Use your portfolio to demonstrate you are worthy of their best offer.
When you meet to discuss their offer, you can use your enhanced Can-
Do Portfolio to help you make the point that because you can add a lot
of value to their organization, they should give you an improved em-
ployment package.
Unlike in earlier interviews, if you have the right ammunition in
your portfolio, you can use it extensively when negotiating for a better
deal.
You should not shy away from presenting whatever evidence you
have that the deal you are being offered does not measure up to indus-
try standards; or that it does not significantly improve upon what you
are getting in your present job. This provides a reality check for them.
But your main focus during this meeting and the principal use of
your portfolio should be to demonstrate that you have the P.E.A.K.S.
that will enable you to add value to the organization in the very ways
they have indicated they hope you will. And stress that the value you
will add qualifies you for the very best deal available.
If you have done your homework, you can say something like,“I
know that the salary range for this kind of position is typically [quote
the range]. Here’s why I think I deserve [cite the highest figure].”And
then support this statement by making use of your portfolio.
When negotiating, it doesn’t hurt to keep throwing at them one
more example of why you are the very person they must have for this
job. Negotiators are expected to keep giving more and more evidence to
support their position.
One of our clients recently used this “total portfolio”strategy to ne-
gotiate for a better starting salary. The company offering her a job
ended up not only matching her salary request but also threw in a gen-
erous benefit package that made the offer all that more attractive. She
accepted.
Using portfolio items in your negotiations will take a lot of the
awkwardness and discomfort out of going after what you want. And you
will give yourself your best chance of getting all the good things you de-
serve!FINAL THOUGHTS
Your portfolio can be a great asset in a job interview, if you use it prop-
erly. To help you remember the key dos and don’ts for using your port-
folio in a job interview, we’ve prepared the following checklist that you
might want to review each time you are planning to use your portfolio
to get that job.
Portfolio Dos and Don’ts- Do not let go of your portfolio.If it leaves your hands, the whole di-
rection of the interview will change. Instead, hand individual items
to your interviewer.
98 Part I: Building, Using, and Maintaining Your Career Portfolio