Job Search: Common Candidate Compensation Mistakes

My Dad used to say, “Anyone that tells you money doesn’t matter…doesn’t have any.” When executives are searching for a new career opportunity, compensation is a major consideration. Here are a few of my tips for negotiating the best compensation package.

• Be Reasonable With Your Compensation Expectations – This is my number one recommendation. The 40% Pandemic raises are over. Companies are firing, not hiring. If you are making $100,000, no company is going to pay you $200,000. If you were making $400,000 in Macau, that job is $200,000 in America. Know the market salary rate for your role. If you are unreasonable, you will spend months or years on the beach (unemployed).?
• Compensation is Important, Opportunity is Critical - Does this position fit with your long-term career objectives? Does it move you forward from a title or salary perspective??If you are obsessed with money, recruiters and companies can sniff that out in a heartbeat, and will drop you like a hot rock.
• Salary is Important, W2 is Critical - Focus on W2 (total compensation), not just base salary. Most companies pay a bonus and relocation, however I have clients that also pay cost of living incentives, provide a car and give four weeks of vacation.?At senior levels, many companies pay for health insurance. Check out the Benefits Package.
• Ask About the Money Up Front, But Never Bait and Switch - When interviewing for a job, always ask about the salary range up front. As an Executive Recruiter, I always get the money straight up front. If the job pays $200,000 and the candidate wants $400,000, I'm not going to waste everyone's time. I knew a CIO that flew across the country twice, then received a job offer $50,000 lower than his current salary. He never asked them how much it paid. Oops. Never change your compensation requirements at offer time. That is a bait and switch that fails 100% of the time. Goes to character.
• Factors That Do NOT Affect Compensation - Your mortgage has no bearing on your compensation package.? A candidate once told me she needed to make $150,000 (her market value was $100,000) so she could afford her mortgage payments.? Another candidate stated, “It’s expensive putting two kids through school.”? Not my issue; not the hiring company’s issue.? Your lifestyle, your car payments, your mortgage?? That's a "you" problem.
• Fighting Over Nickels – Two years ago you had your choice of five jobs.? Now you are competing with one or two hundred candidates for a job.? This is the price you pay for all those government benefits you thought were free. And given historic government and consumer debt, this lousy economy and the layoffs are not going away anytime soon. If you get a solid job offer, don’t fight about nickels.? Do you like the company and the opportunity? Take the offer!? It may be the only job offer you see this year. Don’t lose the job offer negotiating for free dry cleaning.

Bonus for Hiring Companies: It’s Not an Honor and Privilege to Work Here – OMG! I’m so over this. Companies that think it’s such an honor and privilege to work for them. Nope.?

Bonus for Hiring Companies: Salary Compendiums Must Stay in Line with Mark Conditions – If your salary ranges fall below market rate, you won’t be hiring anyone good. Hiring is a competition.