Picture a board chairman discussing a CEO position with his or her top candidate. The chairman's courting the candidate, they're playing golf, they're dining together and he's trying to convince him CEO is a job worth taking.
The job's his, and so is any reasonable dollar figure he wants.
Now, if that fails then the chairman may have traditional interviews with his second or third choice candidates. But they're for sure getting paid nowhere what the first candidate would get.
Unless you did something exceptional, like create a world-renowned programming language or are a staple in the biggest conferences in your niche, you're interviewing.
But I agree with your general sentiment.
Having a strong network to fall back on when you're looking is much better than throwing fish (resumes) into the barrel.
Picture a board chairman discussing a CEO position with his or her top candidate. The chairman's courting the candidate, they're playing golf, they're dining together and he's trying to convince him CEO is a job worth taking.
The job's his, and so is any reasonable dollar figure he wants.
Now, if that fails then the chairman may have traditional interviews with his second or third choice candidates. But they're for sure getting paid nowhere what the first candidate would get.