Written By: Lauren Howard
“Wow. You are clear on what you want.”
I mean, it took me a while, but yeah.
A recruiter who reached out to me said that last week, and it felt really really good to hear it.
Mostly because I was wishy washy, indecisive, and scared of sounding “too presumptuous” for a long time. I let people tell me what I should want rather than admitting that I had goals and believed in myself enough to get there.
How could I have goals if I wasn't sure that other people would agree with them? No, that was too much risk.
The list now? I literally copy and paste it to recruiters when they ask.
I’m very happy running my own business, so it would have to be an incredible offer to make me consider anything else.
C-Level
Small and early stage. Pre-seed and A considered, but boot-strapped always preferred
Operations and strategy, not growth or sales
Cash plus equity commensurate with job level
Fully remote and flexible with schedule
Happy to consider short-term fractional roles to get people started or equity-based, small commitment advisorships if that makes more sense.
There are very few people in this world whose list would match mine.
And that's totally fine because, well, it's mine.
It's all mine.
Here’s what my old list would have looked like:
What do you think I’m good at?
I prefer operations because it’s how my brain works but I am happy to consider whatever makes sense for you.
Salary? I mean, I can be flexible. I want to do what’s right for the company.
Oh, I don’t care about titles. Not important to me at all. I just want to be able to make an impact.
I really don’t think I was put on this planet for sales, but if that’s what you want me to do, then sure!
Remote.
Big difference.
My list is unlikely to land me a job anywhere, but that's okay. I get to be selective because I'm happy doing what I'm doing. I will still have a conversation every time they come up. If I have learned anything other than knowing what I want, it’s that sometimes the universe has way better plans, and, in hindsight, mine were small beans compared to what was in store.
You are not being selfish by asking for what you want. You will not seem presumptuous, full of yourself, or unreasonable. You are making the recruiter or hiring manager’s job easy by being clear and direct, and you’re also projecting confidence in your abilities.
If they don’t like that, that’s not the place for you. Let them go find less.
I believe in you. You should believe in yourself too.
So, what do you want?
Founder & CEO at elletwo