Smart Lemming Diary: CEO Plays Phone Tag with My References
July 5, 2005
Director of Marketing Position Update
I did receive a call yesterday from Amanda who was back in the office, after being sick. She left a message wanting to know what the latest was (perhaps from my perspective). I’ll call her this morning. Tom did talk with one of my references on Friday. My second reference finally received Tom’s voicemail and will be returning the call this morning.
July 8, 2005
Tom Update: Another Assurance of an Offer
Tom called me yesterday, as I was driving home from a productive trip from Borders. He wanted to let me know that he was still playing phone tag with one of my references. Tom continues, “I can’t get any of your references to say anything bad about you. I’ve been in a new city, each a day this week. I had hoped to call you earlier this week. I’m flying home from Atlanta late tonight. When I get in the office tomorrow, I’ll put an offer together and call you later in the morning. Will you be available tomorrow, so we can discuss an offer? I’ll be in the office all day, so I can write up whatever we agree on and send it to you.”
Brushing up on Negotiation Skills
I don’t think I sounded too distant as I responded to Tom. I had to get my head back into the right mindset. I assured him that I was available to talk whenever he returned to town. Hopefully, we’ll have the conversation about an offer and the terms of the employment. I’ve re-read Done Deal: Insights from Interviews with the World’s Best Negotiators by Michael Benoleil. Lord knows, I’m not negotiating the Oslo Accord between Israel and Palestinian leaders like Benoleil. However, negotiation skills are still important, so I wanted a book providing a different perspective than the other two books I re-read. But, Tom has to call and actually make an offer, right?
The Smart Lemming Diary is a series that chronicles a journey of laid-off worker, who becomes a Vice President of Sales Operations & Marketing for a small entrepreneurial healthcare technology company.
