other features of the employment package that are of interest to you.
An insider can tell you what’s negotiable and what’s not.
Particularly important is to try to find out from industry insiders
why some people get much better deals than others, beyond the fact
that they may have had great negotiating skills. What P.E.A.K.S. do
they have that make them worthy of the best offers? You may have got-
ten a good answer to this question when you were initially targeting
your portfolio. If not, get it now.
Your reality check should help you decide what things you can le-
gitimately try to improve upon and what you cannot.
Add documents to your portfolio that will help you negotiate a bet-
ter deal. Once you have decided on how you want the job offer to be im-
proved, add the following kinds of documents to help you make your
best case.Documents that reveal obvious shortcomings in their offer.If you have
seen a chart that demonstrates that others in the industry are typi-
cally getting far more than you are being offered for the same job,
make a copy for your portfolio.
If the job offer does not significantly improve upon what you al-
ready have in your present job, try to find documents that will verify
your current arrangement. You can use copies of things like organi-
zational charts and job descriptions to demonstrate the level and re-
sponsibilities of your current job. A copy of the last W-2 form you re-
ceived can document your current compensation.
Documents that reaffirm that you can contribute in the ways they are
hoping you will.Review your notes from earlier interviews to identi-
fy the ways in which your interviewers seem to feel you can make
your biggest contribution to the organization. Then take a look at
your Master Portfolio collection to see if there are some documents
not yet in your Can-Do Portfolio that can give further evidence that
you have the P.E.A.K.S. necessary to add value in the way that the
interviewers hope you will. If they have you slotted for, say, bringing
a better sense of organization to a department, then add to your port-
folio everything you’ve got that demonstrates your ability to organize
people and processes.
Documents that show you can add value in the way the people who get
the best deals do.Add to your Can-Do Portfolio any documents you
might have that demonstrate you have the key P.E.A.K.S. that the
people who get the best employment packages in a comparable posi-
tion seem to have. If, for example, people with good sales skills seem
to get the best deals in comparable positions, try to include evidence
that you can be an effective salesperson. Obviously, if you can’t stand
selling, even though you may be good at it, you would be better off not
trying to emphasize this skill or you may find yourself landing a
high-paying job you can’t stand!Chapter 6: Using Your Portfolio to Get That Job 97