Jacob Warwick: recommendation

Transcript context

…Talk us through the process you would recommend from, "I get an offer. Recruiter sends me. 'Here's your offer, 300K, salary, some kind of equity.'" What's the step by step you'd... And I know this depends on the role, seniority, type of company, PE, VC, back startup, because it's very scary to push back and be like, "Oh, I want more." What's that first email/reply to that email look like typically? What are some phrases maybe you'd use? And then how do you open up a conversation where you plan to ask for more if you're meeting in person, especially, because that feels so scary? So, first, we want to approach with gratitude. We're thankful that we want to move forward, so, "Lenny, I appreciate you making me an offer. I'm excited to work with you." We want to show enthusiasm, which also shows some confidence. We have to show that the deal's going to get done even if you're on the fence about it. Now, it's not to say you're so excited that it's a sure thing and you're not showing that you're disappointed, even if you are, so, "I'm grateful. I'm looking forward to working with you. I want to review this over the next couple of days, talk to my wife about it, talk to an advisor, so and so." Later on, when you're a high level executive, you're talking to legal, you're talking to advisors, you're talking to a coach, you may have five or six people see that, employment lawyer, all that. That stuff is expected. So you're going through the process, "I'm going to take a couple days to process this. I'll get back to you. I may have a couple of questions, but we'll loop back and it shouldn't be a problem. I imagine we start working together in a couple weeks." The point is you have to sell that the deal's going to be done, which helps them feel like it's going to move forward regardless. Any ask that you make is not going to be egregious. Now, oftentimes, the higher you anchor, the better you're going to perform, which can be frustrating because you don't necessarily want to be like, "Oh, I increased at 40%," or anything like that. Now, this is where a lot of nuance comes in. We might say, "Come back three days later, want to have the conversation, let's take a walk in the park and talk through it. I got to be honest with you, where this offer stands right now, I don't feel comfortable moving forward. It's a little lighter than I expected." I may start saying something like that, and then just wait and see what they have to say. Maybe they say, "Well, what did you have in mind?" It's like, "Well, what's the chance you can share what the range looks like for this, and what type of performance did you expect for each of these levels?" Or they may say, "We comped you in the middle part of the range." You might say, "What does the top end look like? What must I do to fit those needs for you? Can you help me understand?" Now, for a lot of folks, especially in this market, if we talk about what it was like in 2021 versus what it's like now, there's some overleveling that's happened. There are people that are C-suite going back to VP, and VP is going back to directors, especially as they go to bigger companies. Oftentimes, I'll say, "As we had this conversation, I'm likely a little more horsepower than you anticipated. What's the chance we can come in and restructure the comp for the type of talent we're bringing in here?" This is a line that we used. sation, I'm likely a little more horsepower than you anticipated. What's the chance we can come in and restructure the comp for the type of talent we're bringing in here?" This is a line that we used. There was three folks last year that were in ranges of 185 to 285, that deal landed at 1.1 million when we were done with increases in stock, big cash increases, two deals that were comped at 600 that landed at 1.1 and 1.2, so doubled from that. And these were situations where the role started at senior director and were up-leveled to VP because they were reaching for top talent in that situation. So there are opportunities where it's easier to steer if you're really, really good. I could see why some listeners are like, "Well, I'm not there in my career yet." In that case, this is just how it gets done. This is how bigger moves happen. It doesn't mean you can't push for maybe 20% more naturally. In that, I would start with, "What's the chance there's a little bit more here? I was expecting this." Again, more nuances because if you open up what you're looking for too early in the conversation, that can be difficult to come back from later on. It's not entirely egregious, but one of the first things out of a recruiter's mouth is, "How much money do you want to make?" which is eerily similar to an illegal question, which is, "How much money do you make?" But if you say, "What do you want to make?" then it's okay, and that's where a lot of people get hung up as well.…

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