost-of-living crisis, the doom and gloom of the last few years has certainly taken its toll on startups particularly. Many experienced cutbacks, some had to issue layoffs while others were forced to entirely shut down. With the current economic climate, launching a startup and raising money seems almost impossible (almost being the key word). Having said that, it’s important to remember that many startups were, in fact, born from lows. Below, I've compiled a list of startups that are going strong and managed to close funding rounds recently despite the current economic climate: MYNDUP MYNDUP is on a mission to help improve employee’s mental health. They offer same-day mental health sessions which cover a spectrum of things including therapy, counselling, career coaching and mindfulness amongst other things. They recently announced that they raised £4.4 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round, showcasing just how important having access to fast mental health help is. Join MYNDUP's upcoming webinar on the 6th of December 2022 where the topic of discussion will be improving mental wellbeing during financial uncertainty including methods to beat financial anxiety. Sign up here! Antavo Enterprise loyalty cloud platform, Antavo is changing the game when it comes to reward programs. They want to encourage long-lasting customer loyalty by engaging in a way that strays from the traditional, financial-only reward programs that exist. For instance, they reward customers in accordance with their interest. Say you enjoy working out, an activewear company could issue rewards for each gym session you attend. As of November 9th, this startup has successfully closed its Series A funding round at 10 million euros - not too shabby! Napo Just one year after launching, pet insurance start-up Napo have managed to raise £15m in their Series A funding round. Napo differs itself from other pet insurance companies in the fact that they focus on preventing health issues in the first place. This is done by access to 24/7 online vet consultations, obesity awareness resources, and access to the Napo Puppy Academy – a series of classes to help puppy owners get the necessary training to prevent health issues in the future. Journey Hospitality Hotel tech business, Journey Hospitality, are on a mission to revolutionise e-commerce for the hospitality industry. Most recently they have managed to secure a £5million growth capital investment which will be used to advance product development and market expansion. We hope this list has shown you there are startups going strong, raising money and hiring new talent out there. It's def. worthwhile checking them out ? In the meantime, have a fantastic weekend!

Viral Startups to Watch!

In the age of social media, going viral has become somewhat of the ‘holy grail’ of the internet experience. Whether you’ve been craving a negroni sbagliato with prosecco in it or have made your own version of Celine Dion’s ‘It’s all coming back to me’ performance, there’s no doubt that viral trends are hard to avoid if you’re active across social channels. For startups social media presents an opportunity for businesses and audiences to grow overnight. TikTok has become a particular favourite as more and more success stories surface each day. This week, we’ve compiled a list of startups that went viral online. Let’s take a closer look! Enchanted Scrunch A year ago, Dasha Derkach started her business, Enchanted Scrunch because she wanted to provide the world with a bigger variety of scrunchie designs. Initially she started out on Instagram but then quickly moved to TikTok where she recieved 15k views and 10 orders within just one day. Now, Dasha's business has become a six figure company with over 170k followers - not too shabby! Peachy BB’s Slime If you're an active TikToker and a lover of asmr then you've probably come across a few slime videos. One slime shop that has taken the internet by storm is BB's slime. Founder Andrea and her team have a 4.7 million following and regularly post videos about the slime making process. Klassy Network Klassy Network first burst onto the scene in 2019 when founder Natalie Rogers decided she wanted to wear a stylish top without a bra. After failing to find anything she liked with built-in padding, she decided to take matters into her own hands and create the ‘halter brami’ (a cross between a bra and a camisole). In 2020 a video of her showcasing her invention quickly took TikTok and Instagram by storm. Brand Pierre High school dropout Pierre Woodward certainly takes the crown for one of the more creative businesses out there. During quarantine, he began crafting rings out of old metal spoons and posting his videos on TikTok. His content caught the eye of some more prominent influencers who helped Pierre's business take off. Currently Pierre boasts a following of 1.6 million. That concludes this week's list. Whether you're using this weekend to create the next big TikTok dance or simply enjoy a negroni, we hope you have a good one!

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Gillian Ku's Tips on Negotiating Job Offers and Compensation Packages

Startups Beating the Recession Blues

Viral Startups to Watch!

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