2nd Job Interview Preparation & Negotiation Strategy?

Question

I have a 2nd interview next week with the RVP (the person who I will be supporting along with his team) and want to know how to best prepare for it. The 1st interview was with the HR Mgr and a person in a similar position. The interview was skill orientated and situational questions. I am thinking #2 is mostly a personality match at this point&to see if RVP thinks I can do the job.

I have reviewed their benefits on the web&from them. I don't know the salary of this job or the vac pkg. I submitted my job application by fax shortly before the actual interview and listed my salary requirements on it. This position is non-exempt &between myself&1 other candidate.

Question: Is it possible to negotiate salary&vacation? I am leaving a job of 7yrs and will be loosing 3wks vac. I have a trip planned for Sept 07(5 days)&a yrly trip back home of 7 days that I would like to take. Does anyone have suggestions or experience with this? This is new to me, as I haven't interviewed much.

Answer 1

First off you are absolutely the correct, the second interview is a personality match. They feel you are qualified for the position and just want to make sure your personality is a "fit" in their organization.



Secondly, vacation is probably the easiest benefit to negotiate. Don't bring it up prior to negotiating your salary. First agree upon a salary, then you can bring up your vacation time. Tell them you would like to keep your 3 weeks of vacation time and the trip you have planned. Since your trip isn't until September, there shouldn't be a problem.



Good Luck!

Answer 2

Yes, the second interview is to see if you are a good match with the department. Keeping this in mind, you may want to wait until there is a formal offer before bringing up prior vacation commitments. When it is time for that, you may want to negotiate for one of those trips as both would be pushing it. Most companies can accept that you have planned something prior to coming to their company, but see a drawback if you want to much accommodation in that area. It takes a lot of money to train employees and retention is an issue too. They want a little bit for their investment. Good luck.