A surprising trick from psychology I use to get through job interviews and ask for a pay rise – you could be missing out

This trick is based on psychology and economics, and was discovered by a Nobel prize winner. For all that, it’s really easy to use and understand.

People hate losing things more than they like winning things - by three times as much. If we already have something, we see it as ours and would rather hold onto it, even if given the chance to win something even better. Psychologists have proven this in laboratory experiments, and now you can use it in your job interview or to get a pay rise. Here’s how:

When you’re asked in an interview a question like ‘why should I hire you?’ or ‘what would you bring to the company?’ don’t immediately start talking about the benefits you’d provide. Instead, reframe it, flip it around and say what they’ll be missing by not hiring you. For example instead of saying you are great at working in teams on projects, say without you it is more likely projects will be disorganised because they will miss out on your ability to work with others, creating friction and losing them money.

The great news is this isn’t just for job interviews. It can be used when you ask for a promotion, a pay rise, or just as part of your appraisal. Next time you want to ask for something, experiment and see how you can phrase it in a way that implies they’ll lose something instead of what they’ll gain.

It really works, and I hope you get some use out of it. Let me know in the comments if you have any luck with it. Or should I say, think about what you’ll be missing if you don’t give it a try!