6. The First Number is not the Last Number

Many people sign the first offer they're given. Not because it's fair. Because they want the whole thing to be over.That instinct can be the most expensive feeling in a layoff, because the first number is almost always a starting position.Start by understanding your selectionBefore you talk money, understand how you got here. You're allowed to ask how the redundancy pool was defined and what criteria were used to select you. If the pool is not clear to you, or the scoring is vague and subjective, that's not a complaint, it's a fact that changes your negotiating position. If selection touched anything tied to a protected characteristic, age, sex, disability, pregnancy, race, you're no longer in a redundancy conversation, you're in a discrimination one, which is far more serious for them.What the settlement agreement actually doesThe document they'll put in front of you does one main thing. In exchange for the money, you give up your right to bring claims against them. That's the trade.…