Salary Negotiations

[kev374]

So something interesting happened in my job search – very first time I have encountered this. I am scheduled for an interview and got an email from the HR department stating the salary range for the job and to either accept or not accept the range in a flat out manner.

Frankly I am a bit perplexed a response for what is supposed to be post offer negotiations is taking place so early in the game.

I countered with my acceptable range which was $10K higher on the lower/upper bounds than their range since I felt they were expecting an answer and deflecting may have given an implicit agreement that their range was acceptable when it was actually lower than anything I would’ve considered.

Should I have deflected anyway and not countered? Opinions? The way I look at it now they know their range is too low and to make a first offer a bit higher than their upper bound OR if it’s too high then they take me out of contention which saves them and myself a lot of trouble anyways.

[Coronita]

Imho, standard answer should be “I’m open to all salary considerations as my number one priority is fit of the job, company, and staff and me” and leave it at that.

That’s an opened ended response that basically translated says, no I’m not agreeing with a salary range, let’s talk about the job and if there’s mutual interest, we can talk about how much money you need to pay me before I accept.

If someone really wants you, compensation is always negotiable after the fact. If on the other hand, they really don’t view you any more special than anyone else and just want the cheapest option, it’s probably not a great opportunity for you to take.

Also, if you’re in a weaker position than the employer (IE you currently aren’t working), it’s less likely they will use that against you.

In CA, they are legally not allowed to ask you what your current compensation is. However, you can always volunteer what yours is. And they legally can’t verify what you say.

[kev374]

thanks I did say I am open and flexible to all discussions later on in the process, the reason I gave a range is that if they are rigid then it isn’t worth my time or theirs to continue. The range they gave was A > B and I countered with B > C, so I started at their top end so they know they need to offer around that point and then my idea was to negotiate a bit higher than B.

But yes, your response seemed like a good answer, I was just concerned about scaring them away with it being so vague. “All salary considerations” could mean I accept their range as well and then they may balk if I ask for something outside of their original range. May even get pissed as to why I continued when they had stated the range.

As I said it threw me off a little as in the past no employer has thrown numbers around before the offer. They do ask for desired salary but i’ve been able to deflect it but they do not say we’re offering between A and B is that fine? This is a first – their exact question was “Are you open to an offer within the specified salary range”.

[brg654]

I’m a hiring manager so I know why this is happening. In 2018, it became illegal for employers to ask for your salary history or current compensation in California. The rationale was to close the gender pay gap.

I’ve found that the side-benefit of this is that when interviewing candidates, this cuts down the number of offers that are rejected because the compensation is less than they were expecting. As an applicant myself, whenever I’m asked for my “expected salary range” (that’s how some people will try to wiggle out of not asking for salary history, they ask for your expectations), I feel confident enough to just say “I’d prefer to discuss the salary range for the position rather than my expectations” and it works.

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