The most significant salary increase of all time

A big part of my job is helping my job seekers negotiate the highest possible salaries. The most significant increase a client ever achieved was $64,000 in 2022. She went from making $101K to $165K.

A note that's worth sharing: it can sometimes be difficult to create meaningful metrics from my client data. My clients come from various geographic regions, hold many different titles, and have built careers across various industries. A tech VP from San Francisco is going to have a different salary experience than a scientist from North Carolina, for example.

But I still keep up with these numbers, because there's value in comparing what my clients gain versus their initial investment in working with me.

My $64,000 client was a senior project manager for the pharmaceutical industry. She and I had a very similar career experience: a former scientist who worked her way into the project management team. Her dream was to work in tech. She specifically wanted to be a customer success manager.

What we did:

1. We changed the entire tone and positioning of her resume to make her the "customer whisperer." We completely reframed her project management experience to highlight her client-facing achievements.

2. We emphasized her role as the bridge between the lab, her organization, and her customers' organizations. We added two powerful career stories directly onto her resume.

3. We reached out to just over 120 CSM professionals across California, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada. We gave them her new resume and asked them to keep an eye out for future openings with their team.

She ultimately landed a remote role with a tech company that services the pharmaceutical industry. She negotiated a salary of $165K along with benefits and terms for annual bonuses. She still works there today.

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