Rrring!
Marcus: Marcus Jones!
Betsy: Hi Marcus, it's Betsy Vaughan from Acme Explosives.
Marcus: Hi Betsy!
Betsy: Am I catching you at a good time?
Marcus: For sure. I'm just taking my dog for a walk.
Betsy: Can you talk?
Marcus: Oh, definitely.
Betsy: Fantastic. Marcus, as you know we've been talking about our Purchasing Manager position, and I'm excited to tell you that I met with Peter, our CEO, yesterday to talk about it. We'd like to offer you the position.
Marcus: That's fantastic, Betsy. I'm excited!
Betsy: Me, too! We have a lot of things to get done. I'm putting an offer in the mail, and I wanted to walk through it with you.
Marcus: That sounds fine.
Betsy: Well, of course the title is Purchasing Manager, and the job reports to me. It's an annual salary of $77,400.
Marcus: Okay, great. Are there other elements to share with me, or should I wait until I get the written offer?
Betsy: Are there things you're curious about? Maybe I can answer your questions.
Marcus: Well, I'm curious about the management bonus plan, and also about vacation time.
Betsy: The management bonus plan is calculated at the end of the calendar year. It's Peter's discretion, since we're still small. The vacation time is two weeks per year.
Marcus: Okay, thanks for that. Do you also have a personal time off policy?
Betsy: Not really - we're too small. You know, we're a startup, so we're always working.
Marcus: Okay, great. Can you please send me the written offer so I can review it in writing, and put all the moving parts together in my head?
Betsy: Ummm....I guess I was hoping to hear you say "I accept!" and then I was going to write up the offer.
Marcus: That makes sense. I am very excited to get started. I really enjoyed our conversations and my meetings with the rest of the team. I do have one concern. Maybe we can address that.
Betsy (sounding worried): What is it?
Marcus: I want to make sure that we're on the same page compensation-wise. It's been close to two months so you may have forgotten, but in our first conversation I mentioned that my salary target in this job search is eighty-two thousand dollars. That's pretty much my floor.
Betsy: So let's see, that's forty-five hundred dollars more than our offer. You know, we're growing fast -- I'm sure you'll get raises as our sales start to ramp.
Marcus: And I completely understand that you're taking a risk on me, and of course I'm taking a risk on Acme too. Can we get creative and see how we can bridge that gap, to make it very easy for me to accept your offer and give notice at my current job?
Betsy: I mean, I've already got approval for the seventy-seven, four....
Marcus: I completely understand. I want to take the offer, but it really doesn't make sense for me to change jobs for the same salary. What would you think about a sign-on bonus? That way, my starting salary stays the same but I'll have a one-time bonus to get me to the figure we spoke about in November.
Betsy: I might be able to do two thousand dollars.
Marcus: Okay, that's fantastic. That only leaves a twenty-five hundred dollar gap.
Betsy: Honestly Marcus, can we split the difference?
Marcus: Well, it's not a bad idea, if we can agree on what it will take for me to get to the target I shared when we first met. Can you adjust the offer letter to reflect that when I hit my ninety-day targets, the ones you and I spoke about last week, I'll get a twenty-five hundred dollar performance bonus at that point?
Betsy: On top of the sign-on bonus?
Marcus: Here's the thing, Betsy. If I achieve those aggressive goals that you spelled out for me, and if I achieve them in my first ninety days, I'll save Acme at least fifty thousand dollars if not much more. The twenty-five hundred dollar performance bonus will be a rounding error.
Betsy: You have a point.
Marcus: If you can make those two adjustments and increase my vacation to four weeks, I'm on board.
Betsy: Four weeks! All of us here get two weeks.
Marcus: I completely understand. I know myself and my body, Betsy. I've had four weeks vacation for the last fifteen years and it's not something I can give up. Believe me, Acme will get the best of my brain and my other organs if I get a week off per quarter to recharge. I never take more than two weeks at one time.
Betsy: That's more vacation time than our CEO gets.
Marcus: Betsy, we need to be honest with one another. If Peter isn't taking care of himself, the business is going to fail. I was thirty myself once and I remember feeling like I could work all day and all night. You're hiring me because I'm not thirty, but fifty-eight, and because I have relationships all over the Pac Rim that will save Acme enormous sums in your materials purchasing and make sure your supplier quality is right where you need it. I think these are important elements for the company's growth, if I've understood you correctly.
Betsy: It's fine with me, informally, but I can't put that in your offer letter. I can't give you an official okay for four weeks of vacation per year.
Marcus: I completely understand. You're in a culture where the standard is that people work all the time, and I've certainly been there. I can't budge on that, but I'd love to keep in touch as Acme grows and evolves and as I go forward on my path.
Betsy: You're not taking the offer?
Marcus: We've got some gaps, Betsy, and it doesn't like we're going to fill them in today. You could think about it, if you like -
Betsy: And you could think about it, too -
Marcus: For sure. For now, we'll put the conversation on hold, but life is long.
Betsy: Oh for Pete's sake, Marcus! You drive a hard bargain, but I know you're going to do the same thing with our suppliers.
Marcus: That's true.
Betsy: I'll fix the offer letter. Two thousand in the sign-on bonus, twenty-five hundred after ninety days when your objectives are met and four weeks vacation per year. I'll tell you this much, Marcus. Peter said "Do whatever it takes to get Marcus in here."
Marcus: I appreciate your sharing that, Betsy, and I appreciate your willingness to get creative, too. It's going to be a lot of fun. Send me the offer when you get a chance and I'll get it back to you quickly.
Betsy: So we've got a deal?
Marcus: We have a deal.
Betsy: Is your doggie complaining?
Marcus: He's starting to whine a bit.
Betsy: This is fantastic, Marcus. You're very professional.
Marcus: Back atcha, Betsy. Looking forward to it!
