When One Door Closes…
If you've been following along my past couple posts, you'd learn that the "dream job" role that I applied for ended up not working out. It's okay, because there's a saying that when one door closes, another door opens. In my experience, this was exactly the case. About a month ago, a business friend/acquaintance, who I met 4 years ago at my first job, emails me. He's a gaming investor, and just put in a $4M investment into a virtual reality gaming company based in Los Angeles. "They are looking for a part-time recruiter," he tells me. "Someone who can work remotely." I told him that I'd keep my ears open, and let him know if I hear of anyone who is interested.
We ended catching up for lunch the following week, where he pitched me the company. "Best demo I've ever seen. Super smart and nice team." I watched their recent interview on TechCrunch and was pretty impressed. After researching a bit, I told him I'd be interested in the opportunity. I liked that it was low commitment (5-10 hours/week), allowed for remote work, and wouldn't interfere with my normal full time job. Most importantly, it would give me more experience in building teams, jump-starting the hiring function, and lay out the organizational structure from the very beginning.
In one of the conversations with the COO, he asked me to provide my work rate. What is my work rate? I have no idea.I started doing my research about how much technical recruiters make, which by the way you can find here and here. Initially I was going to ask for a rate of $40/hour, which was what I was making at Google. One of my friends in the same field as me suggested I ask for more. "$40 is below market rate, plus you don't have any benefits. Aim higher, and see what you can get. Try to shoot for $100/hour." At first I laughed because I thought it was a bit ridiculous. But okay, I'll at least try to see what I can get; I'd be flexible in lowering the rate for some equity. Plus, I'm a generalist so I'd be doing more than technical recruiting anyway. I sent in a request at $120/hour. My assumption was that they would negotiate down and meet at the sweet spot of $100/hour.
After a couple calls and email exchanges, I ended up getting a consulting contract with the company. To my surprise, the rate negotiation conversation never came up; I asked for $120 and I got $120. This is the first formal consulting agreement I've ever received, but hopefully not the last. I'm so excited for this new role, as it is exactly what I want to do down the line.
A few main takeaways from this experience that I wanted to share: 1) There are hidden opportunities everywhere. Just be open to them, keep your antennas out, and most importantly, learn as much as you can from the experience. Don't be afraid to go down the rabbit hole, and see what you might find.
2) In salary negotiations, always aim higher! You just never know. Imagine if I'd sent in my initial rate of $40/hour! I'd be selling myself short. I'm so glad that I took a chance and asked for more, even if it made me feel a little greedy and selfish initially. Know your worth, and don't be afraid to be firm about it.
3) Networking is crucial. Who knew that someone I casually met 4 years ago could help connect me to an opportunity like this! Especially in business, leverage those weak ties, because oftentimes those will open up more doors than your close ones. Create a wide network of business acquaintances, because you never know when your paths will cross again.
4) Maintain your relationships. Yes, it's hard to keep in touch with people, and can sometimes even be a bit uncomfortable. But, with social media these days, it doesn't have to be. Whether it be liking one's Facebook or LinkedIn posts, to just sending an email or text to say hi, find ways to keep people close and remember you. I'll write a whole post on this later.
5) You can find a side hustle. I'm a follower of Ramit Sethi's blog, and he's always encouraging his readers to pursue a side gig to earn extra cash by leveraging an existing skill. A couple years ago, I joined one of his free workshops, but wasn't sure if I was cut out for it or what type of service I would even offer. But, this goes back to my first point. There are opportunities everywhere: just be confident (but not arrogant), teachable, and creative with your search.