Job Negotiation Planning Document

JOB NEGOTIATION PLANNING DOCUMENT

Job Description and Issues to Be Considered

The job I am looking for is highly related with accounting. Based on my past internship experiences, my desired types of job in priority are external assurance, internal audit, consulting and corporate accounting. Generally, public accounting firms provide the external assurance, internal audit and consulting positions; consulting firms mainly provide consulting position; corporations in different industry provide financial accounting and internal audit positions. Also the job should be full time and entry level.

Based on the description of the job, the issues need to be considered and relevant explanations are listed below in order of priority.

1. Location. Since I am an international student from China. The most significant issue to be considered is the location of work. The location directly decides the working environment, salary level or even career path which may significantly influence the reservation price and weight value in the scoring system. However, once the location is decided between China and US, the specific location is less important than other issues, which will be explained in the rationale of scoring system.

2. H1B Sponsorship. If the location is within US, then the H1B will be the primary issue. The H1B sponsorship is the basic requirement that I need to meet in order to legally work and live in US.

3. Job Type. The options of types of job I mentioned above will have a substantial influence on my career path and this is why it is so important when I have my first job.

4. Salary. Salary is the issue that every job seeker will consider during the job negotiation and it reflect a person’s value during the work. Generally the salary is the higher the better and it could be a focus point during negotiation.

5. Training System & Promotion Channel. Besides salary, the next issue I need to consider is my career development. In the objective aspect, the training system and promotion channel is the most relevant to one’s career path. During the job negotiation, an individual should have a long-term version and should think about what position he or she would have after five or ten years.

6. Benefits. The benefits here include the vacation, insurance, bonus and other welfares the job could offer. I put the benefits in this position because during the negotiation I need to compromise between salary and benefits. I would guarantee the salary and by swapping the interests on benefits.

7. Office Culture. Personally, I prefer to work under a friendly and synergetic working environment rather than isolated and competitive culture. It is widely acknowledged that there is a wide difference among the office cultures, so I put this issue into consideration. This issue could reflect personal preference but won’t be a significant one.

Market Research

I conducted the market research by referring to the data of NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employees) and collecting relevant information from business professionals via personal network relationship in US and China. The research first limit the factors of the job as within DC metro area, entry level and master degree. Based on the result of the NACE salary calculator, the likely annual salary for external assurance, internal audit, consulting and corporate accountant is $71,700, $71300, $80,300 and $71,700. When things come to China, based on the information I gathered from professionals in China, the probable starting annual salary for external audit, consulting and corporate accounting is $14,000, $15,000 and $13,500 respectively.

The training system and promotion channel is quite different from different firms and companies. Taking the big four accounting firms as an example, they will provide splendid and systematic training during the career life and the promotion channel is quite clear, which usually give promotion to employee every two or three years. However, some little firms and companies do not offer solid training to employees, and the working training employees can get only from the daily work and the experience shared by senor employees. Also the career promotion cannot guaranteed by a clear promotion channel.

The benefits in US usually include medical insurance plan, dental plan, and pension plan. The paid holiday is usually 10 days per year and vacation start at about two weeks per year. Also the firm will cover certain amount of tuition reimbursement. In addition, employees are eligible for an annual performance bonus based on a percentage of their annual salary. Usually the actual percentage varies based on performance against your peers. In China the company covers a so called “5 insurances and housing fund” for employees, which include pension plan, medical plan, occupational injury insurance, unemployment insurance, birth insurance and housing fund. The other benefits like bonus, holiday and vacation are quite similar with US.