Now a new study has showed a key trick in getting the best deal - asking for a range of pay, rather than a single figure.

The research contradicts（与……抵触）traditional wisdom that argues giving a range will automatically cause employers to focus on the lower end of the offer. For instance, if you want  $90,000 and you suggest a range between $90,000 and $110,000, the study finds employers are more likely to make a higher offer.

But simply asking for $110,000 in the first place increases the chances of the deal falling apart, as it is a sign that the employee is not open to negotiation（协商）.

The team made the discovery after running a series of experiments involving Amazon Mechanical Turk workers and business school students.

Respondents were asked not only what they thought their negotiation partner's lowest acceptable offer could be, but also questions designed to show how they viewed their partner.

One type of offer, called a “bracketing” range,places the figures on either side of the desired salary. For instance, if you want $90,000, you'd ask for a range of between  $80,000 and $100,000. This causes employers to offer the lower end of the scale,but, unlike single figure offers, the deals rarely fall apart as the negotiator is often viewed favourably. “If your goal is to get along with someone without losing money, the‘bracketing' range offers may be a good move,”Dr Ames told the Wall Street Journal.

The“backdown”range offer, meanwhile, uses the target salary as the high figure in the range. For $90 ,000, an employer would ask for a range between $70,000 to $90,000. These range offers , predicta-bly, give the worst results in terms of pay.

However, Dr Ames warns against setting the range too high and says the most successful range is usually within 20 per cent of the target offer.

How to Know Yourself Better

Most of us believe that we know ourselves better than anyone in this world. But a lot of people are still strangers to themselves. Why? 【小题1】 For a person, to have a well-lived life, it is important that he know himself well. If you are one of those who are striving to know yourself better, these steps will guide you.

·Take a moment to write down things that you know“very well”about yourself - your interests,likes, dislikes, hobbies, strengths, weaknesses,hopes, fears, dreams, etc. 【小题2】 By creating a list of your personal qualities that you are familiar with, you are keeping yourself in touch with yourself.

·Take personality and psychological tests. This is another way to know yourself better. The Internet has a rich source of free online personality and psychological assessments and tests. 【小题3】

·Know yourself better by understanding people's opinions of you. 【小题4】 Sometimes, you think you know yourself enough, but other people who see you from their point of view can offer you some insights into how you act and get understood by others. Be careful,however, to balance both opinions to come up with an objective view of yourself.

【小题5】 It's a lifetime process. Every day you will be given new insights about yourself. Writing a diary will help you keep track of these new discoveries. Maintaining that hunger to know yourself better will make you more self-aware, opening up  new opportunities to enrich your life.

   Whether you're meeting a customer for the first time or interviewing potential new employees, making a great first impression is important.

Research suggests that fairly _______ first impressions are made as soon as within one-tenth of a second of meeting someone. Then how do you _______ you come across well?Apart from the _______ practice - dress smartly, shake hands firmly, make eye contact, you can do _______ to make sure you make a good first impression.

Making a good first impression will be a lot _______ if you understand what exactly a good first impression involves. Edwards, CEO of Science of People,suggests becoming _______ of how you want to be sensed before the meeting. “ _______ you get ready, think about what kind of people you want to _______ and what kind of interactions you want to have. ”

Add value to the _______ . If you don't have anything interesting to say, perhaps you can ________ not to say anything. Sally, the author of How The World Sees You, stresses why you need to ________ value to the conversation. ” You want your listeners to ________ the conversation feeling good about their investment（投入）of time and ________ . What can you ________ to the discussion? For example, has your  team recently learned a new ________ to connect via a conference call,or attract new customers? If you're not adding value ,you're just ________ time. ”

Forget about your personal schedule. It's going to be difficult to make a good impression if you're ________ in some personal schedule. Andrew, Director of Business Development, ________ dropping your personal schedule and ________ , being friendly and honest with the people who may be able to help  each other. Generosity is an attractive ________ and it's something special that people will remember about you.

   You should always prepare for an interview whether you are about to face a traditional question-and-answer interview or a behavioral interview. There are things you can do before a behavioral interview that will put you at ease,make you feel and look more confident and make you stand out from the competition.

The first thing you must try to do is determine what competencies（技能）the prospective employer is looking for in a candidate（申请者）. Carefully read through the job announcement even  if you've already done this. It usually includes clues about the type of candidate the employers are seeking. This information may simply be listed under job requirements or it may be hidden within the list of job duties. If it's the latter,you will have to figure out what competencies are needed to perform those duties.

Another way to learn what competencies the employer desires is to talk to a recruiter（招聘人员） if you get through one. You should also use your network to connect with people who know about the prospective employer and you will know what qualities he most values.

If you cant get definitive answers about the particular position for which you are applying, try to make some educated guesses about the qualities needed for similar jobs.

You can consult job announcements for similar positions to find out what qualities other employers are seeking.

Once you have figured out what competencies the employer wants, you will have to come up with specific examples of how you used them. Try to answer some of the sample questions that follow. Do not be unclear in your responses. You will have to give enough information to prove that you possess a particular competency.