We’ve all heard story after story about the high priced computer programmers, executives, etc. that are getting paid huge amounts of money for their skills.
Such stories offer little comfort if you happen to be one of the unlucky souls trying to find quality people to join your organization. If you happen to fall in this category take heart…
Several weeks ago I was talking to a good friend of mine that I knew had been having a bit of a hard time finding someone for a position she was trying to fill. We got to chatting a bit and she went on to tell me that she’d just interviewed a woman who she really felt great about. The only catch it seemed was that she was expecting to be paid more than my friend was willing to offer. Since the job was for a university the pay was out of my friends’ hands. Well back to the drawing board it seemed…
But wait! Here’s where realizing that different things motivate different people is so important. I made a few suggestions and we bounced some ideas off of each other. The ideas centered around focusing on all the non-monetary perks that are involved in the particular job (i.e. the things that money can’t buy).
I knew my friend, and as such I knew that any department she was running was going to be a wonderful place to work. Therefore I suggested she encourage the prospective employee to speak candidly with others in the department so that she could see first hand what a good place it was to come to work to each day. I should say here that if your place of employment doesn’t fit in this category you’re going to see folks running out the door screaming with their resumes in hand if you try this approach :-).
Now I am sure you’re wondering what the result was, right? A few days ago I got a wonderful e-mail from my friend telling me she’d started thinking about what we’d discussed and called back the prospective employee. This time around she focused on the “perks” of the job. In this case the university actually allowed employees to go to school free! Needless to say the woman called back the same day and accepted the position.
My friend, never underestimate the power of the things that high salary can’t buy! You may be in a situation where you don’t have such obvious perks as my friend at the university did. Trust me when I tell you that with a little searching (and asking fellow employees) you’ll find a good list of things as well. Perhaps it is the opportunity to work with a top sales person in the industry.
I can tell you from experience that many a high quality person has gone to work for less just because they saw an opportunity to work next to “top performers” in their industry (and gain invaluable experience from having learned from them). In short, whatever situation you’re in don’t short change yourself, chances are very good that you have something wonderful to offer. You just haven’t thought of it yet…
It’s your life, LIVE BIG
Josh Hinds
* Author of Why Perfect Timing is a Myth: Tips for Staying Inspired and Motivated Day in and Day out!, It’s Your Life, Live BIG
