A baker's dozen salary questions to see Test what you know (or need to know) about negotiating your salary. DIRECTIONS: Click your True/False answer to each question. When you're done with the whole list, click "ANSWERS LIST" to see all the answers at once. OR, for you more impatient types, look up the answer to any individual question "on the fly" by clicking on the "Answer" link after your selected question. QUIZ: 1) True False Don't know: Salary Negotiations affect not only your paycheck, but your performance on the job, too. (Answer). 2) True False Don't know: If the employer's offer is significantly higher than your market value, you should accept it and get it in writing right away. (Answer) 3) True False Don't know: Employers often will compute a salary offer to you as a percentage increase over your present earnings. To make the interview process go smoothly, get clarity on that range toward the beginning of the interview process. (Answer) 4) True False Don't know: Avoid interviewing for jobs whose salary is significantly below your expectations because it wastes both your time and the interviewer's. (Answer) 5) True False Don't know: At the time of final negotiations, you should start with a number that is at the high end of your range; that way you don't come in too low, and still have room to negotiate. (Answer) 6) True False Don't know: Good benefits won't make up for a poor base salary. (Answer) 7) True False Don't know: To find your fair market value, you just need to find what others in similar positions are earning. (Answer) 8) True False Don't know: Straight commission is the riskiest type of compensation, although you might have to accept it if you are inexperienced in the particular type of sales in question. (Answer) 9) True False Don't know: An average wage earner would add an additonal million dollars to his career earnings if salary negotiation skills increased his income ten percent. (Answer) 10) True False Don't know: You should tell recruiters and employment agents your current compensation in complete detail--even corroborating earnings with W-2s if needed. (Answer) 11) True False Don't know: One acceptable way to increase your negotiation leverage is to increase the answer to "What are your present earnings?" Add 10% to your base salary to cover benefits, and add in any anticipated bonuses when you give the employer or recruiter your "number." (Answer) 12) True False Don't know: Companies nowadays restrict their managers a percentage-range for raises. The goal in raise negotiations is to get the maximum in that range. (Answer) 13) True False Don't know: Any one of these questions you answered incorrectly could easily cost you thousands of dollars in a salary or raise negotiation. (Answer) Click here for ANSWERS LIST GO BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

ANSWERS LIST TO Salary Negotiation Tutorial 1) TRUE. A poorly negotiated salary will generally show up as a poor attitude at work. That affects your performance and your chances for raises or promotions. (Covered in chapter one Negotiating Your Salary...) QUIZ 2) FALSE If you're overpaid, you want to know why. It won't last anyway, so the proper thing to do is accept it, then explore the rationale for the compensation to make sure it's not a mistake. (Chapter two: Negotiating Your Salary...) QUIZ 3) FALSE Most employers like to know what you're earning because they're worried that you won't last if they can't give you an increase; however, your best move is to delay any talk of salary until you know what exactly is entailed in the job. Otherwise, you could be screened out as too high or too low. (Chapter three: Negotiating Your Salary) QUIZ 4) FALSE Don't interview just for "practice," but do interview. Explore where or how the job could be expanded to meet your level of competence and compensation. (Chapter three: Negotiating Your Salary...) QUIZ 5) FALSE At the time of final compensation, you should not start; let them go first. (Chapter four: Negotiating Your Salary...) QUIZ 6) FALSE There are many ways benefits and perks can make the whole package acceptable when the base salary is low. (Chapter seven: Negotiating your Salary...)  QUIZ 7) FALSE There are three components that determine your fair market value.  Your Objectively Researched Value, Individual Value, and Risk Factor Dollars.  (Chapter five shows you how to research and calculate that value: Negotiating Your Salary...)  QUIZ  8) FALSE Straight commission is the safest kind of compensation. It is acceptable in many situations, regardless of experience level. (Chapter seven: Negotiating your Salary...)   QUIZ 9) TRUE Ten percent more earnings over a career lifetime adds up to over a million dollars. (Chapter one.) QUIZ 10) TRUE Most of the time, it will give you points for being straightforward. There is some caution about letting your past earnings box you in, though. (Chapter eight: Negotiating your Salary...) QUIZ 11) FALSE Inflating your earnings is a bad idea. It has all sorts of potential dangers. The best strategy is to avoid discussion of your earnings at all until there's an offer. (Chapter three: Negotiating Your Salary.) QUIZ 12) FALSE The goal in a raise negotiation is to exceed that percentage if there's evidence that your market value will support the request. Often, that will look like a change of title which is "exempt" from the percent-range set for raises because it is not a "raise"; it is a new salary for a new job.  (Chapter 10, : Negotiating your Salary...) QUIZ 13) HOW TRUE IT IS! Any wrong answer could easily cost you thousands. What's worse, still, is that there are easily a hundred salary questions, not just these thirteen, that could cost you big bucks. QUIZ I hope you have had fun taking the quiz and getting the "point"!   Namely, that you can leave lots of money on the negotiating table if you don't do it right. Three comments are appropriate here. An interesting note: I have actually made most of these mistakes; in fact, I've probably made every mistake anyone can ever make in negotiating. I used to be a terrible negotiator (I'm still better negotiating for others and coaching others than I am for myself. Ahh, "the cobbler's children..." But I digress.). I think that's actually why I can coach this process so well: I am intimately and personally acquainted with every way you can cop out, cave in, agree too soon, be unprepared, etc. I didn't learn this in an ivory tower, I learned it with my wallet. It is my fond hope that you can avoid the "trial and error" method of learning that I used (they don't call it "Trial and Success," do they!) by learning the right way to do things from this website and from Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute. This salary negotiation thing is either very lucrative (if you do it right) or expensive (if you flub it up). QUIZ

ANSWERS "On the Fly" TO Salary Negotiation Tutorial 'One-at-a-Time" version. 1) TRUE. A poorly negotiated salary will generally show up as a poor attitude at work. That affects your performance and your chances for raises or promotions. (Covered in chapter one.) QUIZ | | | | | | 2) FALSE If you're overpaid, you want to know why. It won't last anyway, so the proper thing to do is accept it and then explore the rationale for the compensation to make sure it's not a mistake. (Chapter two.) QUIZ | | | | | 3) FALSE Most employers like to know what you're earning because they're worried that you won't last if they can't give you an increase; however, your best move is to delay any talk of salary until you know what exactly is entailed in the job. Otherwise, you could be screened out as too high or too low. (Chapter three.) QUIZ | | | | | 4) FALSE Don't interview just for "practice," but do interview. Explore where or how the job could be expanded to meet your level of competence and compensation. (Chapter three.) QUIZ | | | | | 5) FALSE At the time of final compensation, you should not start; let them go first. (Chapter four.) QUIZ | | | | | 6) FALSE There are many ways benefits and perks can make the whole package acceptable when the base salary is low. (Chapter seven.) QUIZ | | | | | 7) FALSE There are three components that determine your fair market value. (Chapter five.) QUIZ | | | | | 8) FALSE Straight commission is the safest kind of compensation. It is acceptable in many situations, regardless of experience level. (Chapter seven.) QUIZ | | | | | 9) TRUE Ten percent more earnings over a career lifetime adds up to over a million dollars. (Chapter one.) QUIZ | | | | | 10) TRUE Most of the time, it will give you points for being straightforward. There is some caution about letting your past earnings box you in, though. (Chapter eight.) QUIZ | | | | | 11) FALSE Inflating your earnings is a bad idea. It has all sorts of potential dangers. The best strategy is to avoid discussion of your earnings at all until there's an offer. (Chapter three.) QUIZ | | | | | 12) FALSE The goal in a raise negotiation is to exceed that percentage if there's evidence that your market value supports the request. Often, that will look like a change of title which is "exempt" from the percent-range set for raises because it is not a "raise"; it is a new salary for a new job. QUIZ | | | | | 13) HOW TRUE IT IS! Any wrong answer could easily cost you thousands. What's worse, still, is that there are easily a hundred salary questions, not just these thirteen, that could cost you big bucks. QUIZ I hope you have had fun taking the quiz and getting the "point"! Namely, that you can leave lots of money on the negotiating table if you don't do it right. Three comments are appropriate here. An interesting note: I have actually made most of these mistakes; in fact I've probably made every mistake anyone can ever make in negotiating. I used to be a terrible negotiator. (I'm still better negotiating for others and coaching others than I am for myself. Ahh, "the cobbler's children..." But I digress.)  I think that's actually why I can coach this process so well: I am intimately and personally acquainted with every way you can cop out, cave in, agree too soon, be unprepared, etc. I didn't learn this in an ivory tower, I learned it with my wallet.    It is my fond hope that you can avoid the "trial and error" method of learning that I used (they don't call it "Trial and Success," do they!) by learning the right way to do things from this website and from Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute.    This salary negotiation thing is either very lucrative (if you do it right) or expensive (if you flub it up). QUIZ