1. 1. In coaching the applicant to request a higher salary, did the project manager work against the interests of the client organization by which he or she is employed? Why or why not?
2. 2. Could the manager have avoided this dilemma by proposing a salary figure that was the industry norm? Would that be in the interests of the client organization?
3. 3. If you were in the project manager’s situation, would you have handled this negotiation differently? If so, how so?

A freelance project manager, I was hired to find someone to fill a highly specialized job. When I asked an impressive candidate her pay rate, she named a figure far below the industry standard. I could have rejected her for this lack of sophistication or exploited her low bid. Instead, I coached her to a figure nearly twice her bid yet about 30 percent below my client’s budget. I did not inform my client about the discrepancy, and she was hired at the rate I recommended. Did I do wrong by either party?

—NAME WITHHELD, New York

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