FROM EXHAUSTED TO EMPOWERED.

...we sometimes at a certain point, we just become so exhausted and disillusioned with months and months of trying and never hearing back.

Once you're past certain age of late 50s, those are some of the realities we face and choices that we have to make in our career. Family is very important to me, and luckily, I was able to find an opportunity that valued my experience, but again, gave me the flexibility to be able to help my mom and still meet some of my career goals.

Well, I think the biggest takeaway was just to... because, of course, my background is not in sales. And so having that help in thinking how a bonus structure can be done and presented so that it's fair both to the organization and to me was very helpful. Because, again... this organization has never had a full-time executive leader before. It was new to both.

So I think, after my final interview, which was face-to-face with the board president, who's also a very accomplished attorney, letting her know that I had somebody on my side that I had been working with and that we were going to work together on a structure really, I think, put her at ease and made her feel good. And then going back with a counter... getting that counter offer, I think, really provided some great guidance for them. And they pretty much agreed to about 90% of what we asked for, and I think it also helped let them know that I meant business.

Positioning is gold. It really makes a difference.

Yeah, and it helps to have that FaceTime too, because my first interview was with a panel of other board members. And... you're limited to pages. You can't put everything in a two-page resume. And getting that FaceTime and being able to really address the needs of the organization and be able to provide some solutions and ideas face-to-face, I think adds a lot of value.

And the other thing is that I have the option when I begin on Monday to either stay as a 1099 consultant or I can be a full-time W-2 exempt employee... one of the things that we did discuss when I presented the counter offer and then they came back is to do a hybrid. So two days out of the week, I either need to be at the office or if I have symposiums or evening receptions or things like that, that all counts as my time.

So I saw this as a great opportunity and bought a ticket, and then I mentioned it, that just in good faith I was going to do it because I felt that those are the circles we need to be around. And they loved it. So it's really exciting.

And my point is sometimes it's not all about the money. And there's a balance to it, especially at a certain point in your career where you have to say, okay, it may not be what I feel like I'm worth. But it's that flexibility and being able to have the time to be able to do some of these other passion side gigs that I have, which is super exciting.