职场Offer谈判的十大准则

当我如何在Airbnb获得工作的故事走红时，人们对我的谈判技巧如此痴迷让我很惊讶。媒体报道把我描绘成某种谈判大师，一个狡猾的前扑克玩家，能忽悠科技巨头给出丰厚工作机会。这很荒谬。荒谬的原因有很多，但主要一点是现实中我的谈判技巧并不特别。比我更擅长谈判的求职者大有人在，更不用说招聘专员和其他专业谈判人员了。

When the story of how I landed a job at Airbnb went viral, I was surprised at how infatuated people were with my negotiations. Media stories portrayed me as some kind of master negotiator, a wily ex poker player who was able to con the tech giants into a lucrative job offer. This is silly. It's silly for a lot of reasons, but one of the main ones is that in reality, my negotiation skills are nothing special. There are lots of job candidates who are better negotiators than I to speak nothing of recruiters and other professional negotiators.

事实是大多数人根本不谈判，就算谈也只是点到为止让自己心安。更糟的是，市面上大多数谈判建议都近乎无用。关于这个话题，你读到的几乎都是含糊冗长的说教，无非是'一定要谈判'和'永远不要先出价'。除了这两条建议，其他全靠自己摸索。我不禁思考：为什么实用的谈判建议如此匮乏？

It just so happens that most people don't negotiate at all, or if they do, they just negotiate just enough to satisfy themselves that they did. Worse yet, most of the advice out there on negotiation is borderline useless. Almost anything you read on the subject will be a vague and long winded exhortation to make sure you negotiate and never say the first number. Beyond those two morsels of advice, you're pretty much on your own. I thought to myself, why is there so little actionable advice out there about negotiation?

我怀疑深层原因在于，许多人认为谈判能力是与生俱来的，有些人天生就会，有些人永远学不会，无法拆解成可学习的技能。要我说这都是胡扯。谈判就像其他技能一样可以习得，我并不认为它特别玄妙难懂。下面我就尝试解释人人都能掌握的谈判方法。不过有三点说明。

I suspect it's because deep down, many people believe that negotiation is inexplicable, that it's something some people can do and others can't, and that there's no real way to break it down so anyone can learn it. I say that's bullshit. Negotiation is a skill that can be learned just like any other, and I don't believe it's particularly elusive or hard to understand. So I'm gonna try to explain how anyone can do it. Three caveats.

首先，我不是专家。真正的谈判专家存在，当我的建议与他们相左时，请默认是我错了。其次，谈判难以一概而论，因为它与社会动态和权力关系深度交织。适用于硅谷亚裔男性的建议，可能不适用于阿拉巴马州伯明翰的黑人女性。种族、性别和政治因素会跟随你进入谈判桌。

First, I'm not an expert. There are people who really are experts at this, and when my advice contradicts theirs, you should assume I'm wrong. Second, negotiation is tricky to generalize about because it's deeply intertwined with social dynamics and power. The appropriate advice for an Asian male in Silicon Valley may not be appropriate for a black woman in Birmingham, Alabama. Racial, sexual, and political dynamics accompany you to the negotiating table.

但同时我要提醒不要过度强调这些因素。因害怕歧视而不敢谈判，其危害往往不亚于歧视本身。其他条件相同时，应该积极谈判。第三，我第一个承认谈判本身很愚蠢。这种机制天然有利于擅长谈判的人，作为奖励标准实在荒谬，但这就是我们经济体系的现实。

At the same time, I wanna caution against overemphasizing these factors. Being afraid to negotiate out of fear of discrimination can often be just as deleterious as discrimination itself. Ceteris paribus, negotiate aggressively. Third, I'm the first to admit that negotiation is stupid. It's a practice that inherently benefits those who are good at it and is an absurd axis on which to reward people, but it's a reality of our economic system.

就像大多数集体行动困境一样，短期内我们可能无法废除它，既然如此，不如提升自己的谈判能力。以下是我的谈判指南，分为两部分。第一部分是关于如何概念化谈判流程，如何启动谈判并为成功奠定基础。第二部分将具体探讨谈判中的攻防技巧，以及如何提出你的诉求。

And like most collective action problems, we're probably not gonna be able to abolish it anytime soon, in which case, you might as well improve at it. So here's my guide to negotiation. It's gonna be split into two parts. This first part will be about conceptualizing the negotiating process, about how to begin the process and set yourself up for maximal success. The second part will be advice on the actual back and forth portion of negotiating and how to ask for what you want.

让我们从头说起。什么是获得工作？在我们的文化中，我们把进入就业市场称为'找工作'。这个说法很不恰当。'找工作'暗示工作是世界上的现成资源，而你试图获取其中一份资源。

Let's take it from the top. What it means to get a job. In our culture, we call entering the employment market trying to get a job. This is an unfortunate turn of phrase. Getting a job implies that jobs are a resource out in the world, and you're attempting to secure one of these resources.

但这完全本末倒置了。实际上你是在出售自己的劳动力，而公司正在竞标购买。雇佣关系不过是劳动力市场上达成的互利交易。和所有市场一样，劳动力市场只有在充分竞争时才能良好运转，这是确保价格公平合理的唯一途径。

But that's completely backwards. What you are actually doing is selling your labor, and a company is bidding for it. Employment is just striking a mutual deal in the labor market. Like any market, the labor market only functions well if it's competitive. This is the only way to ensure fair and equitable pricing.

假设你是个卖西瓜的农民。你会直接把西瓜卖给第一个同意购买的买家吗？还是先观察买方市场行情，了解能获得的最佳价格和商业伙伴，再明智地决定卖给谁？然而当人们谈论劳动力市场时，却想着'啊，有公司愿意给我工作，真是谢天谢地'。

Imagine you are a farmer selling watermelons. Would you just sell your watermelons to the first buyer who agreed to purchase them? Or would you survey the marketplace of buyers, see the best price and business partner you could get, and then make an informed decision on which buyer to sell to? And yet, when people talk about the labor market, they think, oh, a company wants to give me a job. What a relief.

仿佛获得工作本身就是某种特权，而公司是守门人。摒弃这种思维定式吧。工作只是一笔交易，是你与公司之间用劳动换取金钱和其他价值的协议。这听起来可能很抽象，但你绝对应该从这个角度进行谈判。

As though having a job were in itself some special privilege for which a company is the gatekeeper. Dispel yourself of this mindset. A job is just a deal. It is a deal between you and a company to exchange labor for money and other things you value. This might sound like an abstract point, but you should absolutely approach negotiation from this perspective.

谈判的作用。谈判是达成交易过程中自然而然的环节，也是能力与诚意的体现。企业通常尊重敢于谈判的候选人，而最具吸引力的候选人往往都会谈判——单是因为他们通常有太多选择。即便可能显得老生常谈，但请永远记住：永远要谈判。

The role of negotiation. Negotiating is a natural and expected part of the process of trying to make a deal. It's also a signal of competence and seriousness. Companies generally respect candidates who negotiate, and most highly attractive candidates negotiate if for no other reason because they often have too many options to choose from. At the risk of spouting truisms, always, always negotiate.

无论你自认水平高低，谈判从不会破坏关系。我在App Academy担任导师期间，经手数百次offer谈判，只有一两次出现谈判导致offer撤销的情况。这基本不会发生。即便发生，通常也是候选人表现得不可理喻，或是公司濒临崩溃需要撤销offer的借口。你可能会想：'我不想设定过高期望，而且offer已经很慷慨了，应该直接接受'。

Doesn't matter how good or bad you think you are, you never damage a relationship by negotiating. In all my time as an instructor at App Academy, out of hundreds of offers negotiated, only once or twice were offers ever rescinded in negotiations. It basically never happens. And when it does, usually the candidate was being an unconscionable asshole, or the company was imploding and needed an excuse to rescind the offer. You might think to yourself, well, I don't wanna set high expectations, and the offer is already generous, so I ought to just take it.

不。去谈判。或者想着'我不想一开始就给未来雇主留下贪得无厌的坏印象'。不。去谈判。

No. Negotiate. Or maybe, I don't wanna start off on the wrong foot and look greedy with my future employer. No. Negotiate.

但这家公司规模小...闭嘴。去谈判。下一节我们会详细讨论为什么这些反对意见都是胡扯，根本上误解了招聘的底层逻辑。现在你只需相信：永远要谈判——谈判的十条黄金法则。

But this company is small and no. Shut up. Negotiate. We'll talk more in the next section about why a lot of these objections are bullshit and fundamentally misapprehend the dynamics of hiring. But for now, just trust me that you should always negotiate the 10 rules of negotiating.

我尝试将谈判技巧浓缩为10条法则。按顺序分别是：第一，所有事项都要书面确认；第二，始终保持沟通渠道畅通；第三，信息就是力量；第四，永远保持积极态度。

I've tried to boil down negotiation to 10 rules. The rules in order of appearance are one, get everything in writing. Two, always keep the door open. Three, information is power. Four, always be positive.

第五，不要做唯一决策者；第六，准备备选方案；第七，为每件事阐明理由；第八，动机不要仅限于金钱；第九，了解对方重视什么。

Five, don't be the decision maker. Six, have alternatives. Seven, proclaim reasons for everything. Eight, be motivated by more than just money. Nine, understand what they value.

第十，保持可赢取状态。这篇博文只会讲解部分内容，其余将在第二部分呈现，但我会在讲解时逐条解释。现在让我们从头开始，完整走一遍谈判流程。对多数人而言，这始于收到录用通知时的洽谈环节。

10, be winnable. We'll only get through some of these in this blog post, and the rest will appear in the second part, but I'll explain each rule as we get to it. So let's start from the top and try to walk through a negotiation process from the very beginning. For most, that starts when you receive an offer. The offer conversation.

你刚接到电话通知。面试表现良好，经过深思熟虑后他们决定录用你。恭喜。但别高兴得太早。

You've just received the phone call. Your interview went well, and after much deliberation, they decided they like you. They want to make you an offer. Congratulations. Don't get too excited, though.

好戏才刚开始。感谢招聘人员，表现出热情。希望过程不会太艰难。在深入细节前，记得先获取具体的面试反馈。

The fun is just getting started. Thank your recruiter. Sound excited. Hopefully, this won't be hard. Before jumping into details, try to ask for specific feedback on your interview performance.

这些反馈能帮你判断对方对你的重视程度，同时指出下次面试需要改进的地方。现在该研究录用条件了。谈判铁律：所有条款必须书面确认。最终对方会提供录用细节。

If they give it to you, this will help you gauge how much they want you as well as tell you things you can improve on in your next interviews. Now time to explore the offer. Rule of negotiating. Have everything in writing. Eventually, they'll give you information about the offer.

全部记录下来。即便对方承诺后续会发书面通知，也要当场记录所有内容。包括非直接薪酬的岗位相关事项，比如对方提到'我们正在将前端迁移到Angular框架'，也要记下来。

Write it all down. Doesn't matter if they're gonna send you a written version later. Write everything down. Even if there are things that are not directly monetary, if they relate to the job, write them down. If they tell you we're working on porting the front end to Angular, write that down.

如果他们说自己有20名员工，就记下来。你要尽可能多地获取信息，因为你会忘记很多细节，而这些对最终决策至关重要。根据公司不同，他们还会告诉你股权激励方案。我们会在第二部分更详细讨论股权，但务必把每件事都记录下来。

If they say they have 20 employees, write that down. You want as much information as you can. You'll forget a lot of this stuff, and it's gonna be important in informing your final decision. Depending on the company, they'll also tell you about the equity package. We'll look more specifically at equity in part two, but be sure to write everything down.

从现在开始的原则是：所有重要讨论都必须有书面记录。通常公司直到交易敲定才会发正式录用通知，所以你要通过后续邮件确认所有重要细节。总之就是各种细节都要记下来。哦，这里有个笑话。

The rule from here on out is that everything significant you discuss will have some kind of a paper trail. Often, the company won't even send you an official offer letter until a deal is finalized. So it falls to you to confirm all of the important details in subsequent emails. So yada yada, lots of details, writing stuff down. Oh, there's a joke.

该笑的时候了。现在招聘官说完话，你也问完所有问题。他们会问'你觉得怎么样？'这看似无害，但你的回答至关重要，因为不当回应会削弱你的谈判地位。这是你的第一个决策点。

Time to laugh. Now the recruiter is done talking, and you're done asking all of your questions. Your recruiter will now say something along the lines of, so what do you think? This seems innocuous, but your reply here is critical because there's a lot you can say to weaken your position. This is your first decision point.

决策点是指谈判中对方试图迫使你做出决定的时刻。如果他们成功让你表态，就会关闭进一步谈判的空间。'你觉得呢'这种温和催促，其实是诱导你过早承诺的开端。这引出第二条谈判法则：永远保持谈判大门敞开。

A decision point is a moment in the negotiation where your interlocutor wants to compel you to make a decision. If they succeed in tying you to a position, they will close the door on further negotiating. Of course, what do you think is a subtle prod, but it is the beginning of many attempts to get you to make a premature commitment. This leads to rule hash two of negotiating. Always keep the door open.

在完全准备好做出深思熟虑的最终决定前，绝不要放弃谈判筹码。这意味着你要尽可能多地穿越这些决策点，同时保留继续谈判的权力。对方常会诱骗你表态，你必须像柔道一样闪避这些花招，直到真正准备好做最终决定。关于信息保护——

Never give up your negotiating power until you're absolutely ready to make an informed, deliberate final decision. This means your job is to traverse as many of these decision points as possible without giving up the power to continue negotiating. Very frequently, your interlocutor will try to trick you into making a decision or tie you to a decision you didn't commit to. You must keep verbally jiu jitsu ing out of these antics until you're actually ready to make your final decision. Protecting information.

此刻会有一段尴尬的沉默，'你觉得怎么样'悬在空中。如果你回答'是的，听起来很棒，我什么时候入职？'就等于默认接受offer，彻底关闭谈判空间。

There's an uncomfortable silence by now, and there, what do you think is hanging in the air. If you say, yes. That sounds amazing. When do I start? You implicitly accept the offer and completely close the door on the negotiation.

这是招聘官最想听到的回答。显然你不该这么说。但他们第二想听的是'能把8万5改成9万吗？'这同样会关闭谈判，原因更微妙——这正是大多数人谈判失败的首要原因。第三条谈判法则：

This is your recruiter's number one favorite thing to hear. It stands to reason you probably shouldn't do this. But their second favorite thing to hear you say is, can you do 90 k instead of 85 k? This also closes the door, but for a different and more subtle reason, and it's the number one reason why most people suck at negotiation. Rule hash three of negotiating.

信息就是力量。要在谈判中保护你的力量，就必须尽可能保护信息。公司不会让你洞察它的想法。它不会告诉你它的价格范围、之前给具有你这种经验的候选人开过多少薪资，或任何类似信息。它故意模糊这些信息，却希望你不要这样做。

Information is power. To protect your power in the negotiation, you must protect information as much as possible. A company doesn't give you insight into what it's thinking. It doesn't tell you its price range, how much it paid the previous candidate with your experience, or anything like that. It intentionally obfuscates those things, but it wants you not to do the same.

公司希望像秘密拍卖中的竞标者。但与其他竞标者不同，它想确切知道其他所有竞标的最高价。然后它公开打算利用这种认知，通常只比第二高价多出1美分。是啊，没门。

A company wants to be like a bidder in a secret auction. But unlike the other bidders, it wants to know exactly how high all of the other bids are. It then openly intends to exploit that knowledge often by bidding 1¢ more than the second highest bid. Yeah. No.

去他的。这是一场无声拍卖，要保持这种状态，你必须保护信息。在许多情况下，你之所以拥有任何谈判筹码，唯一原因就是雇主实际上不知道你在想什么。他们可能不知道你其他offer有多好、上一份工作的薪资、你如何权衡薪资与股权、甚至你作为决策者有多理性。底线是，你要让他们不确定签下你究竟需要什么条件。

Screw that. It's a silent auction, and to keep it that way, you must protect information. In many situations, the only reason why you have any negotiating power at all is because the employer doesn't actually know what you're thinking. They might not know how good your other offers are or how much you were making in your last job or how you weigh salary versus equity or even how rational you are as a decision maker. Bottom line, you want them to be uncertain on exactly what it would take to sign you.

当你说'能不能给90而不是85'时，你已经告诉他们签下你所需的确切条件。底牌揭晓了。秘密拍卖开始，他们会出价9万，更可能是8.7万。而且他们知道这么做几乎没有风险，因为你很可能会接受。

When you say, can you do 90 instead of 85? You've told them exactly what it will take to make you sign. The sheet's pulled back. The secret auction is up, and they're gonna bid 90 k or more likely 87 k. And they know there's almost no risk in doing so because you'll probably accept.

如果你是这样的人：低于11万的offer根本不会考虑，或低于12万就不予考虑。如果是这样，你就不会要求9万。如果他们提出这个价作为妥协，你会让他们别浪费你时间。保持沉默时，他们实际上不知道你是哪种人。在他们看来，你可能是这三种人中的任何一种。

What if you were the kind of person who wouldn't even consider an offer below 110 k or the kind of person who wouldn't consider an offer below 120 k. If you were, you wouldn't ask for 90 k. And if they offered it as conciliation, you'd tell them to stop wasting your time. By staying silent, they don't actually know which of those kinds of people you are. In their mind, you could be any of the three.

这条规则的推论是：你不应向公司透露当前收入。虽有些例外，但原则上应遵循这点。如果必须透露，应大方说明薪酬总包价值，包括奖金、未归属股票、临近晋升等因素，并始终在类似'我目前收入是xyz，下一份职位肯定希望职业发展更上一层'的语境中提及。公司会在流程不同阶段询问你当前薪酬，有些在面试前就问，有些在决定发offer后才问，但要注意这点并保护信息。

A corollary of this rule is that you should not reveal to companies what you're currently making. There are some exceptions, but as a rule, you should assume this. If you must divulge what you're making, you should be liberal in noting the total value of your package, incorporate bonuses, unvested stock, nearness to promotion, etcetera, and always mention it in a context like x y zed is what I'm currently making. And I'm definitely looking for a step up in my career for my next role. Companies will ask about your current compensation at different stages in the process, some before they ever interview you, some after they decide to make you an offer, but be mindful of this and protect information.

所以面对这份offer，不要要求更多薪资、股权或任何类似条件。除了澄清细节外，不要对offer的任何具体内容发表评论。不透露任何信息。保留你的筹码。你只需说：'嗯。'

So given this offer, don't ask for more money or equity or anything of the sort. Don't comment on any specific details of the offer except to clarify them. Give away nothing. Retain your power. Say instead, yeah.

贵公司听起来很棒。我确实认为这是个很好的契合，很高兴你们也这么认为。目前我正在与其他几家公司洽谈，因此在流程结束并接近做决定前，我无法就offer具体细节表态。但我相信我们能找到双方都满意的方案，因为我非常希望能加入团队。要像种西瓜的农夫那样思考。

Your company sounds great. I really thought this was a good fit, and I'm glad that you guys agree. Right now, I'm talking with a few other companies, so I can't speak to the specific details of the offer until I'm done with the process and and get closer to making a decision. But I'm sure we'll be able to find a package that we're both happy with because I really would love to be a part of the team. Think like the watermelon farmer.

这份报价就像是第一个路过你西瓜地的商人，扫了眼庄稼就宣布'我出每颗2美元全包了'。放轻松，市场很大，而你很有耐心——毕竟你是个农夫。只需微笑表示会考虑他们的报价。

This offer is just is the first businessman who stopped by your watermelon patch, glanced over your crops, and announced, I'll take all of these right now for $2 a melon. Cool. It's a big market, and you're patient. You're a farmer after all. Just smile and tell them you'll keep their offer in mind.

这一点至关重要：永远保持绝对积极。保持积极是谈判第四法则。即使offer很糟糕，也要对公司保持热情，因为你的兴奋度是谈判中最宝贵的资产之一。

And and this is super important. Always be unequivocally positive. The importance of positivity, staying positive, is rule hash four of negotiation. Even if the offer is shit, it's extremely important to remain positive and excited about the company. This is because your excitement is one of your most valuable assets in a negotiation.

公司给你offer是认为付钱就能让你努力工作。如果你在面试过程中丧失热情，他们就会怀疑你是否愿意长期投入。这些都会降低你作为投资标的的吸引力。记住：你就是产品，热情减退意味着产品贬值。

A company is making you an offer because they think you'll do hard work for them if they pay you. If you lose your excitement for the company during the interview process, then they'll lose confidence that you'll actually want to work hard or stay there for a long time. Each of those makes you less attractive as an investment. Remember, you are the product. If you become less excited, then the product you're selling actually loses value.

想象你在和人谈西瓜买卖，但谈判耗时太久，等达成协议时西瓜都烂了。公司最怕这种情况，所以会雇佣专业招聘人员确保谈判过程友好。你和猎头在这点上利益一致——如果公司觉得你'变质'了，他们就不愿买单了。

Imagine you were negotiating with someone over buying your watermelons, but the negotiation took so long that by the time you'd reached an agreement, your watermelons had gone bad. Companies are terrified of that. They don't want their candidates to go bad during a negotiation, hence why they hire professional recruiters to manage the process and make sure they remain amicable. You and the recruiter share the same interest in that regard. If a company feels like you've gone bad, suddenly, they're a lot less willing to pay for you.

无论谈判如何，都要让公司感受到：1.你仍喜欢这家公司；2.即使条件不合适仍对加入感到兴奋。最有效的做法是反复强调你热爱其使命、团队或正在解决的问题。别当决策者，可以用'我会和家人/朋友商量细节，有问题再联系'来结束对话。

So despite whatever's happening in the negotiation, give the company the impression that, one, you still like the company, and that, two, you're still excited to work there even if the numbers or the money or the timing is not working out. Generally, the most convincing thing to signal this is to reiterate you love the mission, the team, or the problem they're working on, and really want to see things work out. Don't be the decision maker. You can wrap up the conversation now by saying, I'll look over some of these details and discuss it with my family or close friends or significant other. I'll reach out to you if I have any questions.

非常感谢告知这个好消息，我会保持联系。这样不仅掌握了对话主动权，更重要的是引入了其他决策者——这是谈判第五法则：别当唯一决策者。哪怕你根本不在乎亲友意见，但提到他们就意味着招聘者需要说服的不止你一人。

Thanks so much for sharing the good news with me, and I'll be in touch. So not only you ending the conversation with the power all in your hands, but note there's another important move here. You're roping in other decision makers. Rule hash five of negotiation, don't be the decision maker. Even if you don't particularly care what your friend's family husband mother thinks by mentioning them, you're no longer the only person the recruiter needs to win over.

他们试图霸凌和恐吓你是没有意义的。真正的决策者他们根本接触不到。这是客户支持和补救中的经典手法。电话那头的人从来都不是问题的根源，他们只是可怜的打工仔罢了。

There's no point in them trying to bully and intimidate you. The true decision maker is beyond their reach. This is a classic technique in customer support and remediation. It's never the person on the phone's fault. They're just some poor schmuck doing their job.

这不是他们能做的决定。这有助于缓解紧张局势，并让他们更好地掌控局面。如果对方不是最终决策者，施压就会困难得多，所以要善用这一点。好了，我们收到第一份offer了。

It's not their decision to make. This helps to diffuse tension and give them more control of the situation. It's much harder to pressure someone if they're not the final decision maker, so take advantage of that. Okay. We have our first offer.

发送一封跟进邮件，确认你与招聘人员讨论的所有细节，以便留下书面记录。就说：只是想确认我掌握的信息是否准确。太棒了。下一步是利用这个offer争取其他机会，在就业市场上找到最佳交易。事实证明，第一份offer来自哪里甚至薪酬多少并不那么重要。

Send a follow-up email confirming all of the details you discussed with your recruiter so you have a paper trail. Just say, just wanted to confirm I had all the details right. Groovy. Next step is to leverage this to land other offers and find the best deal we can find in the job market. Getting other offers turns out it doesn't matter that much where your first offer is from or even how much they're offering you.

只要手握一个offer就能启动整个流程。如果你已经与其他公司进入面试流程（如果操作得当本应如此），就应该主动联系告知你刚收到offer。试着营造紧迫感。无论你是否知道截止日期，所有offer最终都会过期，要善用这一点。你可以这样开头：您好。

Just having an offer in hand will get the engine running. If you're already in the pipeline with other companies, which you should be if you're doing it right, you should proactively reach out and let them know that you've just received an offer. Try to build a sense of urgency. Regardless of whether you know the expiration date, all offers expire at some point, so take advantage of that. You can say, hello.

我想向您同步下我的近况。我刚收到x公司的offer，条件相当优厚。但说实话，我对贵司非常向往，很希望能促成合作。由于我的时间线现在比较紧张，不知贵司能否加快流程？需要具体提及给你offer的公司名称吗？

I just wanted to update you on my own process. I've just received an offer from x company, which is quite strong. That said, I'm really excited about your amazing company and really wanna see if we can make it work. Since my timeline is now compressed, is there anything you can do to expedite the process? Should you specifically mention the company that gave you an offer?

视情况而定。如果是知名企业或竞争对手，一定要提。如果是无名或不吸引人的公司，就说收到了offer即可。如果即将到期，也应该提及这一点。无论如何，要给所有正在接触的公司都发送这样的信函。

Depends. If it's a well known company or a competitor, then definitely mention it. If it's a no name or unsexy company, you should just say you received an offer. If it's expiring soon, you should mention that as well. Either way, send out a letter like this to every single company you're talking to.

无论你认为自己的申请多么希望渺茫或无足轻重，都要向市场上所有考虑你的公司释放这个信号。其次，如果有其他你想申请的公司——无论是通过内推还是直接申请，甚至是已申请但未获回复的公司——我都会用类似的邮件跟进。为什么要这样做？这不会显得俗气、烦人甚至绝望吗？完全不会。

No matter how hopeless or pointless you think your application is, you want to send this signal to everyone who is considering you in the market. Second, if there are any other companies you are looking to apply to, whether through referral or cold application, or even companies at which you've already applied but haven't heard back, I would also follow-up with a similar email. So why do this? Isn't this tacky, annoying, or even desperate? None of the above.

这是历史上最古老的方法，用于激活市场、展示供应有限并制造紧迫感。需求催生需求。并非所有公司都会对此作出反应，但许多公司会。然而，公司对此作出反应难道不是很愚蠢吗？为什么公司会在意其他公司的报价？

It is the oldest method in history to galvanize a marketplace, show that supplies are limited, and build urgency. Demand breeds demand. Not every company will respond to this, but many will. Isn't it stupid that companies respond to this, though? Why companies care about other offers?

当我写到自己求职经历时，曾提到谷歌的录用通知如何让其他公司态度逆转，并加速推进我的面试流程。许多评论者对这些公司的反复无常表示叹息。如果优步或Twitch仅仅因为谷歌才愿意与我接触，在此之前甚至不屑一顾，这说明了他们招聘流程的什么问题？他们到底在评估什么——如果确实有评估的话？我认为这种反应完全本末倒置。

When I wrote about the story of my own job search, I mentioned how having an offer from Google made companies turn around and expedite me through their funnels. Many commentators lamented at the capriciousness of these companies. If Uber or Twitch only talk to me because of Google and until then weren't willing to look at me, what did that say about their hiring processes? What legitimately are they evaluating, if anything at all? I think this response is totally backwards.

科技公司这种行为其实非常理性，理解这点对你大有裨益。首先，你必须明白公司的目标是什么。公司的目标是雇佣能成为高效员工、创造价值超过其成本的人。如何判断谁能做到这点？实际上在雇佣前你无法确定，但有几个替代指标。

The behavior of tech companies here is actually very rational, and you would do well to understand it. First, you must realize what a company's goal is. A company's goal is to hire someone who will become an effective employee and produce more value than their cost. How do you figure out who will do that? Well, you can't know for certain without actually hiring them, but there are a few proxies.

资历是最强信号。如果他们在其他公司表现出色，在你的公司很可能同样出色。如果组织内部有可信之人背书，这通常也是强力信号。但事实证明，几乎所有其他指标都是弱信号——弱在可靠性不足。

Pedigree is the strongest signal. If they did it at other companies, they can probably do it at yours. And if someone trusted within the organization can vouch for them, that's often a strong signal as well. But turns out, almost everything else is a weak signal. Weak in the sense that it's just not very reliable.

仔细想想，面试其实是漫长、紧张、不适的过程，与实际工作状态仅有模糊相似。这种形式怪异，且难以判断候选人是否胜任工作。这无法避免。虽然有些更强信号，比如以合同工形式试用一两周，但优秀候选人不会考虑这种方式。因此候选人群体实际上迫使公司承担了几乎全部的雇佣风险。

Interviews, if you think about it, are long, sweaty, uncomfortable affairs that only glancingly resemble actual employment. They're weird and can't tell you that much about whether an individual will be good at their job. There's no way around this. There are a few stronger signals like bringing someone in for a week or two on a contract to hire position, but strong candidates won't consider this. So candidates as a whole have effectively forced companies to assume almost all of the risk in hiring.

事实是，知道某人通过了你的面试，并不能说明他是否会成为好员工。就像你除了学生的SAT分数外对其一无所知。这根本不足以做出判断。谷歌或其他公司都未能解决这个问题。正因如此，公司关注你是否获得其他录用通知是完全理性的。

The truth is knowing that someone has passed your interview just doesn't say that much about whether they'll be a good employee. It's as though you knew nothing about a student other than their SAT score. It's just not a lot of data to go off. Nobody has solved this problem, not Google nor anyone else. And this is precisely why it's rational for companies to care that you've received other offers.

他们在意是因为每家公司都清楚自己的流程存在干扰因素，其他多数公司的流程同样如此。但候选人获得多个录用通知，意味着有多个弱信号共同支持。这些信号聚合后形成的判断力，远强于任何单次面试。就像知道某个学生既有优异SAT成绩和高GPA，又获得多种奖学金——虽然每个单项都可能存在误差，但综合来看就是强有力的证明。

They care because each company knows that their own process is noisy, and the processes of most other companies are also noisy. But a candidate having multiple offers means that they have multiple weak signals in their favor. Combined, these converge into a much stronger signal than any single interview. It's like knowing that a student has a strong SAT score and GPA and won various scholarships. Sure.

虽然仍有愚钝之人存在的可能，但这种情况已大大减少。这并不是说公司会按比例回应这些信号，也不是说它们不会过度看重学历和品牌——它们确实会。但关注你是否拥有其他offer并据此评估你的价值是完全合理的。简而言之，要让其他公司知道你已收到录用通知。

It's still possible that there are dunce, but it's much harder for that to be true. This is not to say that companies respond proportionally to these signals or that they don't overvalue credentials and brands. They do. But caring about whether you have other offers and valuing you accordingly is completely rational. So this is all to say, tell other companies that you've received offers.

提供更多信号让他们知道你是个备受青睐的强力候选人，并理解为何这会改变他们是否面试你的决定。在持续面试过程中，切记不断练习面试技巧。最终offer的最强决定因素将是你所获offer的数量和质量。关于时机的建议：你需要策略性安排offer的接收时间。

Give them more signal so that they know you're a valued and compelling candidate, and understand why this changes their mind about whether to interview you. As you continue interviewing, remember to keep practicing your interview skills. The single strongest determinant of your final offer will be the number and strength of offers that you receive. Some advice on timing. You want to be strategic about the timing of your offers.

通常应尽早开始大公司面试流程。它们的流程更慢，offer决策窗口更宽，意味着会给你更多考虑时间。初创公司则相反。你的目标应是让尽可能多的offer时间重叠，这样才能最大化谈判空间。

Generally, you should try to start interviewing at larger companies earlier. Their processes are slower and their offer windows are wider, meaning they allow you more time to decide. Startups are the other way around. Your goal should be to have as many offers overlapping at the same time as possible. This will maximize your window for negotiating.

收到offer时，首先该争取的往往是更多决策时间。特别是首个offer，争取时间绝对是你能要求的最有价值的东西。这段时间能让你激活其他公司机会，从而获得最优offer，所以要准备好为时间而战。如何应对爆炸性offer？天啊——

When you receive an offer, often the first thing you should ask for is more time to make your decision. Especially in your first offer, more time is by far the most valuable thing you can ask for. It's time that enables you to activate other companies and end up with the strongest possible offer, so be prepared to fight for time. How to approach exploding offers? Oh, boy.

爆炸性offer是指24至72小时内失效的录用通知。大公司很少见，但在初创和中型公司正日益普遍。这种offer很糟糕，我和多数人一样厌恶这种做法，但能理解其动机。爆炸性offer本质是雇主在技术人才强势市场中对抗的武器，公司对此心知肚明。

Exploding offers are offers that expire within twenty four to seventy two hours. You won't see this much at big companies, but they're becoming increasingly common among start ups and mid sized companies. Exploding offers suck, and I share most people's disdain for this practice, but I do understand it. Exploding offers are a natural weapon for employers to combat a strong hiring market for tech workers. Companies know exactly what they're doing with exploding offers.

它们利用恐惧心理限制你寻求counter offer的能力。某种程度上，初创公司若更难吸引人才，采取这种手段并不意外。但令人反感的是其中的不诚实——雇主常辩称'如果需要更长时间考虑，说明你不是我们想要的人'。千万别相信这种鬼话或因此内疚。

They play on fear and limit your ability to seek out counter offers. In a sense, it's unsurprising that if start ups have more difficulty attracting and securing talent, they'd resort to this practice. What I don't like is the dishonesty about it. Employers often justify this by saying, if you need more time than this, then that's a sign you're not the kind of person we're looking for. Please don't buy this crap or feel guilty over it.

他们这么做纯粹是为了提高候选人签约率。需要超过三天来做人生重大决定，恰恰是深思熟虑的表现。那么收到爆炸性offer该怎么办？这种offer会彻底破坏你在劳动力市场的有效运作能力，因此只有一个选择。

They're simply doing this to improve their chance of closing candidates. Needing more than three days to make a life decision isn't a sign of anything other than thoughtfulness. So what should you do if you receive an exploding offer? Exploding offers are anathema to your ability to effectively navigate the labor market. Thus, there is only one thing to do.

除非延长有效期，否则将这份录用通知视为无效。明确告知对方，如果这是份限时offer，对你而言毫无意义。例如对话：我有个重大顾虑。你提到这份offer将在48小时后失效。

Treat the offer as a non offer unless the expiration window is widened. In no uncertain terms, convey that if the offer is exploding, it's useless to you. Example conversation. I have one big concern. You mentioned that this offer explodes in forty eight hours.

恐怕这对我完全行不通。我绝不可能在48小时内做出决定。目前我正在完成其他几家公司的面试流程，这大概还需要一周左右时间。因此我需要更多时间来做明智决定。如果他们坚持说这是最终条件，那就礼貌回应：这实在令人遗憾。

I'm afraid this doesn't work at all for me. There's no way that I can make a decision on this offer within a forty eight hour window. I'm currently wrapping up my interview process at a few other companies, which is likely to take me another week or so. So I'm gonna need more time to make an informed decision. If they push back and say this is the best they can do, then politely reply, that's really unfortunate.

我很欣赏贵公司，也对团队充满期待，但正如我所说，48小时的考虑期实在不合理。选择下一家公司对我而言是重大人生决定，我非常重视自己的承诺。此外我还需要咨询外部决策者。在如此短时间内我无法做出让自己安心的决定。绝大多数公司到这个阶段都会让步。

I like your company and was really excited about the team, but like I said, there's no way I can consider this offer forty eight hours just too unreasonable of a window. The next company I join will be a big life decision for me, and I take my commitments very seriously. I also need to consult with my external decision maker. There's no way that I can make a decision I'm comfortable with in this short amount of time. Pretty much any company will relent at this point.

若对方仍不妥协，不要害怕直接退出。通常他们不会让你离开，会在你转身时挽留。但如果他们无动于衷，那说实话这种公司不值得。求职时我收到过多个限时offer，每次采用这个策略后，所有offer都立即延长了有效期，有时甚至延长数周。为避免误解我要特别强调：我并非建议你默默等待限时offer过期并幻想对方仍会录用你。

If they persist, don't be afraid to walk away over it. They probably won't let that happen and will come grab you as you're walking out the door. But if they don't, then honestly, screw them. I was given several exploding offers during my job search, and every time I did essentially this, every single offer immediately widened to become more reasonable, sometimes by several weeks. I wanna emphasize, lest I be misunderstood here, what I'm saying is not to just silently let an exploding offer expire and assume that everything will be fine and they'll still hire you.

他们不会的。要使限时offer成为有效威胁，公司必须建立严格执行的声誉。我的意思是当对方提出offer时就要明确指出这个问题。别让公司剥夺你的谈判主动权。关于谈判思维——

They won't. For exploding offers to be a credible weapon, a company has to have a reputation of enforcing them. I'm saying explicitly call this out as an issue when they make the offer. Don't let a company bully you into giving away your negotiating power. The negotiating mindset.

在进入实质谈判前，我想先探讨你应有的谈判心态。这不仅关乎对话方式，更关系到你如何看待公司。切忌用单一维度评估公司价值。不要仅凭薪资、股权或声望做判断。这些固然重要，但文化契合度、工作挑战性、学习空间、职业发展、生活质量、成长潜力以及整体幸福感同样关键。

Before we enter into the actual back and forth, I want to examine the mindset you should have as a negotiator. This applies not just to how you approach the conversation, but also to how you think about the company. Do not fall into the trap of valuing companies solely along one dimension. That means don't just value companies based on salary, equity, or even on prestige. Those are all important dimensions, but so are cultural fit, the challenge of the work, learning potential, later career options, quality of life, growth potential, and just overall happiness.

这些因素没有绝对的优先顺序。那些告诉你'选最开心的就好'的人，和说'选钱最多的就行'的人同样片面。所有维度都值得考量，你的决定应该是真正多维度的。在了解不同公司时要保持开放心态。另外要明白，不同公司评估你的维度也不尽相同。

None of these inherently trump any of the other. Anyone who tells you just choose wherever you think you'll be happiest is being just as simplistic than someone who says, just choose the one that offers the most money. All of these things matter, and your decision should be genuinely multidimensional. Be open to being surprised as you explore different companies. It's also important to understand that companies don't all value you along the same dimension either.

不同公司确实在寻找不同的技能，在某些公司你会显得更有价值或更无足轻重。即使是同行业公司也是如此，特别是当你具备专业技能时。接触的公司越多，你就越可能找到一家你比其他候选人价值显著更高的公司。很可能这就是你能争取到最佳offer的地方。最终结果可能会让你大吃一惊。

That is different companies are genuinely looking for different skills, and there are some companies at which you will be more and less valuable. Even at peer companies, this is true, especially so if you have a specialized skill set. The more companies you talk to, the more likely you are to find a company to which you are significantly more valuable than the rest. Chances are this is where you'll be able to negotiate your strongest offer. It might surprise you which company this turns out to be.

保持开放心态，记住求职是双向选择的过程。在这个过程中，你能为自己做的最有价值的事情之一就是真正理解雇主的思维方式及其动机。理解对话者在谈判中极为重要，我们将在下一篇博客中深入探讨这一点。但最重要的是，要对对方保持好奇心，努力理解雇主为何会有那样的想法。

Keep an open mind, and remember that a job search is a two sided process. One of the most valuable things you can do for yourself in this process is to really try to understand how employers think and what motivates them. Understanding your interlocutor is extremely important in negotiation, and we'll be exploring that a lot in the next blog post. But most of all, want to emphasize, be curious about the other side. Try to understand why employers think the way they do.

对他们抱有同理心。关心他们的需求并帮助他们实现。采用这种思维方式将使你成为更强大的谈判者，进而成为更优秀的员工和团队成员。好了，今天就讲到这里。

Be sympathetic toward them. Care about what they want and help them try to get it. Adopting this mindset will make you a much stronger negotiator and accordingly, a much better employee and team member. Okay. That's as far as we're going for today.

在下一篇博客中，我将介绍谈判的最后四条规则。还会详细讲解实际讨价还价的过程：如何提出诉求、如何强化offer、如何拆解公司可能对你使用的花招。另外会深入探讨我特别着迷的谈判理论部分。

In the next blog post, I'm gonna cover the last four rules of negotiation. I'll also go over the actual back and forth process, how to ask for what you want, how to strengthen offers, and how to dismantle the tricks that companies will try to pull on you. Also, a lot more on the theory of negotiation, which I really dig.