You’ve got the perfect resume, a terrific cover letter, and you’ve been invited in for an interview. That step is out of the way, so now what? Negotiating your salary can be tricky. My advice is to negotiate with either the recruiter or hiring manager directly and not the HR department. As an executive recruiter who has placed thousands of candidates and new hires in some very large companies, I am going to share my secrets on how you can properly navigate this part of the employment process.
Negotiate Salary With Recruiter Or Hiring Manager
Negotiating your compensation package can be a stressful experience for many, however most employers expect candidates will negotiate their offer. Whatever you accept as compensation sets a tone for your time at that employer and a starting point for your earnings, so it’s important to know what you want. If you are interviewing for jobs and interacting with a lot of recruiters, they can be an excellent resource for negotiations as well as potentially the person managing the negotiations.
In this article, we explain why candidates negotiate salaries with recruiters, how to negotiate your salary with a recruiter and what tips to keep in mind when negotiating your salary with a recruiter.
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Why do candidates negotiate salaries with recruiters?
Candidates negotiate salaries with recruiters because recruiters are often their primary point of contact during the hiring process. Nearly everyone should consider negotiating the salary they are offered for a position, based on knowing their worth. Whether it’s an external recruiter or an internal recruiter, they have likely been involved in your recruitment from the beginning. Additionally, companies may have recruiters make the job and salary offers to avoid getting the hiring manager too involved, as it might impact your relationship with your manager if you’re hired.
Related: 13 Tips to Negotiate Your Salary and Job Offer
How to negotiate salary with a recruiter
Here are the steps you should take as you’re negotiating your salary with a recruiter:
1. Do your research
Early in your job search, you should research what competitive salaries are for your field and the positions you’re applying for. You may use online salary data from any number of sites as well as information you’ve gathered from people in your network. It’s best to check a variety of sources to be sure you have a good understanding of what you’re worth based on your experience, education and skills, as well as the various levels of pay for the positions you’re applying for.
Doing your research early means that when you are asked about salary expectations in an interview or you receive a call about a job offer, you aren’t stuck on the spot trying to come up with a number. Whether you’re asked about a range or the employer makes an offer, you should know what is fair for an employer to pay you. You should also know what other compensation you might need or want, such as paid time off, insurance and other benefits.
Related: How To Determine a Salary
2. Understand the recruiter’s perspective and goals
Your recruiter wants to hire a candidate, and those involved have decided you’re the best candidate, so the recruiter wants that candidate to be you in order to make their colleagues happy. Recruiters want those they hire to be happy as well, because that usually means when you’re hired you stay longer at the company, you’re a more invested employee and you say nicer things about the company. These all reflect positively on the company as well as the recruiter who facilitated your hiring.
For these reasons, you should know that the recruiter is not your opponent in negotiations. In fact, in most salary negotiations, everyone is on the same side of wanting you to get hired and to be happy with their company. You may find it helpful to speak honestly with the recruiter or ask them questions about the salary. They may even be able to give you an idea of how much room for negotiation there is. If you consider what they want out of the negotiations, you’ll be better able to communicate with them about your desired salary.
Related: 40 Tips for Improving Salary Negotiation Skills
3. Show your eagerness
When you are in a negotiation for your salary, you want to show your potential employer that you’re eager to work there. That means not delaying the negotiation needlessly or using any delaying tactics to try to get a better offer. An employer is often more likely to give you what you ask for if you show them that you are excited to work there. Once negotiations start, be eager to discuss your needs and wants and to communicate with your recruiter.
4. Be straightforward
When you are negotiating a salary and compensation package, you want to avoid playing games or complicating things. Being straightforward about your expectations will help progress the discussion and get you to a deal sooner. If you have other offers, let the recruiter know that. If you aren’t sure if you can make the salary offered work for you, be honest. If you know what you need, be clear about that. Additionally, if you are offered an amount that you want, don’t negotiate further just to see what you can get.
Changing what you’re asking for is a good way to discourage an employer and cause them to lose interest in you. If you prepared ahead of time for what you want, you have stated your expectations to the employer and they have met those expectations in their offer to you, you shouldn’t continue to push for more. If the employer makes you an offer that is fair and you haven’t expressed any expectations regarding compensation, you might be able to ask for more or for other additions to your compensation package, but once you’ve asked, avoid changing the goals.
5. Consider the whole package
One of the most important parts of salary negotiations is to consider the whole compensation package. One company might be offering you $50,000 a year and two weeks of paid time off as well as health insurance and dental insurance, but another might offer you $45,000 and three weeks of paid time off with health, dental, vision and life insurance. It’s up to you then to decide what is most important to you. Even if you have only one offer, you should have a good idea of what you need to say yes and what you’re willing to compromise on.
Related: Comparing Compensation Packages: Examples and Tips
6. Accept when you’re ready
When negotiations have reached a point where you are happy with what you’re being offered, you should accept. Holding out for more money at that point can cause issues that might even include an offer being rescinded. If you aren’t happy with the offer, you should be honest about that and the recruiter and employer can be honest with you about if there is room for further negotiation. Only accept when you’re ready, but once you’re ready, don’t delay your acceptance.
Tips for negotiating salary with a recruiter
Here are some tips to keep in mind as you’re negotiating your salary:
- Compensation research should include both online sources and people you know, even if that means reaching out to acquaintances in your network.
- During interviews, if you’re asked for your desired salary, it’s always best to give a range rather than a specific number, as it provides employers some room to negotiate.
- Be polite in your negotiations, but stand up for yourself.
- If you are having trouble with the negotiation but firmly believe you’re worth better compensation, you can remind the recruiter of the qualifications you offer and how that benefits the employer.
- Ask for what you’re worth, but don’t aim too high if it’s not what is fair according to the job market.
- Consider other ways the employer could compensate you that would be valuable to you, such as additional time off, a bonus or a scheduled raise after a certain amount of time.
- Get promises for future salary changes in writing, such as a planned time to reassess your salary or a planned increase after some predetermined amount of time.
