Introduction

(The information here covers both telephone screens and personal interviews)

I apologize if some of this information is elementary or redundant; my intent is to deal with the lowest common denominator. Before you dismiss, do not over-estimate your own abilities to interview well. You have but one chance to make a good impression. If this helps you along that path, it was worth it.

Remember, an interviewer develops an impression of you in the first few minutes of your meeting or telephone screen, and spends the rest of the interview confirming, not altering, their initial impression. You can’t come back tomorrow with another, more complete, answer to a question. You’re in a boxing match. Keep your guard up for the entire fight; there are no rounds through which you can coast.

An important aspect of interviewing that many candidates, particularly inexperienced ones, overlook is the following: The Company is interviewing you, but you are also interviewing the company. The interview process provides the best information you are likely to get about what being an employee of the company is really like (unless you have close friends who already work there). Key information you should watch for is covered in the various sections below.

Interview Checklist Before You Walk in the Door:

• Can you explain how you exceed the position's initial requirements?
• Are you ready to explain you’re past successes (have them memorized)?
• Do you know the company's culture? Do your image, traits, personality fit in?
• What can you tell the interviewer that would boost his bottom line?
• Have you done your homework on the company? It’s past sales, top products, industry outlook, strategy, goals.

Pre-Interview Preparation

Phone and Face to Face

You are first interview, and perhaps the first several, likely will be conducted by phone. Try to use a land line not a cell phone. I strongly recommend that you use a headset in order to have your hands free. From a practical point of view you are free to more easily look for something on your resume. Far more importantly is that being hands free allows you to use gestures and be more expressive in answering questions. It sounds strange that a gesture would be important during a phone screen since the interviewer cannot see you. But your movements and gestures will, believe it or not, translate into more enthusiasm and the interviewer WILL perceive this vitality.

Step one in preparation begins with being sure you know your own resume. If you stumble on its factual details, they can become a focal point for the interviewer to dwell on. Be sure you can back up everything you say. Be aware that more and more employers will ask me, or check themselves, to verify employment dates, academic degrees, even grade point averages.

Your interviewer will have a copy of your resume; have one in front of you as well. Have a pencil and paper ready to take notes both on areas to which they are drawn and to jot down that you might have.

With your resume have in front of you the job description. This gives you the ability to question the interviewer about specifics. 'I see you are asking for Perl scripting…my experience with BioPerl for XYZ Company may be of value because…”

In my qualifying conversations and emails with you I attempt to correlate your work experiences with the specifics of the position. At the intersection of their needs and your skills is where you will begin preparing vivid, succinct anecdotes of your background and accomplishments.

In essence, an interview is a time for story telling. Your 'stories' are 90 second to two minute snapshot anecdotes of the successes from your work history. Practice beforehand what you want to say about your accomplishments and your experience. During the interview, you want to have the content down pat so you are not stumbling for what to say, and instead can focus on your delivery of the information… being smooth and polished in your presentation. When answering questions, be succinct; don’t ramble. Practice beforehand – into a mirror or to another person – how you might vividly and enthusiastically describe your accomplishments in 90 to 120 seconds.

Organize your stories to cover several domains:

• Deadline pressure dealt with successfully;
• An especially complex, challenging project;
• One that covers the key technology on which the client will have you working;
• One that shows you working well with others;
• Leading a team or being a manager…whatever is appropriate.

ALWAYS put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer. Employers want to hire “difference makers,” individuals who can propel their companies ahead of the competition. Your anecdotal information on accomplishments should always be geared to showing how your involvement, your ideas, your code, helped a company advance, to move ahead of the competition, to enter a new marketplace.

Keeping your responses to two minutes or less allows the interviewer to remain in control of the questioning and to change the subject if s/he wants. One of the most common reasons applicants blow an interview is by rambling with their answers. If your story is heading in a direction in which the interviewer does not truly care about, your brevity will allow them to regain control and change the subject to meet their needs.

Among questions you might prepare to answer:

• Describe your most significant achievement on your current job?
• What is your strongest skill?
• How do you perform under pressure or deadlines?
• What major problem have you encountered and how did you deal with it?
• Why do you want to work here?
• What do you know about our company?

In House or Hybrid Role, Maybe Even Remote

Since Covid hit us, the industry has taken some positions that can work remotely and made either fully remote or Hybrid roles. Some positions taken to remote or hybrid are now going back to in-house posi?ons requiring you to be in the o!ce 4 or 5 days a week.

When looking at new positions and planning to move, it is vital to understand what the position requires from the company. In some cases, a position cannot be remote but hybrid because of the face-to-face factor of the job that is needed. In some cases, a hybrid role can be two or three days, with the reality that it depends on the manager and what is happening in the company. If it is hybrid, you need to realize that sometimes a project may require more than two or three days in-house and be flexible.

Have this conversation up front with whomever you are dealing with that is taking you through the process of applying. If it is a recruiter, they should know whether it is hybrid. If it is HR, they will know.

I would suggest that if you are having a conversation with the hiring authority you ask what this schedule may look like so you can plan at least mentally what your week would look like for driving, childcare tolls etc.

In the end, if offered the job, get it in writing.

Phone Interview

Evaluating the Company Based on a Telephone Interview:

When the phone interview is over, think about your reaction to the interviewer. Did he or she call you at the time arranged? If the call was late (by more than five minutes or so) did the interviewer apologize for the delay? Did you feel rapport with the interviewer? How long did the phone call last? Did the interviewer answer your questions satisfactorily? At the end of the interview, what next steps did you and the interviewers agree upon? Jot down the answers to these questions, and any other impressions you formed during the conversation, and relay them to me.

In Person: Greeting and Talking:

• Make sure your attire is neat and clean. You cannot make a mistake wearing a suit nor a sport coat and tie. You are the outsider; if your dress is more formal than the interviewer’s it’s not a problem. It CAN be a problem when the interviewer is more formally dressed than you. I have a thing about shoes. Make sure they are polished. If your heels are rounded off from wear, take corrective action before the interview. Better yet, invest two bucks and have your shoe repair store attach some heel guards. A common complaint from interviewers about applicants is the use of strong-smelling perfume or after-shave. It's better to leave off perfume or cologne, and to make sure that scents from deodorant and after-shave lotion are subtle and non-intrusive (check by asking your friends).
• Make direct eye contact and apply a firm handshake during a personal interview. Learn the interviewer’s name and use it when you respond to questions. When answering questions, express yourself with enthusiasm. We all have different personalities, but if you’re not enthusiastic about working for the firm, why should they hire you?
• In person and during an initial phone screen, speak clearly and be expressive. On the phone only your voice is representing you, so work at making it sound inviting and articulate. Eliminate – by practicing beforehand – the annoying verbal tics and crutches we all use: “uh,” “and uh,” “you know.” Don’t swear and avoid slang.
  

Research

Do Some Research, So You Can Ask Questions:

Just this week, a client said he didn’t hire a programmer because the individual, when asked what questions he had for the interviewer, had none. Bad mistake. You have to show interest. Interest begins with research.

Come prepared with questions that you want to ask – about their technology or their company – have them written down; don’t rely on your memory. Make sure you’ve visited the firm’s web site, explored recent news (new partner alliances, top level hires, contracts signed, product development, etc.) I try and get data on the person with whom you will interview by doing a search on the Internet to see what I can find.

At the least, you should always have a quick and comprehensive answer to: What do you know about our company?

Asking intelligent, in-depth questions about the technology underpinning the firm shows that you care, that you’ve done your homework, that YOU are intelligent. It pre-supposes familiarity with the technology with which you may soon be working.

Besides technology, you also should, if appropriate, be asking business questions, so you’re not pigeon holed as just a Techie.

Business Questions

Development Cycle
In what state of development is your product or service? If prior to release, what’s the target date to introduce the product or service? If already in the marketplace, at what version is the product? When is the next release planned?

Uniqueness
Is your product unique? What other companies already make the same or similar products? What companies have expressed intentions of entering the market with products the same as, similar to, or better than, yours?

First to Market
What competitive advantages do you enjoy that would lead one to believe you’ll be first to market with this product or service? Is it technical advantage or financial resources advantage?

Competitors
Are your competitors publicly traded companies? If so, they potentially have more resources for R&D and marketing. What have your spies been able to uncover about the intentions of your competitors?

Market Size
At how large of a market are you aiming? What is the magnitude of the upside if you are successful?

Management Team
Does your team have a previous track record of success starting and taking companies public or in leading them to a friendly acquisition by another firm?

Using Your Questions To Assess The Company's Performance and Potential:

Your research will also provide leads to questions that will help you assess whether the company is a place you would like to work. For example, has there been a recent reorganization or layoff? A change in CEO? How is the company’s stock performing, and what positive and negative information have you gathered from the company's annual and quarterly reports? If the company is in its development stage and has no products on the market yet, how much money is in the bank and what is the burn rate?

The interview provides an excellent opportunity to examine the work environment in person. Look around you as you circulate through the work area - do the employees seem happy and congenial? Are the work areas neat and clean (a few cluttered desks are normal, but papers piled everywhere in every office you see may mean the workload is out of control, or that projects are not being appropriately managed). Is the level of décor in line with the company's profitability? (For example, rosewood and leather office furniture in a venture-capital start-up is not a good sign). Is the parking adequate? Is there a cafeteria, or do employees go out to lunch or bring sandwiches? What is the dress code? In general, is this an environment in which you would be comfortable?

Evaluating Proprietary Information

If the company is involved in scientific research, information is often available in the proceedings of scientific meetings and in scientific journals. You should familiarize yourself with reported research before the interview. Questions to consider when evaluating the companies published research include: How full is the pipeline? How close is each product to market? Are there competitors who are likely to affect the product's marketability?

Questions to ask in the interview include: What is the anticipated market for each product, and what dollar amount in sales is expected in the first years after product launch? Are there barriers to product acceptability? What problems have arisen in product development? Have they been overcome?

Many companies (pharmaceutical and bio-tech companies, in particular) usually have large amounts of data that have not yet been made public. Most companies are willing to share these data with you if you sign a nondisclosure agreement agreeing to keep all shared information confidential. Data review under a nondisclosure agreement generally does not take place until considerable progress has been made in the employment negotiations, often at a second or third interview. If the company is large and successful, review of proprietary data is less important, although it would still be reasonable to request access to proprietary data on a new product that you are being hired to work on, since you have a vested interest in the product's success.

Review of proprietary information when the company is in early development stage, especially if there are not products yet on the market, is very common, especially for candidates who are at management and senior technical levels. After the first interview, I can help you decide when and whether you should ask to review proprietary information under a nondisclosure agreement, and can relay the request to the company.

Ask the Interviewer

Rapport Questions You Can Ask

To build rapport with the interviewer, ask:

• Why did you choose to work here?
• What’s been your most satisfying accomplishment here?

Among Questions You Might Want To Ask the Interviewer:

• If you hire me, what are the three most pressing issues you need resolved?
• What are your company's strengths and how do you capitalize on them?
• What are your company’s weaknesses and how are you dealing with them?
• What changes do you anticipate in the industry?
• What risks will your company face due to industry changes?
• What are the best opportunities at your firm for new hires?
• How have you strategically responded to the competition?
• What legislation is pending that will affect your firm?
• Where will the major sources of your business be in the next 5 years?
• How is worker performance measured and reviewed?
• Do you have a mentor program? How about formal training programs?
• What is your company's management style?
• What challenges are facing this company? Are you pleased with how your company is reacting to them?
• Why do people leave?
• Why have you stayed with the company?
• Describe my initial assignments?

Be Prepared to Answer This Question:

"What do you consider your weaknesses to be?"

Never answer this question with comments like..."I work too hard" or "I tend to take on too much responsibility." Some interviewing books suggest these kinds of answers to spin a negative into a positive. In my opinion it has just the opposite effect.

You can say..."I sometimes am short or abrupt with people. I could be more diplomatic. I need to work on dealing with people who are lazy or whose workmanship is shoddy." OR "At this stage of my career I don’t react well to what I would call a ‘looking over my shoulder’ style of supervision."

Money Talk:

In many cases you will have told me your current salary and minimum desired salary, which I have may have shared with the client. Sometimes I have not done that. Clients will typically want me to know your current salary. They will have in mind a salary for the position you’re seeking but there will always be room to negotiate. The purpose of the interview is for you to create desire on their part for your services. Mak 'em want you !!!!!!!!!!

To avoid committing yourself to a desired figure early in the negotiations, it is useful to state “your company has a good reputation and my recruiter has spoken highly of you I am sure you will make a fair offer”. (As appropriate to the company's compensations practices, the "package" might include base salary, bonus, stock options at hire and thereafter, and benefits). It is also a good stalling tactic to emphasize that the nature and scope of the job and opportunities for advancement are more important to you at this stage of your career than salary, if this is true.

During the first interview you might answer a question about the kind of compensation you’re seeking by asking the interviewer a question back.

What's the targeted salary range for this position?

What are others who now perform this work currently earning?

That’s a difficult question to answer at this time. Could we first clearly lay out the responsibilities for the position and then see how my skills and experience measure up to others now doing this job before we discuss salary?

“You know, at this time I’ve been focusing on learning about your company, about this opportunity and how I might contribute rather than crunching numbers; I’m sure you’ll make me a fair offer.”

Should you state a salary that’s significantly higher than what others doing the same job are earning, the interviewer won’t hear anything else you’re saying; he or she will be thinking only that they can’t afford you. If you say a number too low, you’ve boxed yourself in. We first need to create a desire for you.

If I am presenting you to more than one client, then we also have the potential of real world offers that we can cite.

It often is less self-serving to allow me to deal with these issues. You and I need to be on the same page about exactly what kind of salary you ARE prepared to accept.

Offers/Counter Offers

In most cases I will be dealing with the client company as far as an offer. In this case you and I need to have agreed on a bottom line so that I know what I am working with .In some cases the company may offer right on the spot. In this case I would suggest just to write down what they offer and tell them you will get back to them OR tell them “I really appreciate that you want to offer me this position today but I would rather you call Jamie with it and allow me to take in all the information I received today and then make a decision.

On a Counter Offer ---– Here Is the Rule

Resigning a position is a break in a relationship, it is a final decision and as we all know when you go back to a relationship you attempted to break there is no trust. I would suggest you walk in and hand a resignation letter to the boss and thank him for the opportunity to learn and grow professionally but you are moving on with your career. Then stand up shake his / her hands and Leave. Never tell your old boss were you are going, who you are working for and how much you are making it isn’t any of his business one and two he may call over and cause you problems. I know you wouldn’t think a pro would do that but I have seen it all the way to the director /Sr director level.

Before You Turn in a Resignation Do the Following

1. Tell your friends
2. Type the letter to be professional in appearance
3. Make up your mind that you are leaving
4. Be prepared for either a thank you for your service and congrats or a jerk

Multiple Interviewers

Some jobs involve interviewing with a variety of people, either on the same day or at separate interviews. Some interviewing sessions last a full day. In cases like this, it's important to pace yourself so you don't come across as tired or bored by the time you get to your eighth interviewer - remember the company is looking for someone bright and energetic! Many companies regard the all-day interview as a test of whether the candidate's energy level is high enough to cope with the job.

It's also important to give consistent answers when asked the same question by different interviewers, although sometimes a question that is essentially "the same" can be posed with a different spin by different interviewers, and can therefore be answered using different "stories" (as described above); still, the answer should be fundamentally the same. The group of people who interviewed you will be getting together, usually the very next day, to discuss your answers, so consistency is very important.

End of an Interview

Key Question You May Consider Asking at the Tail End of Interviews

"Now that you've had some time to talk with me about this position, what do you think are my strong points and where do you think I'm a little light?"

Why ask this? Most especially to hear them state their concerns and cite the negatives. Once they do this, you get a chance to overcome them on the spot. If you don't ask the question, you may never know what their concerns were.

 

After the Interview

Important Email Follow-Up

Get the business card of the person with whom you interview, or if on the phone, ask for his/her email address. After the interview, make sure to send an email to this individual. You want the email to add value. I can help you with the content.

The nature of the e-mail should depend on your level of interest in the position. If you left the interview quite sure that the company is not a good fit for you, a simple "thank you" to each interviewer for their time and information is sufficient. You should also relay this information to me and I will take the responsibility of informing the company that you are not interested in the pursuing your application further.

If, on the other hand, you are excited about the company and want to maximize your chances of a job offer (or a further interview), a much more detailed e-mail is appropriate.

One, don’t just express thanks for the interview. One of your jobs during the interview is to find out the hiring authority’s hot buttons. Your follow up email explains how you can help solve those key issues, thus emphasizing why you're an outstanding candidate for the position. So plan on asking during the interview: “What are the three most pressing ( top) issues (challenges) you need resolved? (OR … “on which the HTS scientist will work?”)

The follow up email also allows you to do damage control. You can respond to a question that you did not, in hindsight, answer to the best of your ability. “Jim, I forgot to mention when you asked about my supervision experience that I led a four person team at…”

You can also take a pre-emptive position on an area in which you know you are a little light. You take the weapon out of the interviewer’s hand by acknowledging a weakness and how you will minimize it if hired.

There are no BAD emails; just better ones than others that might truly advance your candidacy. One final point here, you never know how many other people your email might be forward to... people whom you have not met. One indicator they can get of your ability to do the job is what is contained in the email, where you have cited how you can satisfy the top demands of the job.

Case History Example of an Email Follow Up To an Interview

Here's an example of a candidate of mine who wrote a cover letter to a hiring manager of a major pharmaceutical company last year after interviewing for a data modeling job, which he subsequently got. It shows what I mean.

Thank you for taking the time last week to interview me for the data modeling position at XXXX. I sought to present how my experience and skills working with Bio statistic applications could benefit xxxxx. I hope that I was successful.

In our discussions, the importance of designing and building enterprise-wide data models was mentioned many times. A second need that jumped out at me when we talked was the requirement for hands on experience in both clinical data processing and statistical model processing.

I have worked in all aspects of those projects: interviewing users to obtain requirements, designing conceptual, logical and physical data models to represent those requirements, installation and loading of databases, design of multi-tiered logic on top of those databases, and extensive coding of stored procedures and other SQL logic to service application components. Moreover, I have written many UNIX shell scripts to implement extract, transform and load (ETL) functions for those projects.

The above work has been with the use of SAS. In terms of Statistics applications at XYZ Company, I proposed and modeled a large-scale SAS architecture based upon a central data bus of common dimensions, and a wide variety of data marts representing different subject areas.

This background, I believe, makes me well suited to meet the requirements of the data modeling position. I hope that you can give serious weight to my qualifications. Regardless of the outcome of your search, I again wish to thank you for your consideration.

End

From:
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 12:20 AM
To:
Subject: Thank you for interview

Dear xxxxx,
Thank you for taking the time on Thursday to interview me for the Sr. Director of xxxx position at xxxx. I enjoyed our lunch conversation and sharing our experiences. You painted an exciting picture of opportunity and growth for xxxx. I would like to be a part of that growth picture. I shared how my experience and skills working in the pharmaceutical industry for 15 years can benefit xxxx.

We discussed my 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. I appreciate your interest in how the combination of my achievements in Marketing, sales, managed care, market research, and finance, are a valuable combination that can benefit xxxx. What we did not have a chance to fully cover is my competitive drive, initiative, and reliability in accomplishing goals. I hope you got some sense of these innate abilities from our conversation.

I sense we both have an entrepreneurial spirit. Xxxx is on the edge of something big and it would be great to be a part of that momentum. It reminds me of the time I was working to build a new oncology business unit at Searle, prior to the Pharmacia merger. It was an opportunity to create a successful enterprise from the ground up.

I felt the excitement from you and your team at xxx. I would like to join you in building upon what xxxx has achieved thus far. I believe my background, collaborative leadership, and achiever-mentality make me well suited to meet the requirements of the position of Sr. Director of Marketing. Regardless of the outcome of your search, I thank you for your consideration. Please contact me if you have any questions while making your decision.

Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxx

Call me after the interview to recap. I’ll want to talk to you before I talk to the client. It gives me a chance to hear from you about the interview so that with the client I can do a combination of emphasizing your positives and performing damage control if need be. I also can get from you questions that you either forgot to ask the client or which you thought of after the interview. Armed with this information, I’ll know how to best advance your candidacy.

Follow-Up from the Company

You should expect that the company would provide feedback to me on your interview. Typically this feedback is provided within a week of the interview. If the company is in the early stages of a search when you interview (for example, if they would like to interview at least three candidates and you are the first) it may be some time before any decision is made, but the company should be up front about this, and should also stay in contact with me as the search progresses so that I can relay information to you.

If a long period of time (more than month) elapses after your interview, and I have not been able to get any feedback from the company about how they want to proceed, we should this as a red flag. A company that has poor follow-up on interviews, and/or difficulty making decisions about candidates, probably extends these traits to other areas of their business.

Sample Questions

Questions That Could Be Asked of You Simply Because They Have Been Asked of Others

No one can prepare for all of these questions, but you can expect one or more to be asked by a skilled interviewer.

• Why should I hire you?
• What are your strongest abilities?
• How do your skills relate to our needs?
• What are you looking for?
• What would you like to know about our firm?
• Tell me something about yourself.
• What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?
• Where do you want to be in 5 years?
• Why do you want to work for us?
• What does "success" mean to you? What does "failure" mean to you?
• What are your three major accomplishments?
• What if I told you that you'd work very hard, but recognition of your contributions would be nil?
• What have you disliked in your past jobs?
• What kinds of people do you enjoy working with?
• What kinds of people frustrate you?
• How long before you can make a contribution?
• In the past year, what have you been dissatisfied about in your performance?
• How long a commitment do you plan to give me?
• What is your ideal job?
• What can you tell me about your previous supervisors?
• Which is more important to you: money or the type of job?
• What have you learned from your activities?
• Were your extracurricular activities worth the time you put into them?
• What qualities should a successful manager possess?
• What two attributes are most important in your job?
• Give an example of what you’ve learned from your mistakes.
• What have you done that you consider creative?
• Who do you admire? Why?
• Why are you interested in our company?
• What do you get passionate about?
• What courses are you taking?
• Why did you choose the school from which you were graduated?
• Have you ever managed a conflict? How?
• What are your short and long-range goals and objectives?
• We’re a start-up, how do you feel about working longer hours than you might in an established firm?

 

Negotiating an Offer

You have been through all the interviews and presentations. You have met everyone and have maybe done some presentations to large crowds. You get a call from Human Resources or your recruiter that you are getting an offer. This can be very stressful or easy and should have speci!c areas of negotiation depending on how you go into this stage.

A few things to realize:

• You need to want the job to negotiate; if you are seeing what is offered and are not really interested. Just stop and decline the job.
• Benefits are company policy and non-negotiable.
• Budgets are created for open positions with caps on compensation and bonus.
• Position budgets have room for growth built in. If you take up the entire budget, you may be losing out on a raise potential.
• Sometimes, titles can be negotiated, IE Director to Executive Director or Manager to Senior Manager, which could impact a budget.
• Know what your minimum is for taking the job and be realistic. This should fall into the pay range that was stated before you interviewed.
• You should also know what you will not accept.
• Write everything down; memory fails when it comes to all the specifics.
• At some point, negotiations stop, and decisions need to be made.
• Get it all in writing.

Once the negotiations are completed, and you are satisfied with everything, accept the role and prepare for resignation and your new job. As stated in guidance before, do not say anything to anyone at work of your new position until it's time to resign.

Resignation Advice

Resigning is not an easy process and will be wrought with emotion. Emotions such as fear, doubt and guilt are all normal experiences.

Some Helpful Tips

• Your decision to leave and take another job is the right thing for you and your family. You reached your decision based on rational thought, don't let emotions cloud that decision.
• Resign first thing in the morning. Don't labor through the day. Give your two weeks notice and be very direct and positive in your statements. If your employer tries to pressure you to stay longer, you will have to determine whether or not that is necessary although not advised.
• Expect a reaction of disappointment from your superior and assume that you will receive a counter offer. It is much easier and cheaper to keep you until a replacement can be found. You've already told them that you are not loyal to their mission when you resigned.
• Your employer may accept your resignation and ask you to leave immediately. Don't be alarmed, you have access to confidential information and they may want to severe that information flow. If asked to leave early, call your new employer and start early or use the time to relax and prepare for your new opportunity.
• During your transition period, you will be approached by others who want to leave. Do not get involved in gossip or negative conversations. Continue to do your job to the best of your ability. Remember, this is a future reference.

Sample Letter

Mr./Ms _________________
Title
Company Name
Company Address
Dear ________________:

Please accept this letter as my formal resignation to become effective as of (date).

I have accepted a position I believe will offer me the opportunity for advancement as well as allow me to broaden my own experience and knowledge.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your advice and guidance during my tenure at (company) and wish you and (company) continued success.

I came to my decision after careful evaluation and I am not trying to use this opportunity as leverage for a counter offer. I know you will respect my decision and again thank you for all I have gained from you.

Sincerely,