You set a range when looking for someone, but you’ll hit people that request more and can anchor their numbers onto something tangible (e.g. their previous pay)

You set a range when looking for someone, but you’ll hit people that request more and can anchor their numbers onto something tangible (e.g. their previous pay). You’ll be paying that + alpha if you want them. You can also set a range (let’s say “top payer”), and find no one that matches your criteria in that range. You’ll either choose to settle for lower requirements, or increase the pay to get people who match your requirements. The above all sound logic, but in the end it’s a made up number for subjective requirements, so you might completely be paying any arbitrary number to satisfy your criteria.