Whether this is your first job offer or your tenth, you'll do yourself a favor by honing your negotiation skills. Whatever the firm's initial offer is, it can often be improved—in many cases dramatically—through savvy negotiating. And once you're on the job, it'll be difficult to get the same boost, even with stellar performance.

This best-selling WetFeet Insider Guide will help you maximize salary, responsibilities, work flexibility, or whatever else you want by teaching you how to negotiate after—and even before—you land your job offers. It was written exclusively for our readers by Robert A. Fish, PhD, founder of Right Management Consultants, the largest outplacement consulting firm in the U.S. In his extensive career in the recruiting and career management industries, Dr. Fish has counseled hundreds of leading executives of major corporations including Apple Computer, AT&T, and IBM on career transition issues.

We will take you step-by-step through a negotiation process that will leave both you and your employer satisfied. Here are just a few of the things you'll learn:

• How to build your bargaining power and stand out as the candidate for the job
  
• How taking on a short-term project can change a reluctant manager's mind
  
• How to evaluate offers by deciding which factors are must-haves and which you can live without
  
• How to present your case to get a better job—and, of course, more money
  
• How to discuss your salary history without limiting your earning power
  
• How to negotiate other perks to increase your overall compensation
  
• How to spot hiring managers' own negotiating tactics—and overcome them