So, here's my two cents. I'm going to preface my answer with a reminder that this stuff is all my opinion - I'm sure you could ask 4 other people and get 4 other different opinions. And that while I am a recruiter, this is my answer on what I do as a candidate.
So, personally, I try not to either low ball or high ball myself. Money is important - there's plenty of places I could be doing volunteer work if I wanted to - but it's not the end all and be all for me. I do want to get as much as I possibly can but it's not the only thing I base my decision on.
You want to try to get them to tell you the comp first.
There are a couple of different ways you can go about this. You can ask them about the comp before they ask you. You can ask "what is the salary range for this position" and then you can ask "what is the target salary" (they're not the same thing) or you can just ask what the target is.
Say the salary range is $80k to $120k - HR usually never lets an offer go out above the midpoint of the range, so $100k. The target might be $95k.
Or, my preferred method is to wait for them to ask me what I'm looking for and instead of telling them, I ask them the questions above. I say "what's the range for this position?" and then shut up. Do not say one word until they tell you.
Then you can have whatever conversation you want with them.
The reason this is my preferred method is, if you ask them first, then they can come back with "how much are you looking for?". And unless you want to ask them again what their range is, you'll probably kind of have to answer that question about how much you're looking for first.
I just had this happen this week - I got to the end of the first phone screen and the recruiter had not brought up comp. So I asked her what the range for the position was. She said she wasn't sure - which I am 99.5% sure is pure BS. I have never in my life worked on a position where I didn't know what the comp range was. And this is a major company - so there's a salary range.
She said she wasn't sure what the range was and asked me what I was looking for (see, that's not why this is my preferred method). I told her I couldn't possibly answer that question until I knew more about the position, the benefits, if there was a bonus structure.
I will say, that I have pushed back - especially with the offshore recruiters that call me from India every day - they'll ask me what I'm looking for and I ask what the range is and they'll say "well what are you looking for?" and I say "what is your range? I know you have one, what is it?" I don't know that I'd be that blunt with an internal recruiter from a company that I really wanted to work at, but it's good practice - for having that conversation about money and being fearless about it. Sometimes, by the time I get to that point in the conversation with the offshore people, I already know I have zero interest in the position - but it's a recruiting position, so I still want to know what they're paying. Again, it's good for practice.
I know you're probably reading on this site every day about how "I gather my research, present to them how much I think I'm really worth and that I want to negotiate higher comp for myself" - hell, there's probably some of those in the answers right here in the comments on your post - but that's just not the reality I and many (most?) recruiters live in.
We want to get candidates as much as we can. First because it's the right thing to do and second, so they accept the offers we get them.
But unless you work in a really, really small company, we're working with salary bands. Even when I worked for other clients who had a bit more flexibility, you're still working with salary bands and with trying to maintain internal equity. We have to work within THAT company's salary bands. We do not work within other company's salary bands.
Say the salary band is $90k to $110k and they made you an offer at $100k. You do your research and you've convinced yourself that you're worth $120k, in no company that I have ever worked at are they going to come back to you with an offer of $120k.
So more power to those folks if they are able to gather their research and negotiate more for themselves but that's not happening with the majority of companies. I am not saying don't negotiate. What I'm saying is you need to know what parameters you can/should negotiate within.
And the changing of the title? I suppose it could happen but not in most of the companies I have worked with/for. It's possible if it's a smaller company. In most medium and large companies, job descriptions and titles go through hiring managers, HR and legal before they're approved. They're not something that can just be changed for one person.
You might approach it with something like "do we have any wiggle room on the title?"
Please let me know if you have any questions.
GOOD LUCK!!!!
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