4 ms·
Don't disclose your current salary--agreed. Recruiters are actually useful for targeting high-salary jobs. Going on interviews without knowing a ballpark salar
by ericb 11y ago
Don't disclose your current salary--agreed.
Recruiters are actually useful for targeting high-salary jobs. Going on interviews without knowing a ballpark salary range is time intensive, and a good way to end up settling.
Recruiters know the budget and are highly incentivized in 2 ways: 1-For their to be a deal, and 2-To not waste their time when no deal is possible. Since the recruiter also doesn't want the deal to "blow up" they can be counted on to mainly pass information that they think helps the deal.
With a recruiter, you can easily say "I'm only looking at things that are 170k+, and this is justified because I have n years of experience, and can do X Y and Z."
Now, the number you give should really be the number you are hunting for, and you should have a good idea that this is at the generous end of realistic. But if you're sought-after, you can quickly screen out the "pay-them-peanuts-we-think-we-are-so-awesome" crowd and their recruiters. And if the interview goes well, then the recruiter basically will collude with the company that now really wants you and make sure that they don't make an "insulting offer" so that their time isn't wasted.
Basically, with the recruiter you can have a conversation that is much tougher to have with an employer directly beforehand without seeming "interested in the money only."
- moron4hire 11y agoNo, I've found recruiters will tell you a lower number than what the company is actually willing to pay, because they are trying to gauge your reaction and how steadfast you are to your number. If you bend, then they have a much faster time filling the position because you already think you're at the ceiling when you're only at the floor. If you don't bend, then they "go to bat for you" so they can artificially make you feel like you are special. "I talked to the company and they said they'd be willing to go a little higher on someone with your experience." No, there is no incentive for recruiters to be honest about anything.
- jacquesm 11y agoYou can't negotiate if you do not know your worth. The number they give is their business, your reaction to it is yours. So if they lowball you just tell them in response that they are well below your acceptable range based on your reputation and being in demand due the difficulty of finding quality people (believe me they will understand that line) and offer to terminate the conversation unless they significantly up their range to avoid wasting time.
- moron4hire 11y agoIn my case, I know that. But tell that to a jr dev straight out of college.
- jacquesm 11y agoHence the blog post. Jr devs straight out of college could do worse than to interview their buddies to see how much they are making without asking them to disclose their numbers publicly.
- Aissen 11y agoWhere you're wrong is that most recruiters get a percentage of the yearly salary in fee. So their cut is bigger if you have a higher salary.
- moron4hire 11y agoTheir job security is tied to closing rate, though, and the business is very high turnover. If they can close faster by lying, they can probably make more and also ensure they keep their job, even if their per-close income is not as high. Joe who closes 3 candidates at salary X makes a lot more than Sam who closes 2 candidates at salary X + 10% or Mike who loses his job because he only closed 1 candidate.
- ericb 11y agoIf you do the math, their cut changes by a dramatic amount in the deal/no deal scenario (all or nothing), and only a tiny tiny percentage in the 3% increase in pay scenario. To them, the incentive is to close, and fast.