The other day I was meeting with a client who had recently acquired a new company in another city (an airplane flight away). The client plans to spend one week per month at the business location, and to manage it remotely from his office the rest of the month.

One of the key positions in any business is the CFO/controller, but in this case, in light of the owner’s three-week absences from the new company offices, this role is even more critical. Using Indeed, the owner identified qualified candidates, interviewed them, and selected a finalist.

Although the owner had included a salary range in the Indeed notice, he still asked the finalist, “What compensation are you looking for?” The wise candidate quoted the published range.

The owner added $5,000 to the top end of the range and said, “How does that sound?”

Put yourself in this scene and pretend you’re the finalist and you hear that. What’s your reaction?

It turns out the candidate is even better than the owner thought he would be. I’m sure his nice salary doesn’t hurt. The owner has actually received unsolicited comments from other company employees about how much they enjoy working with and for the new CFO.

Maybe some of you have done this yourselves. Good for you! I don’t recall ever offering more or hearing of anyone offering more.

That’s why I love what I do. I learn something new from my clients every day.