Salary negotiations are a B

Just got through with a fairly extensive interview process for a job I'm really exiced about and until the last round of interviews no talk of salary expectations. Generally when salary is brought up in interviews my tactic is to ask the interviewer for a salary range and then modify my "expected" salary range based off of that to avoid leaving money on the table. It's worked in the past pretty well, especially with recruiters. This time however, the final interviewer (CEO) would not disclose their range and instead threw it back to me after I tried to dance around the question (twice) to give them my current salary figure and expectations. Put on the spot, I caved and provided a relatively short salary window I was looking to get (luckily for me I had my witts about me enough not to disclose my current salary!).

I'm so disappointed in myself for suggesting a salary range on the spot even though I felt it was reflective of the overall market value for the position and my experience, but like a dop I'm second guessing myself now. I'm upset that they may have offered more if I wouldn't have provided a 'hard' number.

Does anyone have experience here where you offered a low salary expectation during the interview and then later negotiated higher once the offer was on the table?

 

I think you did fine. If did you homework and the numbers where correct for the market and your experience feel good about what you did.

 

Thanks, The reassurance is nice. I guess I just wished that I would've differed not to provide a hard number and said something more along the lines of "My expectations are that the salary range would be competitive for the position and consistent with others' salary on the team." Hindsight 2020 and all.. now that I've provided my expectation, it opens the window for them to offer me what I asked for, even though they may have been willing to go higher.

Salary negotiations are a skill that, frankly is not in my general skill set and it really sucks! I was thinking if they do offer me exactly what I asked for, that maybe I could come back and negotiate again, but I'm not sure if that's poor form, especially given the current climate, some might even say to be thankful to even have a job and another offer at all...

 

I always go higher than expected. If they cannot meet it, you can negotiate vacation time.

 

Don’t feel badly - they play this game a lot more than you. I assume you gave them a range that’s acceptable anyways.

Congrats on making it this far, hope it works out for you!

 

Being on the other side of the table when pay and benefits came up I gave solid numbers. No negotiations. If the interviewee wasn’t satisfied they can walk.

Two reasons. First there are plenty of fish in the sea. Second I didn’t want an employee feeling they should have gotten more. They tend to become disgruntled and perform poorly.

 

See this is how it should be, the employer should be transparent about their range for the position up front. Now if I am offered what I said during the interview I will always wonder "could I have gotten more". And it does leave a bad taste. I can't go back now, but I could reply to the offer and try to renegotiate at that point, basically my only play... but I've already set the bar so to speak

 

I should have gone a bit higher which is why I am so upset with myself. I had worked out the numbers myself ahead of time calculating where I am at now and where I would like to be, but I did not factor in much buffer on top, so now if they match my suggested rate, I'll never know if their actual range is higher that that...

 

Thanks, I am happy that it's getting down to the end and do expect to receive an offer. And I hear you about them playing the game more often than me, thing is I 100% know that offering the first salary figure in negotiations is a no-no and yet somehow they forced my hand, definitely does not sit right with me and I keep playing it over and over again.

 

Is there other compensation that comes in the package? Benefits? Health Care? Bonus Schedule? Raise Schedule? Anything else? My only input is that it's possible if the package is extensive that you can come back and say that after review of the overall compensation package, you need to renegotiate the base salary to make it apples to apples. I mean they don't expect you to sit in the interview with a calculator. In my industry it's a complicated equation to figure out what you are actually going to make based on projected performance and a bonus schedule. But you better have a good case to be made. If they offer a good package and your claiming that you need more to make what you expect, you better be right. And be prepared for them to say no. And even possibly back out on offering you a position. If your expectations are greater than theirs, they may figure it's doing you a disservice to move forward with the hire.