Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead_. But Gutsy Girls Do - Kate White [70]
And yet that's what you're going to have to do. You're going to have to give the reason or reasons you deserve what you're asking for.
Because talking about your accomplishments is awkward for you, you may end up sounding vague or unconvinced of your own worth. (I-think-I'm-really-good-at-what-I-do kind of statements.) A good strategy is to pick three or four succinct points about yourself and relate each directly to a criterion for the job or promotion.
Rule 4: Ask for the Business
This is an expression I'd always heard salespeople use. It sounds straightforward enough, but there's a little twist to it that I didn't get until I applied for the job of editor-in-chief of Child. The final in a series of interviews was with the two top people on the business side of the magazine, including the publisher After I'd talked to them for about forty-five minutes, the conversation began winding down and I was afraid it would end with a fizzle. The moment called for something creative and bold. As they shifted a little in their seats, I leaned forward and said that I wanted to add just a few words in closing I told them that I'd enjoyed the whole interview process, that I thought I would make a terrific editor based on A and B, and that I wanted the job very much. The publisher announced, somewhat briskly, “We hear you.” and that was it.
As I left the office, I was worried Perhaps I'd come across as too slick at the end, too much like an infomercial pitch for a $198 skin-care regimen. Was the “We hear you” remark a sign of annoyance, I wondered, or just the publisher's no-nonsense way of talking? A few weeks after I got the job, the publisher and I had lunch and we ended up chatting about the hiring process. “You know what sealed the deal for you?” she said. “You asked for the business.”
Asking for the business really means being absolutely sure you've asked. Too often salespeople do a lot of schmoozing and present a lot of facts, but never come right out and pop the question. So just to be safe, ask one final time—and do it with gusto.
And I mean gusto. A friend of mine called me recently to say that she was one of two finalists for a major editor-in-chief job. She should have been happy, but she had a bad, nagging feeling. Because she was already the editor-in-chief of another magazine, she hadn't thought it behooved someone in her position to act like an eager beaver, so she'd played things cool. Now she was worried she'd been too cool. The next week the job went to the other candidate, who my friend later heard had pitched herself as if the fate of Western civilization depended on it. People want you to seem passionate about what they are passionate about.
NOW THAT YOU'VE ASKED, DON'T SAY ANOTHER WORD
This is a trick I learned from Cheryl Brown, a friend of mine who is associate vice president for university development at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Brown has spent twenty years at schools like UCLA asking people to donate major philanthropic gifts, and she taught me that as hard as it is, you have to ask and then “let them say the next thing.” Too often, she points out, we ask and then immediately feel the need to apologize for asking or to modify our request.
I think good girls, in particular, feel the urge to jump in and save the person from what they're asking for. You say you want an assistant of your own, but before your boss can answer, you announce that you would settle for a college intern twice a week. Though it may seem like a millennium, let the silence work for you.
Of course, if you pause and the other person begins squirming as if you've backed him into a corner, switch gears and give the experience some closure. You can say, “I know you'll probably need some time to think about this,” and depart gracefully.
THE SINGLE BEST THING TO ASK YOUR BOSS FOR: MORE RESPONSIBILITY
Yes, you want more money and yes, you want certain perks. But one of the most important things you should be asking for on a regular basis is