I was worried about leaving money at the table. Initial salaries get compounded the longer you stay at a company (and even as you move companies) and I didn’t want to be low balled.
Josh’s service fee of $3,000 is high. I was moving from a particularly low-paying job and $3,000 was more than half of my monthly take-home pay. I understand that it’s a worthwhile investment, but one worry I had was that the negotiation won’t yield results or a result that is less than the service fee.
I was originally offered $165,000 in base salary. As a result of negotiation, I received $170,000 plus an additional $5,000 signing bonus.
Even beyond the salary negotiation per se (which was excellent and yielded results), I found that having a coach guiding me throughout the process made an otherwise anxiety-ridden process so much easier. My situation was particularly complicated because I used a third-party recruitment firm and they were adding unnecessary pressure and noise. Having an experienced negotiator helped clear the fog and put things into perspective. I really liked Josh’s quick turnaround on deliverables — email drafts, opinion and advice, even jumping on a phone call in one “emergency” situation.
The experience also made me realize my own market value (I wasn’t sure whether my walk away number is unrealistic). I also came away with a better understanding of how to be intentional about career growth and of how to navigate the job search before getting to the offer stage (e.g. avoid 3rd party recruiters, never state a target salary)
I’d absolutely recommend working with Josh for peace of mind, confidence in negotiation, and avoiding silly mistakes (like giving the impression that you’d settle for a lower than market value offer).