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■ HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR DEAL

Here are some rules you should remember:

• Focus on the package, not the salary. Several years ago I recruited a general manager for a technology client. Our ideal candidate turned out to be unaffordable. His base salary was $60,000 above our top end. I convinced the candidate of the true potential of the technology. He took a cut in base pay in exchange for 250,000 options. It was a heck of a sales job because the options were underwater. Over a 4-year period, he drove the value of the company’s stock to $72 from $2.50, netting himself a cool $16.8 million.

• Only let them check your references after you’ve accepted the offer. Never invest your reference’s time for an offer you don’t accept. You look foolish and the reference is less likely to help you the next time. Some people think it enhances their value, but that’s rarely the case. Any employer who’s read my booklet “Don’t Hire a Liar” will know how to cut through the smoke and mirrors and get at the truth [FREE at perrymartel.com]. You have more to lose because they may find areas where you’re not as strong as they thought, in which case they might lower the offer.

• Measure your value against your true peers. It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who undervalue their jobs. When you’re conducting your salary survey, make sure you know what the comparative person is really responsible for. Titles by themselves are pretty meaningless. You may be a senior engineer responsible for 10 to 12 people while a similarly titled person is responsible only for herself. Should you be paid the same amount of money? Of course not. Make sure you appraise yourself fairly.

■ URBAN MYTHS

You will get a lower salary if a professional recruiter (headhunter) is involved. Wrong. In fact the opposite is more likely. Hiring managers have 2 distinct pots of money. Your wage is treated as a salary expense. The recruiter’s fee comes out of a hiring budget. The two are completely separate.

The recruiter will receive a percentage of your salary for the first year. Wrong. If you are placed in a permanent position, the recruiter is paid whatever fee was agreed on with the employer up front. It does not come out of your check. As previously stated, it comes out of a different budget. You lose nothing.

GUERRILLA TIPS

• Expect to compromise. There are rarely absolutes; negotiating is a give-and-take on both sides. Seek win-win resolutions.

• Explore constraints and flexibilities. Seek to understand the employer’s constraints, such as salary levels or equity positions for certain positions. Likewise, know your own constraints and flexibilities.

• Listen more than you speak. Listening is different from hearing. Seek to understand, not to be understood. Understand what is being said and why it is being said.

• Be sensible. You are looking for a relationship that ought to be equally beneficial. Recognize their constraints and requests, as you expect them to recognize yours.

• Offer solutions. It is your responsibility to offer solutions that can be the basis for negotiations. You know what you want. Don’t make them guess continuously.

■ SUMMARY

You’d be surprised at the lengths to which some employers will go once they believe they have found their ideal candidate. It is absolutely essential to have the employer recognize your value before you begin to negotiate. If an employer understands your value and is convinced you can do the job, then the question becomes, “How much it will take to get you?” Deal from a position of strength and you might just hear Donald Trump say, “You’re Hired!”

Chapter 14

Ready Aye Ready

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.