Let’s talk salaries?
What’s your current salary? – We’ve probably all been asked this by a recruiter at some point but WHY?
I’ve seen many people have their say on how they think this should be handled recently and it’s a hotly debated topic.
You’ll see some people shouting on linked in about how they never tell a recruiter their salary and tell them f___ off if they ask the question ..… bit extreme if you ask me. You’ll also see some recruiters saying they won’t work with anyone who doesn’t answer this question. Salary seems to be something people get very touchy about and some still see it as a taboo subject, but it’s really not anymore in 2023.
Firstly, you need to understand nothing in recruitment is black and white, it’s all grey areas!
Let me give you an example:
Candidate - “I wouldn’t take less than 65k”
Me – “Sorry this role has a max of 60k”
End of conversation
OR
Candidate – “I wouldn’t take less than 65k”
Me – “Ok, I appreciate that, would you mind helping me to understand what your current package is, this role has lots of other benefits and things that may effect that” ?
Candidate - “I’m currently on 65k, minimum pension contribution, 20 days holiday + BH & no bonuses, it’s a 45-hour week”
Me – “Ok, although this role’s base salary is a max of 60k they have a 10-20% bonus annually, private medical insurance for you and the family, 28 days holiday with the option to buy more and up to 10% mutual pension contributions. The total package including benefits is worth around 70-75k, you’ll also get any travel covered on company expenses and they work a 37.5 hour week”
That’s a very basic example but it starts to show just how many factors and variables there are in the decision to move job. It’s a complex decision with not just financials but also type of work, people, career progression, location, work life balance and many more variables to factor in.?
The truth most recruiters won’t admit is “In some cases sharing your salary can hurt you”. If you’re on 40k, haven’t had a pay rise in years and the market rate for your role is now 60k some recruiters and companies will take advantage of this. They know the market better than you, if you didn’t know these rates it’s easy for them to shove 50k in your face and have you thank them for the juicy 10k pay rise.
However
Good recruiters & more importantly good employers don’t do this. Although I ask a candidate their current salary and benefits package it’s not to use that to my advantage. It’s to better understand the dynamics of their current situation and where I might be able to help them improve. If someone is 20k underpaid, I’ll tell them. I’ve often said you’re likely to secure a better offer if we leave your current salary out of the conversation and focus on what you’re looking for.
Good companies will recognise this as well. I once had a candidate asking for 50-55k, the client thought they were amazing and actually wanted to offer a lead engineer role. Thing is all their other lead engineers were on 60k so …. They offered my candidate 60k.
Yes, they could have offered 55k, maybe 52.5k. The candidate would have accepted, they even told me this. But in the long run it does more harm than good, multiple people in the company doing the same job would have been higher paid and this kind of thing gets out in the long run.
My point?
Work with your recruiter, be open about your current salary, benefits, and goals. It’s in our interest to secure you the best offer possible and work with you not against you. If a company wants to offer you 55k rather than 60k because they know you’re on 50k right now they’re probably not the company you want to work for anyway.
The more honesty and openness around salary the less people feel like someone’s trying to take advantage of them and the less they feel the need to hide these details.
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