Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

R E A D : Adopting A Negotiation Mindset At the end of negotiation, both you and the employer should walk away from the process feeling you struck a win-win agreement or you both risk starting a relationship on uneasy footing which may impact your relationship and the longevity of your position. Adopting a winning negotiation mindset may help you negotiate more money depending on your specialty, type of practice, and demographic area while developing a strong relationship with your new employer. Of course, a negative mindset is not pretty – not only can you lose tens of thousands of dollars, you could jeopardize losing your desired career opportunity. So, having a positive negotiation mindset, based on reasonable expectations, is critical to your success during and after the negotiation process. Attractive Personality Remember the old saying that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar? There’s a reason for that: a positive attitude and outlook gets you much farther than a negative one. Negotiating with an ego or with a sense of entitlement breeds negativity, thus putting you at risk for an unfavorable outcome. According to Napoleon Hill, author of Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement, one of the most important principals in achieving lasting success is to develop a pleasing personality. Hill breaks up the “Pleasing Personality” principle (1) into 25 different personality traits that are important to develop. You’ll find each trait is closely related. Althoughwewon’t revieweach of the traits here, we can show you that working to bolster some of them will help you strengthen others, thus improving your chance of a positive interaction and negotiation. Below are eight characteristics as described by Napoleon Hill that are considered the most beneficial in negotiation. 1. Positive Mental Attitude – A positive mental attitude (PMA) is the right mental attitude in any given situation; it is most often composed of the “plus” characteristics symbolized by such words as “faith”, “integrity”, “hope”, “optimism”, “courage”, initiative”, “generosity”, “tolerance”, “tact”, “kindliness” and “good common sense”. Your attitude will set the tone for negotiation one way or the other. For example, if you share with the prospective employer, “I am excited to discuss the terms of your contract, and I am confident we will come to a mutually-beneficial agreement”, this SECTION III: T MINUS ONE YEAR CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 288