In any negotiation:<p>[1]. Learn as much as possible about the other side.  Information is power.<p>[2][3]. Salary isn&#x27;t the only thing.  There&#x27;s a lot more that goes into an employment negotiation.  Don&#x27;t get stuck on an issue, come back to it later.<p>[1] I knew I was getting a pay cut, and I was OK with that, different company and environment, I was getting more of what I wanted.  But I made it a real sticking issue, and was sure not to get too much of a cut, including references to where I was 2-5 years ago as if to anchor myself to.  This made HR really uncomfortable as they had no bargaining point, I was the high ball and I knew out of range.<p>[2] As salary, but flexibility and essentially &quot;50% time&quot; (in Google lingo) was my goal I had it written into contract but not binding on my side.  It was true 50% time with no penalty, only upside.  I knew what they needed to deliver, and could do this on the existing 50%.  Risk on my side if I couldn&#x27;t.<p>[3] You may be handed the unexpected in the meantime, as they thought you thought it was valuable, but to them it&#x27;s cheap (for example, holiday).  Exasperated at my calling my wife over every clause (an ultimate hard negotiation style), or having a &#x27;breathing time&#x27; break every 10 minutes, and my constantly deferring actual wage talks, they just gave 10 extra days holiday per year.  They said I mentioned it, perhaps from a previous contract I mentioned off-cuff, and had no impact on my decision on final agreement.  While at the same time constantly signalling a win-win to HR, graciously appealed body language, etc.  And then back to calling my wife for every other clause.<p>I highly recommend Harvard&#x27;s Program on Negotiation:  pon.harvard.edu (I think).  It opened my eyes to looking at other ways to discuss things, and how being non-single issue focused really wins the day.  Subscribe to their newsletter, lots of case studies and examples shared, all free.  Probably not easy to learn in a day.  For others reading, it would be a really good experience to gather together some of their exercises (really low prices, around $2 per copy) and practice some similar role-plays together.  Sally Suprano, Eazer&#x27;s Garage and The Consultant most immediately recallable in contract negotiation.