I did it. I survived my first major speaking gig (surely my “graduation” speech from vocational school doesn’t count) and apparently, I did more than OK. You see, the good folks at RecruitDC were kind enough to invite me to speak at a breakout session during their spring conference.
So, I decided to discuss a topic near and dear to my cold, black recruiting heart – salary negotiations.
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If I’m being completely honest here (or “transparent,” if you’re playing buzzword bingo at home), I’d tell you, beyond any shadow of a doubt – compensation negotiation is the WORST PART OF MY JOB. And I love my job.
Now, sometimes, it’s the most fun – I do love extending offers, especially when followed by an exuberant “YES!” Mostly, though, it makes me want to cry.
I certainly don’t have the same confidence and ability to play the “bad cop” of comp, a role that so many of my peers seem to have more or less mastered. Therefore, I study the hell out of it.
I read countless articles, try various techniques, and over the years have really come to accept that I have a certain style that works for me. It even makes the process sort of fun. And by forcing myself out of my comfort zone, developing content first for blogs, then webinars, then live presentations, it makes me better.
The studying, the practising, the trying and then, often, failing then trying something new. It’s a journey. It’s frustrating. It’s hard work. But it all makes me work harder, smarter, and more effective at doing my job. Which is to say, the payout is worth the pain.
If you’re looking for a reason to submit to speak at a conference near you – or one in some city across the country you’ve never been to before – look no further than this. Find the one topic that scares the s*** out of you. We all have one. Then, make it yours and tell the world.
[bctt tweet=”Looking for a reason to speak at a conference – find the one topic that scares you says @AlaRecruiter ” username=”ATCevent”]
You might not have all the answers. You may not be able to impart any wisdom, much less the secret to life, the universe or happiness, but it’s not about what you actually teach that adds value. It’s what you learn along the way that matters most.
Images: Shutterstock
This article first appeared on Recruiting Daily on June 2nd, 2016
Amy Miller’s recruiting career began in the late 90s when candidates still put salary requirements on paper applications. She spent more than 10 years in agency recruiting, staffing everything from truck drivers to CFOs. After a detour in public service as an Employment Counselor with the State of Washington, she came back to recruiting on the corporate side - first with Zones Inc and now at Microsoft, where she recruits Data Scientists and Machine Learning Engineers. She’s a frequent blogger & webinar contributor to a variety of Recruiting / HR sites.