Consider the following situation ... You've been offered your dream job. You love the company, and you know they love you. Now, it's time to get down to brass tacks and discuss pay. The firm throws out a figure that's 10% lower than you had in mind. What's your response?

a) "Great! When do I start?" while grumbling to yourself about how cheap the company is. 

b) "Actually, I was thinking $1 million would be about right" and hope the firm meets you halfway.

c) "You know, I just just bought a new car, and, frankly, the payments are killing me!"

d) "Um ... let me call my mom and see what she thinks."

Or how about this ... You're chatting with a coworker who holds the same job as you. He lets slips his salary, which is significantly higher than yours. You vow to talk to your boss first thing tomorrow. What do you plan to say?

a) "I found out John makes more than me. I want what he makes, plus 20%, or I walk!"

b) "I just got a job offer from our biggest competitor. They're offering me ... oh ... about what John makes."

c) "You're paying John -- John! -- how much? Come on, you know I'm worth more!"

d) "I learned I'm underpaid. That means you owe me a raise, right?"

Negotiating your pay package is one of the trickiest aspects of the hiring process, no matter the job market. You want to be fairly compensated for your skills and experience, but you don’t want to push the hiring manager so far that you jeopardize the job offer. It can be equally tricky when asking your boss for a raise. What’s the right time and the right way to request that bump in pay?

The way you approach the salary negotiation process can affect not only your wallet but also your professional reputation and your career. You don’t want to push too hard or make unrealistic demands and burn bridges.  

Create a funny 30-60 second video about a salary negotiation blunder. The idea here is to show workers what not to do when negotiating starting salary or a pay raise. Feel free to embellish. Humor is key! Above all, videos should drive viewers to Robert Half’s new Don’t Let This Happen to You website (bumpers provided).  

This project will be worth a total of $15,000 and consist of two phases, so there’s a place for everyone to contribute, regardless of your skill set. 

PHASE 1: STORY - In 500 characters or less, tell us what workers should not do when negotiating a starting salary package or raise, or tell us a funny story about a real or imagined salary negotiation blunder. Note that it is OK to exaggerate when submitting your salary negotiation blunder; however, it is in your best interest to remain sensitive to today’s economic realities -– some job seekers are just happy to be offered a job, regardless of pay; some companies simply cannot offer higher compensation packages or raises, even to the best workers. We want funny, relatable videos. What we don’t want are videos that show downtrodden job seekers who are forced to accept peanut wages from cold-hearted hiring managers. Winning stories will receive a 5% residual payment of every winning video they are used to generate, and you may submit up to five stories. Limit five (5) submissions, per member.    

PHASE 2: VIDEO - Select one of the winning Stories from Phase 1 and make a 30-60 second video based on it. The videos should have a personal touch and be relatable. Also, if you want to adapt the Story or make changes, feel free to do so. It’s best to think of the Story as the central thesis that you should build your video around. Also, be sure to include one of the three Robert Half bumpers found in the Project Files tab on this page in your video. You may submit up to five videos. Limit five (5) submissions, per member.

--Target Audience: Professional-level workers.

-- Key Marketing Messages: Robert Half can help job seekers and workers avoid salary negotiation blunders and other mistakes that can hold back their careers. We’re experts in helping workers find challenging and rewarding professional opportunities and move their careers forward.

In addition, we know salaries like no one else. We’ve been publishing annual Salary Guides since 1950. The Salary Guide is the definite resource for starting salary ranges for hundreds of positions in a wide variety of professional disciplines. PDFs of the 2011 Salary Guides are available in the Project Files tab for reference. (Note: The videos do not need to reference the Salary Guide.)

--Music: Tongal has partnered with Audiosocket, a boutique music licensing agency representing more than 1,400 emerging bands, composers and record labels. Audiosocket tracks will be available to Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into Tongal members' submissions to the Robert Half project. Tongal members are encouraged to browse the Audiosocket catalog, available at http://audiosocket.com. If you are interested in using a track from the Audiosocket catalog, as described above, please email music@tongal.com for account and password info, which will allow for the download of up to 3 tracks.

--Exposure: Robert Half is looking for content for its new career bloopers video series, Don't Let This Happen to You, which includes the top three videos from Robert Half's previous project with Tongal, the Interview Blunder Video Project. The best videos from the "Salary Negotiation Blunder Video Project" may be used for the video series, which is being promoted via a worldwide marketing and public relations campaign.

--Releases: Please note that winning video creators will be required to provide Talent, Location and Music Releases for any performers, locations or musical assets appearing in the video upon request. Just a tip, the best way to go about securing releases is on the day of shooting to avoid chasing people down afterward. We have created a .zip containing all of these releases available on the Project Files tab. 

--Delivery: Also note that winning video creators will be required to provide an uncompressed QuickTime .mov file in either Animation or ProRes 422 codecs at either 1920x1080 or 1280x720 upon request.

1. Videos MUST not exceed 60 seconds in length. Preferred format is HD 720p 16x9.  Acceptable file formats are .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv. Acceptable codecs are H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX.

2. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.

3. Videos MUST use one of the three (3) Robert Half bumpers provided on the Project Files tab on this page. Bumpers will be provided upon launching the video phase.

4. In the event you utilize any third-party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third-party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.

5. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Robert Half International.

6. Submissions must not portray Robert Half International in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Robert Half International.

7. Videos must portray a professional office environment.

8. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.

9. Limit 5 submission(s) per member, per phase.

10. You and any participants must be at least eighteen (18) years or older to enter.

11. You must be a legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec).

12. Minimum 30 videos, or the contest will repost for 14 days.

13. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment, winning video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, and Music Releases for all assets appearing in the video as well as the project files, editing sequence and an uncompressed QuickTime .mov file in either Animation or ProRes 422 codecs at either 1920x1080 or 1280x720 to claim their prize.

14. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms andconditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.