No room for negotiation?

25 Comments

1. AnonymousJune 27,2023 at 3:15PM UTC

   Internal equity is real. Many organizations look at this when establishing annual salary increases and hiring. Time, experience and geographical salary ranges come into play.

2. AnonymousJune 27,2023 at 3:44PM UTC

   I've heard this a lot lately. It's the new way of dealing with the compensation ask.

3. Anne KrookJune 27,2023 at 3:58PM UTC

   sometimes this means that an organization looks at a job as determining salary without respect to how an individual is doing in that job. In that case, you might find that they are not as willing to reward individual performance in a job. Not a reason to not take a job there, but something to bear in mind.

4. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 27,2023 at 4:41PM UTC

   Internal equity is absolutely a thing and companies work really hard on it.

   Was compensation discussed before you received your offer?

5. AnonymousJune 27,2023 at 5:57PM UTC

   They would only share the pay grade, not the range. The pay grade was 3 grades above my current pay grade.

6. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 27,2023 at 6:19PM UTC

   I'm not trying to tell you how to manage your job searches but there are no circumstances under which I would go through 7 interviews without knowing the salary range. I discuss compensation on my first call with every candidate - internal or external.

7. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 27,2023 at 6:22PM UTC

   Wait - the pay grade was 3 grades above your current pay grade and they're not increasing your salary at all?!

   That makes absolutely no sense unless pay grades do no correlate to salary bands - which they typically do.

   If your new position is three pay grades higher, you should have received a large salary bump.

   Are you in the US? What state are you in?

8. AnonymousJune 27,2023 at 8:58PM UTC

   I'm reading it as they are not increasing beyond what she was offered with this position not that they weren't going to increase her beyond what she was already making.

9. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 28,2023 at 2:57AM UTC

   Thank you! I misread the post. I'd still like to know if the OP is in the US and what state - there may be transparency laws in place.

10. AnonymousJune 28,2023 at 12:45PM UTC

    Pay equity is definitely a thing. Also, many companies don't allow someone to mobility transfer into a promotion, you will often see the position be downgraded to the current job level and then the candidate has to go through the promotion cycle after they've been successful in that new position.

11. AnonymousJune 28,2023 at 1:31PM UTC

    An external candidates have better salary negotiations sadly! Which doesn’t align with retention initiatives! Every promotion isn’t the same - if you plan on staying it will take you forever with raises to get there! Is the work extremely more demanding! Things to think about

12. Samantha HollonJune 29,2023 at 12:46PM UTC

    And they wonder why there's no "company loyalty" anymore..

13. misskelleypJune 28,2023 at 4:31PM UTC

    Not what you asked about, but SEVEN interviews!?!?? UGH.

14. Audrey KirschJune 28,2023 at 5:06PM UTC

    Same salary is not a promotion. It is a lateral move. If this 'new' job would require more responsibility and a higher level of skills than your current position but pays the same, I'd say no thanks and stay where I am unless you're just eager for a change. If you do more with no benefit it's not likely that they'll suddenly see the light and bend over backwards to improve your situation. The manager will instead be the one patted on the back as improving the department and expanding the business without spending additional resources. Annoying but true.

15. AnonymousJune 28,2023 at 5:39PM UTC

    Internal roles are often met with what is called internal compression where there are others alongside or above and below that limit what they can pay someone coming in or over from another team. If you want the job move over and then ask for a shorter review cycle which may or may not be granted. If they give it to you, kick butt and show them why you deserve more. It still may be a limiter but the only alternative is shop yourself outside of the building. Though, if you do they will likely wish you the best and not counter offer to keep you. If they do counter you have just given them the time to replace you one way or another. If you want the newer role and it expands your experience and feeds your career do it!

16. AnonymousJune 28,2023 at 8:12PM UTC

    TBH , their response is totally acceptable. Makes total sense in a new role to not have an experienced person's wage or close to it. You need to learn the position through experience and become that subject matter expert. Earn it.

17. AnonymousJune 28,2023 at 8:56PM UTC

    Perhaps this company is determining wages based on chronically underpaying others in the role.

18. Samantha HollonJune 29,2023 at 12:43PM UTC

    Out of curiosity did they give you a range up front for this new position? And adding to another commenter's point, are they consistently underpaying their employees across the board? What is the average salary range for this position in your industry, state, US, etc?

    I recently experienced a similar situation. I received an offer from an external company that was about $20k below what I was hoping for (the salary range in the job posting had about a $40k spread). I thought this was a negotiation tactic but the recruiter said they wouldn't budge due to budget. I was shocked because they had moved so quickly with me (five interviews in less than a month) and the recruiter had admitted in an earlier interview that their previous two years were record breaking profits. Also, they are a private company.

    At the end of the day know your worth. I had to walk away because even though the opportunity would have been a nice new adventure the extra amount of responsibility for the dismal increase in pay just didn't make sense.

19. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 29,2023 at 6:59PM UTC

    Just a word on salary ranges - typically salary ranges listed in a job posting are not starting salary ranges, they're the salary range for the position ongoing.

    Because of that, for offers, there is typically a target of the midpoint of the range. I have worked at companies that would never go above the midpoint and some have wiggle room.

    The reasoning behind this is if you come in too high in the salary band, what do we do when you want a raise next year and the following year and the year after that.

    Many folks see the salary band and think they should be at the top of the band. That not necessarily realistic. The mid point is the usually the target for an experienced candidate.

20. Samantha HollonJune 29,2023 at 10:02PM UTC

    I understand. Though in my case they truly were offering way below market value for the role and a completely different number than the midpoint that the hiring manger herself had claimed to be targeting in the initial interview.

    Still, I'd be interested to hear from the OP if a range was ever listed or brought up in the 7 interviews (my goodness!) For me, it felt like a bait-and-switch and I'm wondering if others have experienced that lately. Are employers just taking advantage of the weird market right now?

21. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 30,2023 at 1:35AM UTC

    Well it probably felt like bait-and-switch because that's exactly what it sounds like. So not cool. Not cool at all.

    Did they explain why the offer came in so much lower than had been discussed? Unless there was some drastic re-leveling of the position, that should not be happening.

    I'd say you dodged a bullet there. Companies are supposed to be showing you their best selves during the interview process. They shouldn't be jerking candidates around like that. Imagine how they treat their employees.

22. Samantha HollonJune 30,2023 at 6:28PM UTC

    That's exactly what I thought. It was disappointing because I really liked the team and the other teams I would have been working with. All the TA rep said was that's the highest they could do in their budget.. I was very honest with him that I was super excited about the opportunity and the company but with the salary and benefits package it just didn't make financial sense to make the switch from what I currently am making. Oh well. It was good practice for future interviews and a nice confidence boost at least.

23. Kristie WhiteJune 29,2023 at 1:32PM UTC

    It really doesn’t matter if this company is underpaying others in a similar role, the equity issue is the same. Sounds like this is a lateral move if there is no increase in salary.

24. AnonymousJune 29,2023 at 9:42PM UTC

    if there are other employees with more experience than you and you are asking for more money than they make, there will be no room for negotiation. Perhaps their pay ranges are too low and you can look around at a new role with a new company. They may counter if you are going to leave, or they may not. Be true to yourself.

25. Lomaxruiter@yahoo.comJuly 3,2023 at 2:25AM UTC

    Equity is a legit concern. One point of negotiation may be a signing bonus.