Responding to a Lowball Salary Offer

I feel terrible for people who go through a long, arduous job interview process and then, just when they're expecting to close the deal and share the good news, get hit with a lowball salary offer. It's a terrible feeling, not only because the job that seemed to meet your needs so perfectly suddenly represents a financial kick in the teeth, but also because when the lowball offer hits, we have only ourselves to blame.

"I KNEW I should have brought up salary sooner," say disappointed job-seekers, "but I've always heard that you should keep your salary expectations to yourself until you get the offer. Now that I've got the offer, my requirement and the company's expectation are miles apart, and I don't know if we'll be able to close the gap."

It is a shame when things go south in the salary-offer department, but the problem is easily avoided. Despite the traditional instruction "Don't talk about salary!" you can and must broach the salary topic way before you get anywhere near an offer. If you don't mention salary, you're leavong the employer to come up with its own valuation of your skills, and people can make some pretty delusional guesses as to what kind of money it would take to bring a highly qualified person on board.

"I got a call from an old boss," reported my friend Julia, "who told me he was starting a new company with a friend. I went over and talked with them, and it was a great conversation. I met their investors, I met their wives, I met everyone connected with the company. My old boss last worked with me three years ago when I was earning $82K, and he knew what I was getting paid, because he gave me my salary reviews. Well, at the end of this weeks-long interview process, my boss's business partner called me and offered me a job at $55K. What kind of alternate universe are these people living in?"

People tell themselves all kinds of crazy things that suit their view of the world, so you've got to price yourself like a house on a job search, and let people know that number. A good time to broach the salary topic is at the point when the company recruiter calls to invite you for a second interview. "Thanks for calling - that sounds great," you will say. "I'll check my availability on Thursday, and by the way -- is this a good time to synch up on compensation, and are you the right person to do that with?"

Don't show up at the second interview without an understanding that the employer can pay a salary in the ballpark you're looking for. If you make it to the finish line to get a lowball offer because you kept mum when you should have spoken up, you'll have learned a lesson the hard way.

But let's say you are looking at a lowball offer right now. What do you do? Here's a screenplay to get you going:

MANAGER: So Amy, we're excited to get you on board.

AMY: I'm excited to join the team!

MANAGER: Here are the details. You'll report to me, the position is Product Manager for Zircon-Encrusted Tweezers, and the starting salary is $42K.

AMY: Okay, I understand the title, and the reporting structure is what I understood. Did you say the salary is 42 thousand?

MANAGER: That's right. It's a small company. We don't have a ton of revenue.

AMY: I completely understand, Dan. I'm grateful for the offer. I'm excited to get started. I have all kinds of ideas I want to share with you! We're a ways apart on salary. Can we get creative and figure out how to close that gap?

MANAGER: Well, how big is the gap?

AMY: I have to start at $50K, Dan. I'd love to work with you and I know we'd have fun working together. I can't live on $42K, and frankly Dan, I've got too much experience for that to make sense as a next move for me. Do you have time or interest to brainstorm ways to bridge the gap?

MANAGER: Sure, but I don't know how far I can stretch. What do you propose?

At this point in the conversation, you have a choice: you can start tossing out bridge-the-gap ideas then and there, or you can get off the phone and shoot your possible new boss a list of ideas via email. Here are six ideas to consider:

1. A one-time sign-on bonus that you receive with your first paycheck will put cash in your pocket and won't mess up the company's standard new-employee starting salary schedule, if they have one. Sign-on bonuses typically range from two or three percent to ten percent of your first year's salary.
2. A guaranteed first-year bonus is another popular way to sweeten an unexciting salary offer. The advantage to the manager is that, like a sign-on bonus, your guaranteed end-of-the-first-year bonus doesn't disrupt the standard salary schedule (and doesn't figure into your base salary, getting bigger every year based on performance increases).
3. A third way to boost your cash flow when you're taking a new job with a lackluster salary attached to it is to help your new boss structure a performance bonus plan. The bonus amount is often ten to twenty percent of your base salary. Right up front, you can define some important outcomes that you can work toward in your first year.
4. If you need or want more time off than the organization typically offers, you could trade extra vacation time for the pay you're not getting.
5. If more cash compensation (base or bonus) isn't an option in the short term, you can negotiate for professional development dollars (conferences and training), airline club memberships, and/or membership fees in professional associations where your participation will help you AND your employer.
6. Negotiate a better title, if your employer can't come up with a better answer!

Receiving a lowball salary offer is a painful experience, but it's also the kind of snakebite that serves as a reminder never to get bitten by the same snake again. Once you find yourself in that frustrating (and depending on the stinginess of the offer, insulting) situation, you're much more likely to speak your salary requirements the next time you're in an interview situation, and avoid the shock and horror that a surprise lowball offer brings.

If all else fails -- the company can't come up with any money, none of your other suggestions gets any traction, and you have no choice but to bail on the opportunity - take heart. Every networking connection is a good thing, and every interview experience builds your professional muscles and mojo. "Look, it's been wonderful meeting you and team," you will say to the boss who's not getting you, "and life is long. Maybe our paths will cross again."

Don't feel bad about saying no to an opportunity that would diminish your flame. You are on a mission, and the mission is to become the person the universe wants you to be. Everything happens for a reason, and maybe this lowball-offer situation came about to remind you that you have a tremendous amount to offer. Don't share those gifts with people who don't get --- and therefore, don't deserve -- what you bring.