What is a reasonable or sustainable salary when negotiating?

What is a "sustainable salary" you might ask. Our company deals with hundreds of hires and we are often counselling both clients and candidates. "What's a fair offer?" or "Where do we need to be in the market for this to be a competitive offer?" or "What is the tipping point for him/her to make the move?" It's obvious that a move should be made for a host of other factors but if those are satisfied then money becomes the last item on the checklist to finalize.

Watching the recent round of layoffs in tech companies and a few other verticals illustrates the hiring for a boom after the pandemic has shifted and many non-essential roles were trimmed back. Roles that were not closely aligned with revenue-generating functions or core functions in companies were cut. Recruiting roles, marketing roles and experimental or non-core missions were shelved until things heat up again.

We get asked daily about salary expectations and how to negotiate salaries. The old adage of "first one in is the first one out" is not always true but definitely if an individual was able to negotiate a higher salary than the industry norms, then when times slow down these higher salaries get red-lined by someone in HR or Finance. There is a fine line when asking for too much versus getting into a sweet spot where both sides are good with the final result.

We go back to the term "sustainable." And we counsel candidates to provide a salary range in an interview and let the employer make an offer that is competitive. The employer knows the market, knows their internal benchmarks and knows roughly where they need to be to provide competitive salaries. If a candidate is asking for something way outside the range then it's a non-starter or it might be considered to handle and emergency. Once the emergency is over that high priced individual is probably out the door and looking for another gig.

If you're looking for a new role and your salary ask is too high, or you ask for too many perks, bonuses and exceptions you can come across as mercenary. If there is an emergency you might get the role but once the emergency has subsided you're out the door. They couldn't sustain your rate past the emergency.

For some the strategy of being the 9-1-1 contractor serves them well. Like an emergency firefighter they drop in, work a ton of hours and then jump to a break or another emergency. For others, sustainability and stability are more their cup of tea so they price themselves accordingly placing greater value on a longer duration and greater work-life balance.

What's your strategy? Has it changed at various points in your career? Do you prefer shorter higher paid contracts or are you looking for a longer duration and to settle into a role for several years?