Recruiter's Guide to Salary Negotiations

Ever wondered what is the best approach to negotiate compensation with a candidate? What are the factors which you need to consider and what all need to be ignored? How to assess whether the candidate really deserves the compensation he/she is asking for and why the expectation is always more than 60-70%?

A Recruiter often sees himself/herself in a position where all these questions need to be answered and there’s not much time to decide as most of the positions are critical. On-boarding needs to be done as soon as possible especially in a scenario where it’s a marketable skill and other companies are eyeing on the same candidate.

You’ve got 30 minutes.

Generally an interview lasts for half an hour which is also considered as an acceptable duration for an effective interview. Here are few of the points which one can focus on:

1.      Always remember that negotiation is all about creating a ‘win-win’ situation and not about somehow making the candidate agree to a CTC lower than his/her expectation.

2.      Ask about the candidate’s background (both personal & professional). It’ll help you understand the probable reasons which might influence his/her decision to opt for a particular company/location/salary/role.

3.      Why should I hire you? Yes, it is a cliche question but it is important to give the candidate an opportunity to explain why he/she deserves to be your organization. Remember, you are there to select a candidate and not to reject them all.

4.      Strangely, an organization’s internal awards and appreciation certificates are not given any importance in an interview. As an HR, contrary to the general perception, you are aware that the appreciations earned are not that common. I firmly believe that as an HR, one should ask the candidate for the internal appreciations/certificates, if any.

5.      Ensure parity within the organization. At times, you’ll come across candidates who are earning way below the market standards and you can easily make them agree on a very low CTC. Always remember that a discontented employee is the worst thing that can happen to a company. Even if it is a hike which is above market standards, go for the same without any hesitation.

Most of the time, our primary focus as a Recruiter is to fit the candidate in the defined CTC without even assessing the candidate’s true potential. I hope the above points give us some idea about how to spend those 30 minutes with a candidate.

Please share your views on the same and keep adding on to the list as we all have something to share.