By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
A woman wrote to me outlining her circumstances . . . fearful of ageism, being flown out for a third interview that will require a move and having sold herself short about money during the initial round of interviews.
Hi, I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I coach people, I help organizations hire exceptional talent. I’ve been doing this for more than 40 years.
And someone wrote to me a few days ago with a situation that, you know, I hear about all the time. So, let me kind of just walk through the scenario. I’m not going to read the exact thing because everyone’s entitled to their privacy. But the scenario is, you know, she’s a woman over 40 and she’s not bashful, but, you know, she’s not used to negotiating and advocating on her own behalf. So, in the course of early interviews, she lowballed herself. She was afraid to ask for her real value, and we’re going to get to how to correct that in just a moment.
But she’s being flown out for a third interview. It’s going to involve a relocation. I don’t know if it’s a higher or lower cost of area of the country, but she and her teen child will be making this move, and the pets, and it has to be worthwhile.
So, when all is said and done, she’s a little apprehensive about using my tactic that I call the easiest way to negotiate a higher salary for for herself. So, you can watch that video. It is extremely popular on YouTube. I have no idea how many views it is, but a lot of people find that’s a useful tactic. But this is one that makes her uncomfortable, so we’re going to do this earlier and do it at the time of the interview. So here goes.
So what do you do? Now, the first thing is the notion of ageism and, you know, taking advantage of someone who’s over 40. I don’t know whether gender plays into this, except on her side whether because she conducts herself in a more fearful manner. So that could be a gender issue, and I want to respect that, but there’s a way of correcting the lowball, and that will occur at the time of the interview, because the subject of compensation will be will arise at some point based upon what’s taken place.
Now, I want you to understand you need to be prepared to walk away if they don’t correct what you recognize as your mistake. And well, the strategy starts off with: you want to make them love your candidacy. You want to do an exceptional job at these meetings and make people believe that you are the solution to what they’re looking for. Huge requirement here, because without it, you know, I’m going to make a remark here that guys laugh at, I don’t know how women respond to it, but guys believe that “no love, no money, no money, no honey.” So, the goal is to make the firm fall in love.
You know, with that done, the subject of money will come up at some point, either on the trip later on, where they’re going to try and confirm the numbers with you, or when you get home. So you’re going to, again, it’s extremely important that you win the interview, or just keep doing what you’re doing, because obviously they’re flying you out, they believe that you’re a solution, you’re the solution to what they’re looking for.
So, you’ll have a card to play, because once they circle back to you to talk numbers with you, they’re ready to do the hire. If they don’t want to do the hire, they’re just going to let you know that they’ve chosen someone else, or you’re not their person, and yada, yada, yada. So, the important thing is to make them believe that you are the solution.
So once they circle back about numbers, here’s what you do. You know, “I realize at the time of the interview, the initial interview, I said such and such is what I was looking for, but I realize that, you know, there’s a cost of living differential between the two areas. And frankly, I was a little nervous at the time. So, you know, I’ve had a chance to do some homework, and I see that the real number is Y.”
Now, if there’s a huge difference between the original number and Y, they’re going to balk a little bit. And you can talk in terms of, now, “That may be a bigger number than you might think of, because it’s it’s quite a jump here, but, you know, I want you to consider my circumstances, and I want to encourage you that if you want to bring me aboard, I want to encourage you to make your strongest offer to me. And and my goal is to get as close to that as possible. Maybe it can be done partially as a sign-on, partially with, you know, as well as with relocation expenses being taken care of, so I’m not incurring anything out of pocket. Because I really think this is a great opportunity for me, but, you know, I’ve got responsibilities at home. And I know that’s not your problem, it’s mine, but, you know, I want to join.”
And do you see where I’m going with this? You know, it’s a speech that basically has you sounding like you’re agonizing here, explaining your circumstances, and trying to connect from them person to the person-to-person. Now, at the end of the day, if they can’t afford Y, or getting close to Y, you have the power to say no. But it sounds like you really want to do it, but you want to be treated fairly, and this lays out a case for you and why you didn’t do it, as you mentioned, you know, that “I was a little nervous at the time.”
So, you know, “I didn’t really advocate for myself well enough. So, I’ve had a chance to think about it, I’ve had a chance to do some homework. There’s a cost of living differential between the two areas. I love the job.” You want to give them something here so that they feel like they’re going to go through a lot of effort and you’re not going to turn it down. “I love the job, I’d really love to join, but financially it’s got to be worthwhile for me, and I’m not talking about getting way ahead of the game. There’s a cost of living difference between”—I’m using, there’s nothing to indicate the locations here, but let’s say, “There’s a cost of living difference between living in the Bay Area where you’re asking me to move to and living in, I don’t know, Asheville, North Carolina,” which is where I happen to be.
So, at the end of the day, what you want to be doing is laying out a case for yourself after you’ve done great work on the interview.
Hope that’s helpful. I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I want to help you play the game bigger. And I’ll simply say, if you have questions for me, go to my website, which is thebiggamehunter.us. There’s a tab on the top that says “Have your job search questions answered.” I’d be happy to do it. Also want to mention, if you’d like me to coach you throughout the job search, there’s another tab there that refers to my coaching services. Click that, or coaching from me. It’s for multiple sessions. It is well worthwhile, because I’m going to help you from beginning to end of the job search.
So spend some time there and order a four-pack from me. It’s inexpensive given the amount of time and effort I put into it and the results people get from it. Also want to say, if we’re not connected on LinkedIn, send a connection request at linkedin.com/in/thebiggamehunter.
Overcoming Ageism in Your Job Search as an Experienced Professional
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search and succeeding in your career easier.
The Billion-Dollar Staffing Mistake
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The Billion Dollar Mistake in Hiring Part II
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