3 Ways to Negotiate a Better Job Offer
1. Get a potential employer to "fall in love" with you before you talk about money.
The time to be asking for things is after an employer has decided to hire you. Focus on what is important to the employer and what you can do for them. In tough times, making or saving money is always important. So is your ability to make your prospective boss look good.
Employers want to hire people who bring value, and they are willing to pay what is necessary to hire them. Once the employer has decided to make you an offer, then, and only then, should you start discussing the terms of employment. Until that time, whenever the subject of money comes up, talk about the job. Be enthusiastic about wanting the job. Show that you really want to work there. Ask for the job. No one wants to hire a person who is only looking for a paycheck.
If asked what you are looking for in terms of compensation, say something like "I am sure that if I am the right person for the job and the job is right for me, something that is fair will be readily worked out." Then ask some questions about the job. You will look good to the employer and defer the conversation until a time that is more appropriate.
2. The only difference between being employed and being unemployed is your self-confidence.
You are same person when you are unemployed as you were when you were working. You have the same skills and same experience. The value you can bring to an employer doesn't change just because you don't have a job. The only difference is your confidence. If you exhibit confidence you not only can negotiate effectively, you probably can land the job you want.
Competition for your services will also make you seem more valuable in the eyes of a prospective employer. Talking with several prospective employers at the same time will not only increase your confidence but will enhance your bargaining leverage.
3. Don't act like you are negotiating.
While you want to arrange the best possible deal, you should do so in a way that doesn't look like you are negotiating. Remember, once the employer has decided to offer you a job, they are trying to recruit you. Let them. Tell them what your concerns are. Ask for the things you want without ever suggesting that you won't accept the job if you don't get them. "Would it be possible..." or "Could you..." or 'Other companies I have been talking to have offered, is it possible...." are non-threatening ways for you to ask. Don't make "demands." Throughout the process, and especially when you are asking for something, let the employer know how excited you are about the opportunity and how much you want the job.
Interview tips for old people
Sell your brand
The best way to prepare for an interview is to start with a focus and brand that sells you. Develop a personal brand statement for yourself, a simple sentence that offers three important selling points about you. First, it should say who you are. Second, it should offer your biggest strength(s) and third, it should offer the biggest benefit that you would bring to your next employer. 
The purpose of your brand is to go beyond mere duties and job descriptions and get to the "what's in it for them" benefit that will make the employer sit up and take notice.
Show passion for your work
Relationships are based on shared values, which make up most of what we call chemistry, Block says. Chemistry is enhanced when we meet others who have a shared interest. This extends to your work, profession or industry. If there is little passion or commitment from you for your work, how can you expect others to get excited during the interview? On the other hand, if you consider yourself driven or committed to what you do for a living, you'll most likely meet up with a hiring manager who has a shared interest in the same area. This, in fact, may be a new area for you as you undergo a possible career change. It gives you the opportunity to take your transferable skills and put them to use in some new ways for a different industry. If you're genuinely excited about your possibilities, your excitement can be contagious, especially during your interview.
Think 'tactical' versus 'strategic'
According to Block and other employment analysts, many companies today view their short-term survival needs as having paramount importance. They're looking for players who can hit the ground now and help them grunt through the next six to nine months. That will require a change in your marketing approach as phrases such as "long-term" and "strategic" won't have the sales impact of a year ago. Rather than emphasize the long haul in your résumé and interview marketing, look instead at selling yourself as an expert who can get in and fix the problems of today quickly and efficiently. Downplay any talk about long-range solutions and instead focus on clear, results-oriented achievements for short-range problems.
Talk money
Money talks and it talks loudly. Money can also trump age, so try to get as close to the money as you can when you describe who you are and what you bring to the table.
Keep in mind that all organizations have only two basic needs: revenue and productivity. This is what keeps any top manager up at night. If you can help them, they will seek your advice and counsel. Therefore, come to the interview armed with specific examples of how you can solve their money (or productivity) problem. Your past achievements are examples of how to tackle the similar problems they're faced with today. If you can show yourself to be the problem-solver they need, you'll quickly rise to the shortlist of candidates. Your goal is to become the "go-to" person for their short-term revenue or productivity problems.
How to answer salary question in job interview
Americans aren't keen to discuss money. We like making it and we like spending it, but money doesn't belong in polite conversation. It sits on the shelf of forbidden topics, alongside politics, religion and sex.You haven't even met anyone at the company yet and you're expected to divulge information only you and your bank account know? How rude.Yet, one of the requisites often found on a job posting is, "Include salary history."
Like it or not, salary talks are part of job hunts, and often they arise in the early stages of the game. For a topic as sensitive and tricky as money, how should you proceed?
The dos and don'ts
As with any portion of a job hunt, there are bad signals you can send to an employer and vice versa. For example, you don't want to show up wearing beach attire to an interview. At the same time, you don't want to work at an office where all the employees looked unhappy and terrified of the boss. Salary talks have similar red flags.
"During salary discussions, an employer does not want to hear about financial pressures candidates may have, such as debt, loans or, especially, maintaining a lifestyle," Fuller cautions. "Showing an appreciation for the tangibles, intangibles and the big picture will go a long way. [Also], employers will screen out candidates who are all about the money and not about the contribution and advancement of the organization."
But be wary of employers during these conversations. You need to trust what you're being told; otherwise you probably don't want to work at the company.
"Candidates who cannot establish trust with an employer about the role, the expectations, the compensation and the future outlook should not accept an offer with an employer," Fuller says. If you have no faith in what you hear, can you imagine what it will be like to work for this employer every day?
The interview
Even if you're able to sidestep the issue during the application process, you might encounter it during a phone interview. Unless you like long, awkward silences, you'll have to address the issue.
"The best answer is to tell the employer what you are currently earning [or most recently earned]," Fuller suggests. "At that point, compensation is not at a negotiation stage; it is at the information gathering stage. This is an important distinction to understand."
If you're asked what you expect to earn, not what you did earn, Fuller recommends you give a realistic range for the position. This gives the employer an idea of what you want and can lead to a discussion of whether that pay aligns with what he or she had in mind.
Regardless of when the topic arises, Fuller stresses that job seekers be honest about their salary history. Employers can verify your salary in a matter of minutes these days, so lying only serves to make you look bad. Just because you give a high number doesn't mean the employer will match the amount, Fuller says.
