I don't know if this will work for everyone, but I have a fair bit of experience under my belt.
At 36, I moved out to the country and a small town. Rent is $550 for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, laundry, newly renovated, place with utilities running around $300 per month. Groceries are a bit more expensive, but I'll solve that with a large garden this summer.
Anyway, I got bored and started applying for more jobs in the area. Some require a significant commute, which I don't really mind. So long as the gas is paid for, and I get a company vehicle. Should I? Probably not, they could just hire someone closer to the area they need serviced, but instead they want to hire me.
One job I applied for listed a competitive salary, a high school education, and 3 years experience for the position. It's basically doing onsite inventory for different industrial chemicals distributed by this large employer.
The first interview was them asking me how I was qualified for it. I laughed and asked if they read my resume. I said why I'm more qualified than all the other applicants is clearly written in black and white. They took about 15 seconds to reply. They asked what my expected salary was. I said I expected it to be competitive with all of my other offers, since at the moment I was a hot commodity. Not many people have a degree, let alone more, in the area. I then asked what their idea of a competitive salary was, they said around $38k to start with bonuses. I apologized for wasting their time, but said thanks for the opportunity.
Twenty minutes after the interview, they email me. They want to know what my expectations were.
- I said a vehicle to make the commute in
- 100% of gas covered and lunches covered on a company credit card, no reimbursing my own money spent
- I want to be paid an hourly on top of my salary during commutes, not per km, since my total day for one trip could take anywhere from 8-16 hours depending on the distance
- My expected base salary, with their bonus incentives, will have to be $69,000 with reviews every 12 month, plus adjusted for yearly inflation
- Increased medical coverage for massage therapy appointments due to past injuries and the ramifications sitting for extended periods of time will have on my body
I didn't get an email for two days.
Today, they called back and asked when I can start.
I said I'll get back to them by the end of the day after I've considered all my offers.
I know not everyone can do it. Especially with the high costs of living in the major city centres… but getting out of the city, into the country, and turning into an asshole have helped me tremendously. I don't miss the money from working in Toronto, Calgary, Saskatoon, or any other major Canadian centre. I don't miss Nashville, or NYC, they both nearly drove me insane.
It took me three years to save and plan my out, pick a destination that was quiet but had enough industry to find potential jobs. If that all failed, I could still pull in rent, groceries, and play money with a part-time job doing customer service online for a telecom company.
When I did that for Rogers for a few months back in 2018, I had a 99% positive review score. How did I get that? I went into the system for expired promos like unlimited data for a few years, free international calling, free roaming, or account wide discounts that add up to thousands over years… and just apply them to every person who called.
You just wanted to make a payment? Well, here's unlimited data for 2 years courtesy of Rogers! Thanks for the positive review!
Funny thing is, Rogers fired me for wanting to take a mental health day after a friend passed away and never found I probably cost them tens of thousands in freebies I gave to customers.
Moral of the story? Be an asshole if you can, but remember to be calculating.