By The Human Reach Editorial Team
Salary negotiation is one of the highest-leverage activities in any professional’s career — and one of the most consistently mishandled. AJ Mizes, founder of The Human Reach and former global HR leader at Meta, has seen both sides of the negotiation table. His framework for commanding the salary you deserve is built on a simple principle: negotiation is not a confrontation, it’s a conversation about value.
Why Most Executives Leave Money on the Table
Mizes identifies three reasons why even highly accomplished executives consistently underperform in salary negotiations:
Fear of losing the offer. The most common reason executives don’t negotiate is fear — specifically, the fear that pushing back on compensation will cause the employer to rescind the offer. Mizes is direct: this almost never happens. Employers expect negotiation, and a candidate who negotiates confidently and professionally is typically viewed more favorably, not less.
Lack of market data. You can’t negotiate effectively if you don’t know what the market pays for your skills and experience. Most executives have a vague sense of their market value but haven’t done the systematic research needed to negotiate from a position of knowledge.
Negotiating too early. The most common tactical mistake is discussing compensation before the employer has fully committed to wanting you. The more interested they are, the more leverage you have. Mizes teaches his clients to delay compensation conversations as long as possible — ideally until after an offer has been extended.
The Mizes Negotiation Framework
Mizes teaches a four-step framework for salary negotiation:
Step 1: Research your market value. Use multiple data sources — compensation surveys, conversations with recruiters, peer networks — to develop a clear picture of what the market pays for your specific combination of skills, experience, and geography.
Step 2: Anchor high. The first number in a negotiation has an outsized influence on the final outcome. Mizes recommends anchoring at the top of your researched range — not an unrealistic number, but one that reflects genuine market value and gives you room to negotiate.
Step 3: Negotiate the full package. Base salary is just one component of total compensation. Equity, bonus, benefits, flexibility, professional development budget, and title are all negotiable. Mizes works with his clients to identify and negotiate every element of the package.
Step 4: Get it in writing. Verbal commitments are not commitments. Before accepting any offer, get every element of the negotiated package documented in writing.
The Competing Offer Strategy
One of the most powerful negotiating tools is a competing offer. Mizes recommends that executives who are serious about maximizing their compensation always run multiple searches simultaneously — not just to increase their options, but to create genuine negotiating leverage.
A competing offer doesn’t just increase the dollar amount of the final package — it also accelerates the timeline, which is itself valuable.
The Long Game
Mizes also emphasizes the compounding effect of effective negotiation. A $20,000 increase in starting salary, compounded over a 20-year career with typical raises and job changes, can represent hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime earnings. The investment in learning to negotiate well pays dividends for decades.
About AJ Mizes: AJ Mizes is the founder of The Human Reach and a former global HR leader at Meta’s Reality Labs. He has helped hundreds of executives negotiate compensation packages that reflect their true market value.
