Q:  My recent one-hour interview went very well. It is an exciting opportunity for the right person, and what they propose is a needed initiative in the community. They are looking for a leader with knowledge of the area and with relationship-building skills who can roll up his/her sleeves, demonstrate compassion and meet deadlines. This is right up my alley.

Additionally, the hiring manager and I seemed to “click,” and we discovered we know a lot of the same people. He said he is “very interested” in me and assured that I will “definitely hear” from his human resources manager.

My challenge is that the position pays $80K with full benefits, but I currently earn almost $140K per annum. A $60K drop would be a financial disaster as I wouldn’t be able to afford my mortgage let alone other necessary bills. I did not react to this figure.  Help!

A:  First, I am happy to learn this position sounds like a real winner in terms of the opportunity, your skills and your cultural fit with the organization.  Your comments very positively indicate what you might be able to contribute.  Your interviewer seems to acknowledge that.

I am having very mixed feelings about the compensation issue.  On one hand, challenging, exciting opportunities are not always easy to secure.  However, on the other hand, you should not accept less than you are worth.  While this might be seen as a very tough call in this market, I see way too many instances where a talented female leader gets lured into a meaningful mission challenge at discount.  Over time, repeated discounts not only hurt your pocket book, but, more importantly, they also hurt your credibility and earning power.

To give you some insight, as a recruiter, one of the ways I assess a candidate’s readiness to take on an important leadership role is not so much by his or her existing title but also by reviewing his or her existing compensation.  A candidate with a current salary comparable to what is offered in a new position may actually be more desirable than one whose salary is much less because the compensation dollars indicate an assigned value.  If we match those, we are likely to purchase the desired executive skill set.

That being said, it’s time to negotiate.  You will be empowered by negotiation no matter how it evolves.  As the preferred candidate, you need to have a face-to-face conversation about money.  In that conversation, underscore your willingness, competence and commitment to delivering on the outlined goals.  Explain you can only consider taking on the challenges at a price-point that works for you.  Do calculations so you know precisely the salary you need to keep your financial boat afloat.  Also, do your research.  Find out not only how much the organization grosses and its sources but also what competitors are paying their senior leaders.  Do a work-up that makes good sense in light of this data.

With clear and specific research in mind, offer a solution to the problem. For instance, perhaps you can negotiate “upward mobility” into the salary such as sign-up bonuses, merit percentage compensation for development successes, etc.  Investigate whether the organization might be able to do $100K or close to it, and have the other forms of compensation to exceed your current package.

As a secondary strategy (if they cannot move their finances up to meet your full-time requirements) is that you sign on as a part-time consultant at that rate.  That way, you would have the option of negotiating 3 days a week and precise boundaries to the assignment.  You would also have opportunities to take on additional projects to supplement your income. The drawback to this is that many part-time contractors find themselves being held accountable to “whole job” results.  Keep your eyes and ears open to assess whether this is how things are likely to work out.  Make your decision with all of this data in hand.

If it turns out that the organizational budget cannot afford to purchase your expertise, you may have to walk away.  You have earned the right to financial acknowledgement.  Another worthy organization will eventually be comfortable paying you generously.

Contact Karen Alphonse at Karena@execSearches.com or visit ExecSearches.com for more information about our career coaching services.

ExecSearches.com is a job board for nonprofit job seekers interested in fundraising, management and executive nonprofit jobs.

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Last updated on February 5th, 2014 at 03:50 pm