Who Doesn’t Hate the Bullshit Money Questions in Job Interviews?
“So, we’ve come to the big question: what’s your salary range?”
“Well, I’m looking for anything between $75,000 and $85,000, to start. What is the range for the position?”
“The pay range for this role is between $68,000 and $78,000. We should be able to make things work…”
Recognize this conversation? I’m sure at some point or another, you’ve been on one end of this discussion. In so many ways, recruitment is so dependent on the amount of money that is going to be signed over on the offer letter. Nothing else gets more attention and stresses more candidates out than salary expectations. The thing is, this is also the point that is almost always fumbled by recruiters. Candidates, pay attention.
Temp Recruiting aka: An Unbalanced Equation
When I first started my career in temp recruiting, I held all the power. Candidates were out of work and hoping for some glimpse of a reasonable hourly wage. I bumped expectations by 25% (I seem to remember), asked the candidate to compromise their integrity by taking a $2 cut and went about my business. The salary discussion was a power discussion: and I held all the power. After changing my strategy because I couldn’t stomach this approach, I left for corporate 7 months later. And this is where things changed for me.
I’ve never had training in salary negotiations. That’s a simple fact. When it came to discussing salaries, to say that things were gray would be an understatement. Salary negotiations ended up being a back and forth at the time of closing, a process which (in retrospect) completely undermined the entire recruitment process.
Salary Negotiations in Corporate
Remember that salary discussion? A refresher:
“So, we’ve come to the big question: what’s your salary range?”
“Well, I’m looking for anything between $75,000 and $85,000, to start. What is the range for the position?”
“The pay range for this role is between $68,000 and $78,000. We should be able to make things work…”
This is the typical discussion that takes place (believe it or not) at the end of the recruitment process. Think about the discussion above. If it’s not clear, the recruiter speaks lines 1 and 3 and the candidate line 2. Which end of the spectrum do you think the candidate is thinking an offer will be, based on the discussion? If you said $78,000, then you’d be correct. And what do you think the recruiter is thinking? You guessed correct if your answer was $68,000. You see a $10,000 difference there. And you and better believe that when that candidate voiced their expectation, they were still hoping for more.
Home, Home on the Range…
The thing about ranges is that candidates are thinking about the top end of the range given. The recruiter is more likely than not thinking about the bottom. And this is where the problem lies with salary negotiations. You’re never actually on the same page. In this example above, there was a $10,000 disparity that would no doubt derail the offer stage of the process.
Using salary ranges (whether you’re a candidate or a recruiter) is one of the worst ideas for recruiting. If you saw a sign for apples, listing a range of prices, say from $2-$5, and you wanted an apple, I’m willing to guess you’d want to spend $2. But your grocer is thinking along the lines of $5. Again, a huge disparity of 66% that neither of you are going to agree on. The result? No apples sold.
Stick to Your Guns
When I worked for Jade Raymond, of Assassin’s Creed fame (more recently this) she told me that they’d spoken with consultants on negotiating. I learned that candidates were advised to place their flag in the sand and not deviate, no matter how misaligned the expectations were. There’s something in that.
As a recruiter, when you’re discussing salary, it’s better to have a threshold below which you know the candidate won’t accept an offer. As a candidate, it’s nicer knowing that whatever offer you receive won’t be below that same number. This removes any and all ambiguity. At that point, both sides of the table are no longer squabbling about money. It becomes less about whether to buy the Chevrolet or the BMW and more about whether you want the coupe or sedan.
The Transition
Taking steps to have these transparent discussions isn’t difficult. I do it all the time. Recruiters: change your language. Ask the salary question like this:
What’s a salary below which you wouldn’t accept an offer with my organization?
Because who cares what they’re making now? What difference could that make to your internal equity (unless you’re trying to unbalance it). You can take it a step further by validating information you receive. For example:
Great. So, all things being equal, if you move through the recruitment process and we present an offer with a salary of $X, you would accept?
Candidates: don’t be ambiguous. Be straightforward; a salary that is out of the acceptable range isn’t a bar to employment, it’s simply another discussion. So answer the question with what you need.
The bottom line is that it’s time to stop talking about salary ranges and start asking real questions. It’s so much more beneficial than the ambiguity that goes on at the moment.
Originally published at expansion-pack.com.
