How To Talk About Salary In That First Recruiter MeetinggettyHow early do you set the stage for negotiating? How do you talk about salary during an initial recruiter screen?
Negotiation starts at the very first contact even if you never explicitly talk money. When you establish your experience level and qualifications, you help define the salary you deserve. When the company shares information about job requirements and responsibilities, this helps define the salary they expect to pay.If neither you nor the recruiter bring up money in that first conversation, if you like each other enough to warrant a second conversation, the money talk will come soon enough. It’s more likely that you’ll be asked for your salary expectations at that initial recruiter screen, so the recruiter knows what level of position to consider you for. Or the recruiter might share the salary ranges of positions they’re working on to ensure you’re amenable to that range. Your Main Goal For That First Recruiter Meeting Is To Get To The Next MeetingUnless you are certain you don’t ever want to work with this recruiter (e.g., they behave unprofessionally, they work on searches unrelated to what you do), your main goal for that first recruiter meeting is to turn one exploratory call into future job possibilities. The money talk should be as vague as possible. Don’t bring up salary unless the recruiter does. Don’t share your most recent salary – tell them it’s confidential as part of your employment agreement, if they press you. Instead, ask the recruiter to share the salary ranges of what they’re working on.Widen The Range Of Possibilities To Keep The Salary Range WideIf the recruiter insists they need to know what you’re making or at least what you’re expecting, give them a very wide range. If you’re unemployed, you can mention looking at temp jobs, freelance projects or part-time opportunities, where the pay is understandably all over the place depending on the scope of the assignment. This ensures you don’t get boxed into an artificially low salary. As a bonus, you have mentioned that you are considering various types of work arrangements, so the recruiter can put you in the mix for those openings.MORE FOR YOUIf you’re currently employed and you want to focus the recruiter on other full-time opportunities only, you can still widen the range by reminding them how much compensation structure varies across opportunities. Without naming names or specific jobs, point out that you are weighing the whole package – not just base salary, but bonus, equity or profit-sharing, benefits coverage and career growth prospects. This lets the recruiter know that you’re open to discussing different compensation arrangements, in case they might be narrowly focused.Clarify The Specific Opportunity Before Getting Specific On Salary Insist that the recruiter give you more specifics about the opportunity they contacted you for before getting more specific on salary. Remind them that it just doesn’t make sense to talk salary this early since compensation can vary so much (review point above!). Redirect the conversation yourself by pivoting to highlights of your background. You want to move the conversation back to what an exploratory meeting should really be about – i.e., sharing enough about yourself so that the recruiter knows you’re a potential fit with what they’re working on.If the recruiter won’t share much about the opportunity, at least vet the recruiter. What roles do they typically work on, in terms of industry, level, geography, compensation range? How long have they been recruiting? What is their opinion on the current job market?The Ideal Exploratory Meeting Is An Exchange Of InformationIn the ideal exploratory meeting, both you and the recruiter learn about each other and want to continue talking. You hear about what’s going on in the job market. You learn about a specific job opening or at least what the recruiter generally hires for. You get real-time feedback, based on what the recruiter asks you and how they react, about what parts of your background are of particular interest. If you get called in for roles that are not quite right, then you’re getting feedback that something about your marketing (e.g., your LinkedIn profile, your resume, what your references say about you) doesn’t line up with what you’re currently doing or want to do.For the recruiter, they learn the nuances beyond your resume – e.g., how you got the results you highlighted, how you work with people, how you grew your career. They feel your passion for your work. They understand what you’re looking for, especially if it’s different than what you’re doing right now. They get to know, like and trust you enough to tell their clients about you. Working out the salary can wait after the clients know, like and trust you too.
