Part one of four: The opportunity — Ted Leonhardt

I’ve been busier with client work than ever. Creative salaries are up, and more of my clients are negotiating new freelance opportunities and salaried positions than any time in memory. The following story is a composite of several of these ongoing negotiations.

(Note: I’ve made changes in the story, to keep identities private.)

“They’re going to offer me the position.” That’s how our Zoom call started. Ariel’s a long-term client of mine, an American working in London as a senior creative director.

“Wow,” was my reply. “You’ve certainly earned it.”

Ariel went on to describe her suitor. She was thrilled, as well she should have been. The organization — I’ll call it Top Fox — had a long and glorious history of producing award-level creative for many of the world’s top companies.

So I asked, “Why is this position open now?” And I learned that although Top Fox had a terrific record of outstanding work, they’d been losing clients. Recently some of their top talent had moved on.

I also asked, “How did they find you?”

“A woman I worked with in Hong Kong, Mia, now heads new business in New York at Top Fox. Mia’s been wanting to get me in there for a couple years, but there wasn’t an opportunity until now. And my…