heartofdarkness

In the process of negotiating comp and package with a bank in Bahrain. This is torture! They make an offer or refuse to budge, I make a counter offer and it takes forever for them to reply. Any tips or stories in terms of dealing with these guys..

busybee2

its what its like here, all takes time.

Welivehere

Patience. Breath deep and keep at it. Negotiating is an art form in this region, for most over here it's more about the game / strategy than the result.

Are you doing this over the phone or via email? Deal with whomever verbally and then confirm by email, the personal touch is appreciated. E-mail is not a great form of communication in this region for two reasons. Firstly it is mis-used so most people get inundated with hundred of mails that are basically worthless to them (every-one cc’s every-one) and secondly it is very easy to ignore an email without causing offence.

Also make sure you are dealing with the decision maker direct. People will often overstate their decision making boundaries and you find they are not stalling deliberately but are actually waiting on approval from some-one higher up the food chain.

Finally bear in mind it is summer here so most of the region almost goes into hibernation. With a lot of decision makers away for a large % of the summer (potentially for months at a time), the pace of business can slow up.

And once again patience, just remember things are diffferent here, life in Bahrain is slower in general and then that tends to be reflected in some elements of business.

Keep plugging away, you will get there....

heartofdarkness

thanks for the advice..dealing with HR and headhunter so not in best position..guess they know they have me over a barrel with schools to deal with and the mess in the U.S banking sector

macteepee

heartofdarkness, if it helps at all - someone posted a little while ago about an offer they're husband had (in finance) on the EW board here. I think they're due to arrive in BAH shortly as well.

bromo

Hi,

Started my negotiating with a bank in bahrain Back in march. Only just recently finalised details. Finally going to fly out in August.

Like evryones saying, i thinks its the norm out there, no one beleives in same day or even same week turnarounds!!!

heartofdarkness

Bromo..who are you talking to if I may ask?