Salary Negotiations

Salary Negotiations

~dwulf

Probably the most frustrating aspects of contracting or seeking employment is that of salary negotiations.  It is oftentimes put out as a seemingly innocent question for candidates of any industry.

What salary are you comfortable with?   What are you seeking for compensation?  Etc.

These questions are often asked straight out of the gate, before any job details, project scope, or even the budget are talked about.  For me it has been asked every time.

My answer is always the same.

“As a professional I am reluctant to discuss numbers until I know the details of the job, scope of the project, and the budget that you (or your client) has set aside for this.  I would be happy to discuss fiduciary terms after those details are known and an offer is made.”

This puts the onus on them to put up the details on the job specs, scope of project, and the respective budget, or shut up until those things are known and can be factored into a number that is fair.

Of course, they want to anchor you first, so often they come back with reasons why they want to hear a number from you first.

They say,

“We just want to know your salary expectations so we will not waste your time and can find a position better suited to your expected range.”

What I am thinking

(If you don’t know what I am worth then I am talking to the wrong person)

To which I say,

“You are already wasting my time, if you are being indecisive on the uncertainty of the value of my candidacy to the position I am applying to.”

They say,

“Salary depends on your experience.”

What I am thinking,

(Did they even read my resume before reaching out to me.)

To which I say,

“Allow me to go over, in more detail, the experience on the resume, linkedin profile, and my Github links, that you reviewed before you reached back out to me and before our current dialog.  Perhaps there is something you overlooked when analyzing my experience when you decided to conduct this interview.”

They say,

“They do not have a budget for this yet.”

What I am thinking,

(They don’t have a value assessment on their own project?)

To which I say,

“Perhaps it is wise that they factor a cost analysis and formulate a budget before creating a role.”

They say,

“I just need to put a number in to advance this to the hiring manager.”

What I am thinking,

(I am talking to a in-the-way middle man/woman)

To which I say,

“Maybe I should just speak directly to the hiring manager, instead of a person who cannot tell me their budget constraints or the value proposition of the project.”

They often have different variations of how they ask this question, and if push comes to shove and they need a number, give them this answer.

“Let’s go with the local market rates as a starting point and go forward from there.”

There is often no comeback for this, if they try to play stupid and ask what the “local Market Rate” is, you can know 1 of 2 things about who you are negotiating with and 1 way to deal with them.

They are too stupid and lazy to look up the local market rates online, which is seemingly preposterous since that is the 1 thing recruiters and human resource should always be aware of when recruiting or head hunting.

Or they are too stupid and greedy, and hope to anchor you to a number that is below their number.

In both cases, they should be disqualified.

Conclusion:

I do not want to seem obtuse when it comes to dealing with recruiters, human resources, or other middle-men/women.  They often hold the rolo-dex of contacts and have the charisma to swoon hiring managers to the candidate they submit.

However, one should know the business and have the wit to determine proper negotiations, at the right time.  Their tactic is to anchor you, your tactic is to determine if they are even worth dealing with.  I do not think they will ever stop this anchoring technique, all business plays their cards close to their chest. And as a wise man once said:

“Rich men do not become rich by giving more than they get.”

~Jorah Mormont