Salary Negotiation Need To Knows

In talking to a candidates I’ve noticed that some people are very reluctant to disclose their salary parameters.  This can make for a really bad hangup for both parties later in the process.  Here are a the need to know details about salary negotiation.

First, if you are dealing with a staffing agency you will have to provide salary details.  You can’t wait until the job offer.  This is completely reasonable.  However, you should know the following: if you are talking about a contract (hourly or contract to hire) job you should provide the number at the high end of your range first and work down if necessary, but if you are talking about a permanent (salaried, no contract to hire) job you should always start at the middle of your range.  The difference is that in an hourly scenario (contract or contract to hire) a staffing agency makes their money in the margin between what the client pays and what they pay you.  The more room they create in the middle the more they make.  In a permanent salary hire scenario (no contract or contract to hire) they make a percentage that will go up if your number goes up.

Second, if you are dealing with a corporate recruiter (who gets no margin or percentage off you being hired) you should provide information.  If you don’t then you are probably going to be shuffled to the bottom of the stack and you might not even get a shot at the job.  You should know what you need and name that.  What you need should not be too far from what you want.  When an offer is made, provided you have to take the job then you should accept the offer if it is based on what you stated as what you need.  In a competitive offer situation, where you have multiple offers and could be happy with any of them NOW is the time to begin salary negotiations.  At this point you can tell the companies that what you want is “X” amount and that the first company to up the ante to that amount will get you.  As soon as one offers that amount it would be a good idea to get the new offer in writing.  If they can’t produce a written offer then that are probably not serious.

Third, count dollar for dollar differences between offers.  You can and should compare the cost of health benefits, 401k matching, transit subsidies and other less obvious variables.  What you should not count on is a bonus or equity stake to make up the difference, unless you are convinced that the equity is going to be worth something or that the bonus is guaranteed.