2 ms·

> I view salary negotiations as nowhere close to a zero sum game I think you mean "level playing field" or something. "zero sum" implies that the employer win

> I view salary negotiations as nowhere close to a zero sum game I think you mean "level playing field" or something. "zero sum" implies that the employer wins when the employee loses. But I agree with you on the above. I think the dirty little secret is that most employers have very little clue about how much a particular skill set (let alone a particular dev) is worth. So they tend to use previous salary as an anchor point to make sure they're not more than 20% more crazy than the last overpaying employer. Cost of living adjustments is likewise a hack to help pick a number out of the air. I really doubt employers think "hey, you can't raise a family on $130k in downtown DC, so we'll have higher turnover when college hires reach 5-10 years of experience".

w0rd-driven 10y ago
> I think you mean "level playing field" or something. "zero sum" implies that the employer wins when the employee loses. I struggled with the right way to word it in a concise manner so "level playing field" seems more correct. In being privy to hiring decisions for other developers, I believe your assessment is correct. I feel like everything becomes a stab in the dark to some degree. That my assessment of my worth and their assessment of what they're looking for rarely match up as developers by and large seem to never quite fit inside the job description box. I see that as a good thing but the pattern of seemingly properly understanding your worth as you're walking out the door becomes tiresome the third or seventh time it happens.