I am not being represented by a search firm; therefore, I need to negotiate my own compensation package. I know the company is going to offer less money than my current compensation. What should I do?
The advice that came from one of our “Coffee & Conversation” forums was:
The candidate had to come to the compensation discussion fully prepared with data. They would need to reaffirm what they are being asked to do and demonstrate how comparable roles are paid at other companies.
We had one participant that was being considered for a Vice President role for a startup company. There were only 50 employees, but the company’s intent was to grow to several hundred employees. They felt they should pay this Vice President below the market value because they had so few employees. She had to demonstrate that the work was the same for 50 employees as for 500 employees and she was also able to articulate the value she would add to the organization to help it grow.
Another participant was in a similar situation. He interviewed for a Vice President role and the compensation he was offered came in close to $100K less than his prior compensation. The candidate really wanted this job. He liked the CEO and connected to the mission of the company. The “Coffee & Conversation” forum helped him to be creative. He told the CEO that he would take the role at the lower pay if he could have a clause built into his employment contract stating that if he exceeded expectations, his pay the second year would reward the value he added to the company. (He would get the $100K and perhaps even more.) It was a “pay for performance” solution.