Harper's Rules (10 page)

And if you can, you need shock-and-awe information! Something they will be amazed you found out. Something that says “This one is different.”

Now, you don't roll all this out at once; it's not a book report. You work it in. You let it develop organically.

Harper could read the look on my face. I'm a note person. Not having my Blackberry made me feel uncomfortable, but I couldn't bring myself to carry it in a pocket and have it bang against my thigh when I was only 500 yards from my house. If I really was so out of shape that I needed it to call 9-1-1 because I couldn't make it 500 yards back, I felt like I deserved to die.

Harper assured me that he was giving me the synopsis and that in the folder all of this was documented in a longer form.

I told him I already read the website of InterAnnex, the company he had set me up with, and had read the bio on their site of Wallace Avery. He shrugged. Okay, I wasn't looking for a shrug; I wanted approval. God, when will I stop needing approval? My
therapist tells me it's key for my personal growth. But I know if I ever pull it off, I'll call her to tell her so she'll be proud of me.

“Let's take InterAnnex as a case study,” he said. “I have taken the liberty of doing your homework for you, since I am using your interview in my book and paying you not one dime of future royalties. Now, InterAnnex is a software company in the social networking market vertical. When you go in to meet Wallace, unlike your competition, you will be able to tell him that you know they began in 2002, with only four employees as an instant messaging company, with a simple product. Then they built the Six Degrees Platform, mindful that Facebook was growing by leaps and bounds, and basically became a startup for a second time. In 2006 they were backed by Adobe Ventures to the tune of 50 million dollars. They are now thirty-one employees, mostly technicians, but with a 40 million dollar pipeline of referenceable customers.

“They have no sales force. That's where you come in.
Fortune
magazine calls social networking the first original form of marketing in a generation, and
The Wall Street Journal
says social networking is in its embryonic stages and will compete with nano-technology for the most important innovation of the twenty-first century. My search is for their first VP of sales.”

I knew what Harper was doing, but I was getting excited anyway. I just wanted to be in my interview already. “What do you know about Wallace that isn't on the website?”

“You already know he's a golfer. But that's too easy. Wallace put his career on hold in early 1991, even though he was already a very successful marketing guy in the logistics space. You know why? Because his dad was in the military and fought in the Pacific. Two Purple Hearts. During Vietnam, Wallace didn't protest, he served. But no action. Stayed in the reserves after that, and when they needed logistics expertise in Kuwait and Iraq, Wallace asked for a leave of absence and off he went. He was fifty-two years old. He told me it wasn't a sense of duty as much as he felt he was still owed some action, so when he asks you why you want to start your sales career in a new product space you know nothing about . . .”

“I tell him sales still owes me some action. He'll know it came from you, Harper.”

“We've never discussed it. I was holding it back for a special occasion. Besides, even if he did know it was from me, use it anyway. By the way, his daughter Sara did an internship for the same congressman you did, so even if you spent that summer sneaking out to get high in the Smithsonian restrooms, you might want to recall it fondly for Wallace.”

We had reached my house, and I saw that Harper's Range Rover was parked two houses down from my driveway. Harper checked his watch and handed me the folder.

“Do you make house calls for everyone, Harper?”

“How well have you been listening? What have I left out?”

“Shock and awe; something that says I'm different. Well? Don't hold out on me now; I've postponed my shower and post–runner's high nap for you. Give.”

“Cisco is going to buy them. Could be as much as 2 billion. As soon as they prove they have a sales model that works. Wallace is already rich; he is about to get silly rich.”

“So if I get in now, will I get a piece of that?”

Harper took his index finger and shook it at me like we had just played hide and seek and he found me in the first place he looked.

“There is nothing hotter than an opportunistic, beautiful, sweaty, gross woman. Would I be sending you there if you couldn't get a piece of that?”

Harper pointed his keys at the Rover; lights went off and the latches opened on all four doors.

“Casey, two more things: One, everything we just went through should be applied to Peter Bonetti before this weekend; and two, start asking yourself how you will answer the question Wallace asks everyone: ‘If you had this job, who would you sell to first?'”

“Wait. How would I know who to sell to first?”

“You do know. Trust yourself.”

Trust myself. That's really good advice, and I plan on doing that one of these days.

As soon as I got back from the interview, I emailed Harper:

Harper,

I just got back from my interview with InterAnnex and Wallace Avery, and I thought these notes might help you in the unlikely event you ever get serious about your book. Don't bother to thank me. Splitting your publisher's advance will do.

Let me say, first of all:
I. Nailed. It.

Second, I do not need your advice in choosing the appropriate look or clothes for an interview. I'm not saying you shouldn't advise others in your book; I'm saying you don't need to advise
me
in those areas, since I dress for every sales call I ever go on and because you are not a woman. When I awoke to your one-word text message, “Pants,” I realized you have been married too long.

Did I mention?
I. Nailed. It.

Let me walk you through some tips for your readers. No charge, by the way.

HARPER'S RULES
Addendum on Interviewing, written for Harper Scott by Casey Matthews

Rule #1: Dress for every interview.

Dress conservatively. Don't overdo jewelry or make-up or perfume or cologne, and wear formal business attire even if you know it's a casual work environment.

Rule #2: Get there early, but not “psycho” early.

Don't make the interviewer think you have nothing else to do all day! And when you arrive, make friends with the receptionist. Sometime you may need him or her to put your call through to your potential new boss.

Rule #3: Travel light.

Take your coat off and carry a light briefcase or valise. You don't want to ruin your cool by dragging your gear down hallways.

Rule #4: Be more awake than the rest of the humans that day.

If the consciousness level in the office is a 5 out of 10, you need to be a 7. (A 9 or 10 is over the top, and you'll wear out your welcome.) “If you don't have an enthusiasm that is contagious, whatever you do have is also contagious” is the first and best rule of communication.

Rule #5: Shake hands firmly but don't grit your teeth and arm wrestle.

Rule #6: No obvious or phony compliments.

And no matter how nice the building or office, say nothing. You expect him to have a nice office, and you want him hoping he's living up to your expectations.

Rule #7: No negatives.

Never bad-mouth a previous employer. It doesn't matter how unfair the situation was or how screwed over you were, you simply say it didn't work out. They will see you as someone who will be accountable.

Rule #8. Have fun!

It's not life or death. It's the one time you can brag legitimately!

You know what Harper? Now that I think about it, you should thank me.

I hit
SEND
and fell back into my post-interview afterglow. Why does everyone tout the grace of losers or the character building of being humbled? Winning works! Why do they try to tell us otherwise? I hit a home run on my interview. I still got it, big time; no one can keep me from savoring the moment.

Except Harper. He called immediately after reading my email. When someone changes the mode of communication, you know you got to them.

“Hi, Harper. I hope you don't mind that my portion of your book is actually written down.”

“How did you handle the money discussion, Casey?”

There was an edge in his voice.

“What do you mean?”

“Did Wallace ask you how much money you wanted?”

“Yes. I told him I wanted a base of 200K and commission potential to double that. What? Did I screw up?”

“Actually, I did. I should have told you how to handle it. It's the first time I've sent you out as an unemployed person. I blew it. I blame the venue. The park. Your shorts. You need to wear longer shorts.”

My afterglow was now extinguished. Harper Scott: Mr. Buzzkill.

“What should I have said?”

Harper sighed the way you sigh when you have spent years trying to change someone. “Okay, you want to write a chapter? Write what I say down and send it to me.”

I flipped open my laptop.

“I'm not sure how I got downgraded to stenographer, but go!”

HARPER'S RULES
How to Handle The Compensation Discussion in an Interview

If you are on your first interview and the decision maker asks you how much money you desire, you've witnessed a very clear buying sign. Interviewing 101 says you don't discuss money on the first interview; you know it and they know it. If, knowing this rule, they can't keep from breaking it, it's because they already know at some level they want to hire you and now want to get to the bottom line.

But danger lurks! In my headhunting career, nothing has cost candidates more jobs or money than the wrong response when it comes to the money discussion in an interview.

Here is the age-old dynamic: they want to hire you at the lowest amount possible; you want to get the highest amount possible. Neither one of you wants to feel like you were taken advantage of, and neither one of you wants the other feeling like they were exploited. Both are deeply suspicious that the other is guilty of “fudging” the numbers. (The company says it couldn't possibly pay what you say you want for budgetary reasons, and you say you couldn't possibly accept less due to personal financial commitments.) There is gamesmanship in play here. It's not about money; it's about playing the game well.

“But this isn't a rug at a tag sale,” you say, “this is a person's livelihood, a company's bottom line. This shouldn't be trivialized into some puerile notion of one-upmanship. Surely we're all beyond that when it comes to our career!”

Uh, that would be a “no.”

Everything is a game, a negotiation. Whether it should be that way is not my concern; my job is to identify the game and win it, for me and my candidates.

Here's the risk: If you answer the seemingly innocent question, “What kind of money are you looking for?” and your answer is too high, the client might assume they can't get you and
never make an offer
.

If your answer is too low, the client
will offer you less
than they would have been willing to pay if pressure were properly applied. So the key is to
stay neutral
. This is wage war, and you are Switzerland.

Neutral Response When Asked About Money

“I am currently at X [your current salary], and looking at a number of opportunities. Right now I'm just interested in pursuing this job and learning more about your company. I'm sure if we get to the offer stage, you will make a fair offer.”

Now you can't be trapped. You have established that they are not the only game in town and that others are competing for your talents. You have implied that a reasonable increase will be required without risking overkill.

(If they ask you where else you are interviewing, you may disclose the types of jobs but not the actual companies. Let them know you were asked to keep it confidential and that you are offering everyone the same courtesy.)

“I'm sorry to interrupt,” I blurted, “but isn't that a little dicky, Harper? Uh, Harper?”

“I'm sorry, you threw me off. I've never heard the words, ‘little dicky' and ‘Harper' in the same sentence before.”

“Can you hold on, Harper, while I throw up in my mouth?”

“You've tapped into the problem, Casey. An interview is, by design, a weak power dynamic for the candidate: one job, many candidates, and the decision maker is lord and master. Everything I'm telling you serves the larger purpose of shifting the power dynamic. You are there by choice; you want for nothing. It's the only way to play this.”

“But that all changes when they make an offer, right?”

“Exactly. Once you've been selected as the person they want, the power dynamic shifts to you. Ready to type some more?”

“Shoot.”

Neutral Response (Advanced Version)

Plead the Fifth if pressured. Some companies insist you give them a number. They will press you for a salary that you would find acceptable. The more they push, the harder it is
to not yield because you don't want to make them mad. But once you give the number: a) it is hard to change that number, and b) you have lost the leverage of mystery. So, plead the Fifth:

“I can tell you feel strongly about getting an absolute number, and I respect that tremendously as strong leadership that appeals to me, but I just don't have that number finalized. I have other opportunities I need to consider. But I can tell you this (this will satisfy them and titillate, a nice combo): While money is a factor for all of us, and every opportunity I am looking at offers some kind of reasonable increase, my primary motivation is not money. I want to come to work every day with energy and purpose.”