The job is an internship that results in a large pay-cut for me (something I'll write about later) so I thought about what I could do to make the situation a bit better for me. The original job advert stated:"We can be a little bit flexible with hours, if the person is finishing writing up their thesis for example."
I also knew that my current boss wanted me to continue working for him in some capacity (even if that meant collating data and papers for free) so I went about approaching both parties with some ideas. After a week of back and forth e-mails I negotiated a contract that kept one day a week at my old job (which pays more per day) whilst keeping my full salary at the new job for four days as week.
It wasn't something I felt particularly comfortable doing at the start but it worked out really well in the end and here are some guidelines on how I managed it:
Be realistic. There are always going to be things that you want in a job contract: more pay, a larger bonus, better benefits, etc., but focus on what can realistically be done within the terms of your employment. For example, I knew that the salary for my new internship would be a financial struggle and I also understood from my interview that there would be no further funds in the charity's budget to increase my pay. Faced with this, I didn't ask for more money but, instead, asked if I could work for somebody else for one day a week and boost my pay. My new bosses were very understanding of my situation and have been very helpful in allowing me to arrange having two different jobs.
Be honest. My negotiations involved two other parties so there was no point or benefit to over-complicating the situation by not being completely honest. There's always the temptation to push your luck to get extra but I found it paid off to be completely open. I found this particularly important as I was discussing money.
Be focussed. I wouldn't recommend asking for more than one or two changes to your contract. If you're asking for more money, different hours, extra pension, every second Thursday off and a company car then I think you start to look a bit 'grabby'. Stick with what you really want and you'll usually be taken more seriously.
Time off. I wrote my PhD thesis in 6 weeks (pretty much from start to finish) in order to start my Post-Doc on time. I worked out that I could work on 5 hours sleep, didn't need to shower and my then-boyfriend-now-husband would bring me meals when I didn't have time to leave my desk. I submitted on a Friday in mid-November, started work the following Monday and took two days off to prepare for, and attend, my viva just two weeks later. In retrospect, this was a mistake. The PI had wanted me to start in September and I was so keen to get a job straightaway (I'd never not been enrolled or employed) that I gave myself very tight deadlines and started my Post-Doc exhausted. In the long-run, an extra week would've made absolutely no difference and I should have gone back to them and asked for a week later start date.This time, although I knew that my new employers could take me on as soon as possible, I made sure that there was a week in between my jobs. I still ended up replying to a few e-mails and had to dodge a thinly-veiled request to work for free for a few days (old boss, not new!) but it made a huge difference to me to start my new job fresh and ready to go.
Ask for advice. In deciding how best to approach this situation I approached the career's service at my institute for some guidance. I'm very lucky to have this resource and I know not everyone is so fortunate. Try not to 'straw-poll' your friends and family on if and how you should ask for something. Their likely to be on your side (you'd hope) and won't be the most objective. If you do ask someone you know personally, make it a manager or an employee that has had to deal with similar situations before. Advice like 'Don't ask, don't get' is fine when being dished out by a friend but being reasonable in a professional environment is a different situation altogether.
Keep in mind, you haven't signed anything yet. This goes both ways. Your new employers will learn a lot about you from this negotiation and, whilst it's unlikely that your requests will make them completely change their mind about employing you, it could affect how they think of you in the future. Going the other way, if a company reacts unreasonably to a fair request or a 'deal-breaker' for you, think about whether you're learning something vital about their practices and if you still want to work for them.
I'm aware I've been very lucky in finding two employers amenable to this situation but I was told recently by a friend I shouldn't feel too 'grateful'. I'm bringing something to both employers and simply trying to make the situation work for me, too. What I required from them was understanding of the situation and to have accepted less from them without a fair reason would have been selling myself short.
In short. In these situations, be prepared to fight your corner but just choose your fight carefully.
