Always ask for more than what’s initially offered.

I recently read an X post from a CEO of a healthcare startup about how she considered giving a candidate 2.5X the offered comp just because he ASKED for it.

How can an average job seeker accomplish the same feat?

Now, keep in mind, this startup raised $5.8M in Seed funding in 2021 and $20M in Series A funding in 2022…for a total of $25.8M raised. In other words, they got investments during the “easy money” times so they had a boatload of cash to burn. Any company or startup in this present day economic climate wouldn’t even consider this as an option.

But what were the reasons the CEO gave? What made her consider giving the candidate more than what the initial offer was?

She listed 5 main reasons:

1 – Reasoning
2 – Candidness
3 – Excitement
4 – Good Intentions
5 – Put his money where his mouth is

Of course, those aren’t the real reasons the candidate was offered more money. Because frankly, none of that makes sense.

In her X post, she puts the real reason towards the end:

“The whole process built trust.

Speed + integrity + kindness + aggressive ask = A+ negotiation.

My thought during the process: ‘Damn, I need this person on my team!’

If this is how he negotiates and treats people, he will be a huge asset for the team.

It’s never WHAT you ask for, it’s HOW you do it.“

In other words, it was all about how the candidate made her FEEL throughout the process.

Ultimately, he didn’t get the 2.5X, but they agreed to a more lucrative offer.

If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

I worked for a CEO once who often repeated this sage advice: IF YOU DON’T ASK, YOU DON’T GET.

For every job offer I’ve been given in my career (and I’ve had wayyy more job offers than I’ve had jobs), I always ask for more than what they initially offer.

The company already has a budget, they know what that budget is, and it’s usually a range. And the company ALWAYS wants to offer you the lowest end of that range to be good financial stewards.

You, as a candidate, should NEVER accept the initial offer. You should ALWAYS ask for more than the initial offer. Not 2.5X more, but you should ask for more if you’re worth it and if it’s in their budget.

But keep in mind the advice from that CEO. It’s not WHAT you ask for, it’s HOW you ask for it.

Interviews and job offer negotiations are poker games. The best hand isn’t always the one that wins. It’s always how you make the other players FEEL. Then they’ll fold and give you what you want.

It’s a buyer’s market for employers currently. Offer negotiations are harder. So you have to make them FEEL like they’re making the wise decision in offering you more compensation.

Most people will only go into business with you if they have a good feeling about you and feel like they can trust you. This is true in almost every relationship whether that’s trying to secure investors, acquire new customers, or convince an employer to hire you.

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