Laurie Weingart, a negotiations expert and behavioral analyst, provides advice on nine issues that should be addressed when negotiating a junior faculty position.
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Salary:
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"The more differentiated you are from other candidates, the more you'll be able to negotiate salary."
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Find out if it is a 9-month or 12-month contract.
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Find out the salary "norms" for the job market
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Use your colleagues and peers to estimate starting salaries.
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Find the equivalent starting salary in governmental or industrial occupations.
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"Negotiate for the extra summer support during your first few years and then wean off slowly."
- Teaching load:
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You may want to make the "transition argument"--that you need time to settle in and get organized before launching a full-blown teaching schedule.
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"You may want to think about asking to minimize your preps the first year."
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Ask how many unique classes you'd have to teach.
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What will be expected in following years?
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Does teaching help you achieve tenure?
Start-up funds:
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"This isn't just your lab money. It's the money you need to get started and to make the transition into the academic world."
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"Think about all those incidentals that you need": Journal subscriptions, office supplies, software purchases.
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Negotiate how much money you'll need.
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Ask when those funds will be available.
Tenure:
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Ask what the renewable status of your contract is. Is it yearly? Is it a 3-year contract?
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"Sometimes promotion and the tenure decision are linked, sometimes they aren't."
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During contract talks, also discuss your starting date.
Lab needs:
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Go into negotiations confident that you know that you've thought about everything you'll need to start up your lab.
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Ask whether the institution already has pieces of equipment.
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If they do, is it accessible?
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If you have to buy equipment, will there be space for it?
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Where will that space be?
Research support:
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"More people are trying to negotiate a technician for life."
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You don't want to lose a technician if you lose a grant, so find out if you can negotiate for the department to pay their salary during times when your budget is slim.
Travel support:
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Do you have a fixed number of trips the department will pay for?
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Is it expected that you present data or research findings at all meetings?
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Some places will give you a pot of money--but make sure you justify why you need X-amount of dollars for travel and other expenses ...
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... and how you spent it.
Secretarial support:
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This perhaps isn't negotiable, but it does affect how you do your work.
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Will somebody help you prepare your teaching materials and photocopy examinations?
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Is there someone who can help you prepare applications and grants, or deal with new hires?
Graduate assistants:
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How do you enlist the help of graduate students and generate interest in your lab?
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Initially, a few "free" hands in your lab will help you get organized, but later you may want to recruit graduate students to perform research.
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What is the institution's policy for this?
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How will you fit in with the graduate/Ph.D. program?
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Will you be required to sit on committees that are responsible for graduate students in your lab?
