Using all four steps
It was the day before Thanksgiving. Georgia had interviewed to head a small profit center at a hospital. She would be involved with eleven radiologists who gave cancer tests in a mobile unit, and two administrators. She also had competition.
Georgia had met with six doctors. One particularly unpleasant one asked for a proposal on how she would handle the job. This was Wednesday: he wanted it back the Monday after Thanksgiving. Boy!
Georgia and I worked at my dining room table over Thanksgiving. "You can be sure no one else is putting in this much effort," I told her.
Georgia hand delivered not one proposal, but six, and on time. She did not want her fate in the hands of one nasty doctor. Her cover notes were different, but essentially said, "Dr. So and So asked for this proposal. I felt duty bound to give you a copy as well, since the things we discussed are reflected here."
Within an hour of the delivery, Georgia got a call from her future boss (not the nasty doctor). He was elated: "We want to offer you the job. If you don't take it, we're stuck. We don't want any of the other people who interviewed, and we'll be forced to start our search over." This was music to my ears. He told her that she no longer had competitors.
Now we were in a different phase of the search. It's human nature that a person making the offer simply wants to come to closure. However, you need time to discuss things.
I said to Georgia, "You've spent plenty of time defining the job. You need an equal amount of time to define the compensation."
She said to the doctors, almost verbatim, "We've spent plenty of time defining..."
They immediately backed off: "We'll spend whatever time it takes."
They didn't want to lose Georgia. She had paid her dues, and now she was in a strong position to negotiate. They made her a written offer, and then we worked up a counteroffer.
- She wanted a certain base pay.
- She would need entertainment expenses to sell this program.
- The bonus was a problem.
Calculating The Bonus
We wanted a bonus based on the volume the $250,000 trucks could handle. We decided that each truck would probably need one day of maintenance a month, and that each radiologist would be able to do x number of tests.
With the bonus based on truck volume, we figured what Georgia's maximum salary would be. To allow for year two, we asked the hospital to buy another truck if the volume reached a certain amount.
When Georgia delivered the counteroffer, the doctors couldn't believe it; they now had a truck operating at almost no volume, and Georgia was talking about buying another truck!
Georgia got the compensation she wanted, and something else.
Georgia Got To Keep Her Job
Georgia bought six months of safety in the job: she could do no wrong. The very first day, Georgia realized she'd had a misunderstanding during the interview process and needed to change something about the way the job was done. It was no problem. A job hunter who is thorough in the search process has laid the foundation for keeping her job. Unlike other new hires, the jury is not out on her. Georgia had proved herself. The doctors knew that no one knew more about this business than she did. She even knew more than they did!
That's why you want to follow up with everyone during your search. You may be working with them later. And if any of them has an objection to hiring you, try to settle it during the search, rather than handling it after you are hired. Build strong relationships during the interview process.
Know where you are in the process. Take the steps in sequence. You will not get the offer until after you have negotiated the job and also killed off your competition.
If a job pays $20,000 less than you want, that's fine for now. Postpone the salary discussion. Remember that you are there not for this specific job, but for a position that has not yet been completely defined and in which you have some say.
A skilled negotiator has a different approach and much more power than someone who does not know these techniques. A skilled negotiator chases companies, not jobs. A certain position may not be right, but the job hunter wants to make a good impression anyway because there may be other places in the organization that are right for her.
