Don't Love Job Seeker Salary Negotiation? Now You Will!

What do these two situations from the last month have in common?:

1.) A recruiter posted on a Facebook group that she had a challenging conversation with a job seeker who refused to give salary history. The recruiter was frustrated because she felt she needed that information in order to make an offer the job seeker would value, and was surprised at the lack of cooperation.

2.) A friend asked for my thoughts about a job search columnist's post, who complained that salaries aren't revealed until the offer stage, after a candidate had several interviews. Many readers agreed in the comments, livid about the lack of control and loss of dignity and time.

IF you answer that there is confusion and frustration around salary discussions, you are right! I'm writing this post to help alleviate this frustration and to inform on salary discussion in an initial conversation. Okay, so maybe you won't exacttttttly love salary negotiation, per my heading - but seriously, this information should help. I will also address exceptions, nuances, empowerment - and, if needed, how job seekers - and hiring managers or recruiters - can figure out desired (target) pay.

New Laws & Practices About Salary History

First, the good news . . . Asking about salary history is fast becoming . . . well, history. The following states have all passed laws in 2017, prohibiting employers from asking job applicants for salary history: California, Delaware, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York City, Philadelphia (currently pending legal challenge), and the city of San Francisco. Maryland has pending legislation and other states will likely follow soon, also.

These laws were instituted in order to level the playing field for women who have historically been paid less than men. Inequities easily continued because subsequent pay increases and new jobs were often based on initial pay. Of course, other diverse groups have also been paid less and they will benefit, as well.

How Pay Is Determined

As a result of the laws - if not before, asking for pay history is no longer a common recruiter practice, even in non-legislative states. The easiest way to address (pre)negotiation is to use pay ranges. Companies routinely establish ranges and have budget approval - and job seekers share their target pay range, all while maintaining a nice tone. (You do know that you should maintain a nice tone, right?) If you are unfamiliar with how to establish your range, the section below is for job seekers but it may help small business owners, hiring managers and recruiters, as well.

How To Establish Pay Range

If you are familiar with this, you may wish to skip down to the bolded heading: "The Conversation"

Some job seekers have a tough time answering this question briefly for a range of reasons but they need to prepare to do so. Incidentally, responding, "I need to make enough to pay my bills" is not a good answer. <smile> The recruiter is eager to screen regarding pay and you should want to do so also, so you can quickly move to discuss your dream job and move forward in the process.

Following are various factors, methods, thoughts and tools that may help you arrive at your numbers:

• Salary Paid In The Region

Look up the going rate for the role at your experience level and geography at salary.com . This is considered the most reliable source among workforce professionals and I have also utilized it to help employers establish or evaluate pay. There are also a few other sites that are useful to look up comprehensive salary plus other information on roles such as tasks, skills and occupational outlook (job forecasting). Payscale, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/ , and others are included. Also, one could ask folks in your network who are very familiar with the role.

• Salary Paid By The Specific Company

Assuming you know the name of the organization that has the opening, you can see salaries that were reported by former employees - on Glassdoor . You could also use this to look up pay for competitors, assuming they pay similarly. There is a limit to how much information you can access in Glassdoor until you give a rating for a past employer.

• Minimum Needed To Live: What do you need to pay your bills? I will add that, the longer one is in a job search, it is interesting what "necessities" one may be able to let go, to stretch one's money.
• Minimum You Would Accept: This more so has to do with what you feel would be worth your time. Be careful that you give a true realistic minimum that you would truly accept and can live with happily in doing the job for the first year, assuming it is a role, team, company, etc. that interests you as you continue in the process. It hurts everyone - candidate, recruiter and company if you start to change the numbers as you progress in the process and will likely make the entire process/potential success fall apart.

1. When I recruit, if someone is struggling to respond, I ask if they would consider $xyz, naming something that I know is low. It is interesting how fast I hear, "oh no, that is too low, I would need . . . ". So please - do me a favor - "coach yourself" to figure out your minimum. You need to be a prepared professional.
2. For an external recruiter who wants to establish the minimum range to call you for future roles, picture a role with favorable non-monetary elements, e.g., limited commute/remote work, favorite tasks, a growth opportunity, a dream company you love, etc. and then give the range as applicable for the type of work, contract or permanent.
3. Non-Monetary: Per above, a candidate needs to consider non-monetary, appealing aspects and also consider that the benefits package may be rich, such as 401k non-matching and matching contributions.

The Conversation:

There are many variations but usually, the recruiter asks the candidate what their desired range is or the recruiter volunteers the range, describing the total compensation package, including selling the company brand. Often, the recruiter first describes the position and asks questions to confirm a match on skills and interest. They may also ask why the person seeks to leave their current job - so the recruiter can hear about the non-monetary interests.

It is rare that a skilled recruiter or hiring manager would not assess pay range in the initial conversation, as both parties have a need to manage their time. However, if the topic is not brought up as the call is about to end or if you prefer to bring it up sooner (such as with contract work which has fairly clear tasks and you would be speaking with an external recruiter), the job seeker could diplomatically say some variation of: "Out of respect for your time, could we briefly discuss pay to ensure we're on the same page." or (gently asked with a smile), "well, could I ask what the pay range is?". You just don't want to come off abrupt.

IF a candidate is asked about desired salary, a very old and now annoying model is sometimes still used, "I am really interested in the role. Tell me . . . can you share what the pay range is?". Again, this is from 10 years ago and I recommend you just respond with your range.

I sometimes directly say, "I'd like you to speak first" and still, I still have to go back and forth to get the answer. Please - if someone asks questions specifically, please answer. In some cases, it doesn't matter who speaks first, as you have established a desired range. Usually, the question is only deflected once, if any, versus the old way, when it was a big thing to avoid speaking first. However, many recruiters will be firm about not wanting to speak first. To give just one reason why- but there are many, there are times the range is extremely broad. It would be unwise to share the entire range in those situations because a job seeker may automatically adjust expectations near the top, even when the experience does not dictate. Tell someone, "we may pay $70k-$140k for an ABC, when you are looking to bring 3 on your team, and now everyone thinks they're worth $140k. I've also hired for multiple levels when the range was $120k-$$250k+). It's a set up for disappointment, and a skilled recruiter who cares about managing expectations of the job seeker is wise not to share.

The two parties can then fine-tune how close they are. There are several situations where one party or the other may then share they wish to go lower or higher and give their reasons, and I've mentioned just a few below. The secret to handling this situation is truly not a secret - it is in preparing for the conversation and in being genuine:

1. A job seeker is willing to work for less, e.g., due to a longer time seeking work, desire to transition to new type of work, life work balance.
2. A recruiter, in select situations, may have more room in their budget, as their team just recently recognizing a need to pay more (in their morning meeting)based on what they are finding so, for a select skill level, they may pay more.
3. There are rare times that an organization, even if they have researched pay ranges, may begin recruiting in order to see what they will find in terms of skills sets and pay ranges. This can occur due to various reasons and isn't ideal (to either party) but it can happen with real/imminent openings. If handled transparently by a recruiter and mature, professional job seekers, it can still result in happy hires.

Past Salary Practices

In the past 7-15+ years, sometimes salary was not discussed until a series of interviews. Job seekers used phrases to defer discussing salary, hoping to get in for an interview that would wow and increase interest. More recently, recruiters used various processes, my own favorite was to ask, "what do you seek or what have been paid". Applicants could share as they preferred, sometimes mentioning both. In addition, salary for previously held positions was sometimes asked. That model has become the norm very recently - but, some recruiters have used it for much longer. Again, asking for DESIRED pay range IS absolutely the CURRENT RECOMMENDED process, as it may be illegal in your state but also could be considered unethical. Companies should not pay someone due to their experience, they should pay according to the actual position. In rare cases, they may reconsider the level of a job opening and post it at a more junior or senior level.

NOTE: A job seeker may volunteer their pay history and a recruiter can utilize that information in their recruiting. In addition, the recruiter can still ask about the pay history in states without those laws. Please do not assume negative intent, as they may be unaware or have other reasons for asking this. In the majority of cases, if you simply reply with your desired pay range, they will accept it without a thought, as though you have simply answered their question.

If someone presses you on this - and this would be rare, be prepared to again, diplomatically - with a smile, repeat your range or answer with your past pay.

Remember, sharing pay history in itself is not a negative to many people - and for some job seekers, it is helpful. However, this newer model is simpler and achieves the goal of seeing if there is a pay match.

A Word About Attitude - A Confident and Healthy Job Seeker

I know that situations you may encounter while negotiating - and job searching, in general, can be frustrating. You can't control others, you can only control yourself - although sometimes you can influence others by how you respond.

When you encounter a negative situation, recall how you would handle work matters,i. e., an annoying coworker in a meeting, a manager who takes a project in a direction that you would not choose. How would you speak about your organization or manager in social media? You are likely being viewed (on social media) as to your fit with a great but imperfect organization. Show the same maturity yet likeability while in your job search as a business of one. Recruiters, managers, and organizations want to hire folks with maturity. If you are that person, be that person now, during your search.

Consider carefully what advice you feed on. Take the good parts, leave the bad. Are you getting a sound bite - or a fuller picture from them? Does the input empower you, inform you, help your peace of mind - or make you angry and resentful? As I always say . . . Focus on what you can control. And keep moving forward!

You can do it. Now get out their and get more interviews in the queue! Rah!

Summary

More could be said on this topic but I hope this is a good start for some job seekers - and perhaps recruiters. Now take a deep breath - and let's all hug!

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Elly Cohen is a Recruiter, Recruiting Strategist, Certified HR Professional, Certified Professional Coach (Career/Life), Speaker and Trainer.

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