Despite the angst it might cause you at this stage, the answer to that question is yes.   Here are a few important guidelines to keep in mind should your job search progress to this point:

1)      You increase your chances of getting what you want by being positive, appreciative of the employer’s consideration and reiterating your interest in the employer and the challenges the job offers. If you act arrogant or unreasonable, the offer could be revoked and you would be back at Square 1

2)      When asking for more pay, explain your request in terms that are both sensible and reasonable. For instance, “Overall, this is a very nice offer but there’s only one area where I hope there could be some flexibility. At my last job, I was earning $80,000 a year and I was hoping that the offer would be closer to that amount. Is there any chance that part of the offer could be enhanced so I won’t have to play catch-up?”

3)      For non-monetary items such as vacation vesting, don’t be afraid to tug at the heart strings by injecting a personal element to your request: “Since we’ve already planned our family vacation, I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to break my children’s hearts by having to cancel it. Is there any chance my vacation allowance could be immediately vested so I won’t have to be the bad guy?

While the safest approach is to simply accept the job offer unconditionally, many employers are prepared – and expect – to negotiate the initial offer. Your success will largely depend on how you ask for the things that matter most to you.

And that has created an interesting dilemma for recruiters and hiring managers who often reject those applicants as being overqualified.

As a former recruiter for some of the world’s largest companies, I understand their quandary. I, too, rarely hired overqualified candidates, particularly if it meant offering them less money than they previously earned.

The exceptions were those applicants who succeeded in convincing me they wanted a job for reasons other than the paycheck. In contrast to openly sharing purely financial motives – “I really need this job to save my house from foreclosure” – successful candidates told me why the job appealed to them on a more intrinsic level.

For instance, I once interviewed an elderly gentleman for a mid-level management job on my staff. Because he had once held bigger positions than the one I had available, I was concerned he would jump ship once a more lucrative or challenging opportunity came along.

When I asked him to explain his interest, he replied:

“Well, I’ve tried retirement and, quite frankly, I’m just not very good at it. While I’ve learned a lot in my career that can be of immediate value to you, from a personal standpoint I really miss the sense of purpose I get from helping others.

Not only did I hire him but he stayed with the company long after I had moved on.

The point is, if you are willing to take a lesser job than your career history suggests, be certain to share your applicable skills, experiences, interests and motives so that the recruiter or hiring manager understands money isn’t the primary reason for wanting the job.

During the interview process with one prospective candidate, I brought an abrupt halt to his employment candidacy because he declined to answer one of my standard questions: “What are your compensation expectations?” 

Why so fast on the rejection trigger? 

Because I simply wasn’t willing to risk wasting my time or the time of others’ in the organization without knowing if we even had a chance of making a job offer he would accept. 

If the candidate feared being  rejected because his compensation requirements were too high, he could have avoided the issue by saying he was looking for compensation that was “fair and represented a win/win” for the both company and himself. 

While that wouldn’t have gotten him off the hook, I would have considered it a nice first try and pressed him again for a specific dollar amount.  At that point, he then should have provided me with a range spanning from his bare minimum to what he really hoped to earn and adding “It really depends on the responsibilities and scope of the position.” 

In most cases, that would have given me a general idea of whether we were even in the same ballpark.

So, while I was prepared to give that person some latitude as to how to answer the compensation question, a flat-out refusal clearly wasn’t one of those options.

When the question of compensation comes up in the interview, respond accordingly. The right response could be a win-win for both of you.

For anyone who has researched what it takes to find a new job, it’s a sure bet that networking has surfaced as one of the most effective approaches in learning about potential opportunities. After all, networking consists of making contacts and finding out about jobs you otherwise may not have found on your own.

Networking also allows you to tap into the “hidden job market” — jobs that have not been advertised publicly.

Once you’ve mustered the courage to announce you’re on the market for a new job, don’t think you can kick back and wait for the phone calls and e-mails to start rolling in with promising leads. Too often, job seekers make the mistake of reaching out to their friends, family members and former colleagues with the expectation that a single request for assistance will suffice. It often does not.

While your contacts earnestly want to help your job search, it is easy — and understandable — for them to be distracted by the demands of their own responsibilities and forget about you. To stay fresh in their minds, it’s essential you periodically keep them apprised of your efforts, such as upcoming interviews, employers you are pursuing and networking events you will attend.

A good balance between maintaining an informed and active network and becoming a nuisance by overcommunicating is to limit your correspondence to every four weeks.

Remember: As discouraging as a prolonged job search can become, it’s essential you don’t fade away until you’ve landed a new job.

While the best time to discuss your pay requirements is when you have determined the prospective employer is truly serious about preparing an offer, you may not have that option.  For instance, if you are asked early in the interviewing process what you are expecting to earn, you may want to try to reverse the inquiry by asking, “Would you mind giving me an idea of the range for the position?”  Unless the range is significantly below what you would accept, you should let them know it seems fair given what you know about the job so far.  If the attempt to reverse the question is unsuccessful, offer a range spanning from your bare minimum to what you really hope to get and add, “It really depends on the responsibilities and scope of the position.”  You can get a sense for what represents a competitive range for your job and profession by going to websites such as monster.salary.com, cbsalary.com and payscale.com. 

However, never refuse to provide specific details about your current or previous compensation plan!  Doing so risks coming across as arrogant or combative and it could result in the abrupt end of your candidacy.  I have literally ended interviews on the spot when candidates refused to answer this question.  Why?  I simply wasn’t going to risk wasting my time or others in the organization unless I thought we had a good chance of ultimately making an offer the candidate would accept.