The Salary Conversation!

I saw a post earlier this week about salary ranges with a chart of average salary ranges for a specific type of role. While this does show some useful information. It does not address the context of where those numbers came from.

Showing people a flat national pay average for a specific position will not help someone who is not open to relocation nationally. Most people have very specific geo locations in mind when career hunting. Factors that play into a salary range are years of relevant experience, location, industry, and education credentials (degree/certs). Glassdoor is a great tool to help figure out what the realistic pay ranges are for the role you are seeking in the actual geographic locations you are looking to work in.

Glassdoor Verizon Page

Even remote roles are typically tied to a specific location. You can be fully remote but are often (not always) tied to the HQ location in a specific area, which will determine the pay area your range falls under. A well-informed applicant will be able to navigate the salary question with more grace after research than one who does not research.

Our Military Fellowships for example are directly tied to a headcount with a very specific pay range assigned to it. One of the first questions we ask during a recruiter screen is, "Without telling us your current pay and benefits, What is your expectation for salary should you be recommended for full-time after your fellowship?"

We are not hashing out what your salary will be. We are making sure that your expectations fall in line with the actual range of the full-time role you would be hired into at the end. We still go through a completely separate offer process for the full-time role when you are recommended for full-time employment, but what we want to avoid is Fellows getting to the end of an internship expecting a full-time conversion and getting hit with an offer that is way off what their expectations and needs are.

The intent of our program is we want to hire at the end, not host and dump. We want to host fellows who are aligned with our pay range so that we have a higher probability for a full conversion at the end, which is the intent of the entire HoH program, to get #veterans and #milspouses hired.

What is the take away?

Whether you are shooting for a Direct Hire role or a Fellowship/Skillbridge role, research and know what your desired expectations are BEFORE engaging with a recruiter on a telephone screen. A good question would be to ask the recruiter if they have what the range is for the role. If the recruiter has that info and shares it and those numbers work, simply say my expectations are in line with the range you gave me. You have avoided a specific number, but have communicated that you are aligned with that range, which addresses the recruiter's question.

#dodskillbridge #hiringourheroes