Juggling offers can be nervewracking

Often clients remark to me how cool it would be to get multiple offers. Yes, it is cool, and it can be nervewracking. Juggling an offer while in still in the process of interviewing with other companies is no easy task.

This week one of my young clients discovered just how daunting it is to juggle a demanding job, evaluate and ultimately negotiate an offer, and navigate the interview process with a third company. This requires nerves of steel!

First, of course, it is important not to tip your hand before you give notice. That means showing up fully engaged on the job, not sharing information about your job search with your boss or even trusted colleagues and being thoughtful about your interview schedule. This becomes more challenging as the interview cycle ramps up and offers start to come in. It is something my young client struggled with.

While my client was thrilled to get an offer, it was a verbal offer and came in lower than what she had hoped. Before judging the components of the offer, I coached her to contact the human resources person who made the offer and ask for it in writing. This is key. Until you have a written offer, all bets are off.

In the meantime, there were several questions she needed to answer. Is this the right fit for me? Is it the right team? Will I get the support I need? Does it offer the challenges I seek? Upon reflection, the answers to those questions were “yes.”

After reviewing the written offer, she contacted human resources again to get specific information about the way bonuses were calculated and paid out, for details about the relocation package, and to learn more about the timeline for advancement. In addition, she wisely consulted an employment attorney to decode some of the legalese in the offer letter.

Armed with this information we were ready to discuss those components of the compensation package that she wanted to negotiate, identify her added value, prepare specific examples demonstrating why she was worth more and schedule a Zoom meeting with the decision-maker. In this case, the decisionmaker was not the inexperienced HR person who presented her with the offer.

Specifically, my client wanted to negotiate her base salary. To do this she first had to compare apples to apples. She would be moving from New York City to a city in the Midwest with a lower cost of living. Expecting the same base salary as she earned in NYC wasn't realistic. She wanted to negotiate a salary that might seem like less than her current salary, but which had more buying power. To determine the right compensation, she used a salary comparison tool she found online.

Then, we outlined why she was worth more and the specific examples that demonstrated her strengths. We also sketched out a negotiation strategy that included her target salary, reserve salary, and additional cash and non-cash options for getting to her target. During the process of evaluating this offer she realized that even if the other company offered her the position, it ultimately wasn't right for her. Once she formally accepted the offer, she declined further interviews.