Hello!

39 Comments

1. Anita GetzJune 22,2022 at 12:34PM UTC

   I am also interviewing when the topic of salary comes up I always counter ask, and ask them what is the salary range? Then after they tell you, you can say what your range is. If they are telling you they can not give you any raise if they pay you a higher salary, this may not be a company that you want to work at. Good luck

2. AnonymousJune 22,2022 at 1:21PM UTC

   Nah, sounds like they are negotiating salary and trying to talk you down. If they are on that tight of a budget you’ll never get a raise and maybe start looking at other companies. Could be a red flag!

3. Penny HuntJune 22,2022 at 1:21PM UTC

   This is a great question. I have been in recruiting for 15+ years. From my perspective, the recruiter is sharing that you are at the maximum of the pay band for the level of the role. Since you are at the maximum-that usually means you would need to be promoted to the next level or a lateral opportunity that the salary range is higher. Are they willing to consider you for the next level up which in typically increases the salary band? Maybe a question to the hiring manager would be- how do I achieve upward mobility or promotional opportunity in this position, then in turn increase your base salary.

4. AnonymousJune 22,2022 at 1:28PM UTC

   It's just a game of words.

   If you are valuable to an organization they will pay you top dollar and continue to strive to keep you happy with raises, bonuses and incentives.

5. AnonymousJune 23,2022 at 2:32PM UTC

   Exactly. They are called promotions and that is how a company keeps upping your salary band. Every single company is come across bends over backwards to keep their Rockstar happy. No matter how small or large the company.

   If the promotions stop then the Rockstars hit the door.

6. Lorna Rose, J.D., M.S.June 22,2022 at 1:46PM UTC

   My initial gut feeling is that the recruiter’s contract with the company likely has something to do with this. The recruiter might get an incentive of some kind for finding an employee who will accept less than the high end of the salary range, and/or for any pay raises that they earn within the term of employment that the recruiter got them hired for.

   Either way, that’s a very suspicious statement and this company or this recruiter (or both) are probably not a great fit.

7. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 23,2022 at 11:00PM UTC

   Did I miss somewhere in the original poster's comment where she said this was an outside recruiter?

8. Lorna Rose, J.D., M.S.June 24,2022 at 1:41PM UTC

   No, the OP doesn’t specify whether the recruiter is internal or external and I didn’t even take that into consideration when I replied. Whether the recruiter works directly for the company or not, their job duties & compensation details are in writing somewhere.

9. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 24,2022 at 6:35PM UTC

   YOU SAID:

   "My initial gut feeling is that the recruiter’s contract with the company likely has something to do with this. The recruiter might get an incentive of some kind for finding an employee who will accept less than the high end of the salary range, and/or for any pay raises that they earn within the term of employment that the recruiter got them hired for."

   In twenty plus years of recruiting, I have never come across an internal recruiter position that was compensated in any way based on the comp that candidates do or do not accept.

10. Lorna Rose, J.D., M.S.June 25,2022 at 6:15AM UTC

    Yes, that’s what I said. What does your 20+ years of recruiting experience have to do with what I said? Just because you’ve been doing something for a couple decades doesn’t mean you’ve seen it all, learned it all, or know it all.

11. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 25,2022 at 7:46PM UTC

    What does my 20+ years of recruiting experience have to do with knowing how recruiters are compensated? Literally everything.

    My 20+ years of experience working in retained search, in-house recruiting, on-demand recruiting consulting and contingent recruiting gives me the knowledge of how recruiters are compensated.

    And recruiters do not "get an incentive of some kind for finding an employee who will accept less than the high end of the salary range, and/or for any pay raises that they earn within the term of employment"

12. Lorna Rose, J.D., M.S.June 26,2022 at 2:54PM UTC

    I provided my response based on actual, real-life recruiters that I know telling me about their own experiences: one told me specifically that the client company told her she'd get a bonus if she was able to fill the position without "maxing out the salary range offered." The other was based upon a different recruiter's experience, where he explained that his agency may get a percentage of the employee's salary through the term of employment that he gets them placed for, and any salary changes that occur will be factored into what the client pays his agency.

    I would appreciate it if you didn't instruct people to ignore others' posts just because you aren't familiar with what the other posts is talking about. That's unreasonable on an open forum where feedback is welcomed and every user is free to discern the helpful posts from the unhelpful on their own.

13. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 26,2022 at 7:37PM UTC

    The recruiter the OP is dealing with is an in-house recruiter - not an agency recruiter - and in-house recruiters are not compensated based on candidate compensation.

14. AnonymousJune 25,2022 at 3:37PM UTC

    The recruiter was an internal recruiter. She also said that she couldn't pay me more than others. I thought that was also odd. However, the company has very high employee satisfaction ratings. My research tells me it is a very employee-centric company and this could be a great opportunity for me. The recruiter said that I would probably be paid "market value". I have no idea what that means either. My expertise and skills for this position are above "market value". I hope I don't have to negotiate salary with the recruiter.

15. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 25,2022 at 8:04PM UTC

    YOU SAID:

    "The recruiter was an internal recruiter. "

    Please do not listen to the other poster who thinks recruiters are somehow incentivised to get candidates to accept less money. They are not. In-house corporate recruiters are straight salary employees. They may be eligible for a yearly performance bonus but that is based on things like number of positions filled - not the amount of money candidates accepted.

    YOU SAID:

    "She also said that she couldn't pay me more than others. I thought that was also odd."

    Why? There is something called pay parity. It's something that HR and Compensation work very hard to maintain.

    Pay parity is defined it as ensuring that employees in the same job and location are paid fairly relative to one another, regardless of their gender or ethnicity.

    YOU SAID:

    "The recruiter said that I would probably be paid "market value". I have no idea what that means either. "

    That means that if there are 4 other people in that company in that location doing that job and they're all making $100,000 to $105,000 - that's the market value of that position to that company. That's what they'll have to pay people on the open market to do that job.

    YOU SAID:

    "My expertise and skills for this position are above "market value".

    Then should you be looking at a higher level position?

16. JYJJune 22,2022 at 2:20PM UTC

    What a word salad! You being at the top of the salary range should have nothing to do with earning raises. I would be concerned about their raise/promotion process and ask about that. Sounds like they have very rigid bands and I agree with Lorna's comment-it's probably not going to be a great fit.

17. Paula Manczuk-HannayJune 24,2022 at 12:48PM UTC

    I work in a rigid structure like this. Once you’re at the top, there are no more merit increases. Period. They adjust the ranges regularly so people get colas, but not all places do that regularly.

18. Joshua CorderoJune 22,2022 at 2:23PM UTC

    It sounds like what she meant was, 'this isn't the right place for you; you should keep looking for a company that will treat you right'.

19. Giselle AmorJune 22,2022 at 4:14PM UTC

    So if you were to take the job, work there 20 yrs, that's the highest you'd make??? Ummm no thank you. Know you're worth and keep it moving.

20. LisaJune 22,2022 at 6:23PM UTC

    Thanks for your insights - much appreciated!

21. Andrea Stamson GarrettJune 22,2022 at 9:37PM UTC

    This could depend on what level job and pay structure at the company. In my job as a recruiter I need to balance the candidate requirements and expectations for pay with the current salaries of others in the same job. As much as we’d love to pay more, we may have some internal restraints. Also, unless it’s highest leadership, there are companies at different stages of maturity that will be able to pay market rates, or higher, or may be limited with that too. I hear entitlement in this thread and am a big believer in paying fairly for the work being done and recognizing experience., but not all companies are going to have a similar philosophy. I’d love to hear comments about this.

22. Lorna Rose, J.D., M.S.June 23,2022 at 2:25PM UTC

    Companies need to be realistic about their needs and expectations. It’s not an excuse to underpay someone because the company isn’t “mature” enough to do so - sounds like a company that probably isn’t ready to be in business in the first place.

23. AnonymousJune 23,2022 at 12:27PM UTC

    Never join at the high high high end of the salary band. I spent a decade in that situation hearing their bs about how I was an exemplary employee but they couldn’t give a merit increase because I was already at the top of the range for the position. They also said they couldn’t promote me because there was no level above mine (meaning no career path). I foolishly stayed for a decade and have major regrets. Please don’t be me.

24. AnonymousJune 23,2022 at 2:21PM UTC

    You could never convince me not to take the highest amount of salary offered when the entire point of working is to make money. I think the better takeaway is “don’t stay for too long after being told that despite your exemplary work, you’ll never be compensated at fair value for it.”

25. AnonymousJune 23,2022 at 11:04PM UTC

    Agreed!
    “We’d like to offer you $150k to do this job.” “No thanks, I’ll take $125k so I can get raises over the next five years instead. Let’s get real!

26. Paula Manczuk-HannayJune 24,2022 at 12:46PM UTC

    I hear you! The thing is, for many people not being eligible for a merit increase becomes a sticking point and they leave. Companies know this, so they simply won’t hire at the top.

27. Sue Gordon- retired Career CoachJune 23,2022 at 12:40PM UTC

    Organizations that have an organized compensation approach have pay bands/ranges. The objective is to hire in the middle of the band. What she may be saying is "if we hire at the top of the band, we will be unable to give you a merit raise in the near future." -- At any point seems extreme so that may be her not understanding?

    Anyhow she shared the posted range, she doesn't want to pay you at the top. If you'll only take it at the top of the range, it may also mean you are overqualified for the position, or they are not familar with the market rate for someone like you.

28. AnonymousJune 23,2022 at 12:45PM UTC

    This only really makes sense at a large company of when working for the government. I know in those scenarios I had very little room when bringing people on. That said, just be prepared that you may not get it if you stick to your guns. If you really want the job, I'd work with the recruiter to get at the very top of what they are allowed to offer.

    Also, don't be afraid to ask how this works for employees who stay for many years. Is the only way to get raises at that point to move jobs? This would be good to know.

29. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 23,2022 at 10:58PM UTC

    Sure.

    HR typically never lets an offer go out above the midpoint of the salary range. Specifically because if they bring you in at the top of the range, they have no room to give you raises.

    Say the salary range is $80k to $120k - the midpoint of the range would be $100k. The target might be $95k.

    In over 20 years of recruiting, I have never seen an offer come in at the very top of the range.

    Please let me know if you have any questions.

    EDITED TO NOTE: The exception to this rule can be in the IT space if the positions are especially hard to fill or critical to the business - in some companies there's more flexibility with those roles regarding salary bands.

30. AnonymousJune 24,2022 at 12:51PM UTC

    If you are in tech, being at the high end or over happens all the time depending on the company and market. and everything is negotiable. Comp bands are adjusted as the market is constantly changing. Ask for a sign on bonus to bridge the difference and work very hard for a year so you can show what you have accomplished at your performance review.

31. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 24,2022 at 6:21PM UTC

    Yes - in some companies there's a special dispensation for IT positions if they are especially hard to fill or critical to the business where they have a bit more flexibility with salary bands.
    I don't recruit in that space.

32. Diane RiveraJune 24,2022 at 1:37PM UTC

    I was hired at the top of the range by a for-profit, and if they had stayed in my home state of Oregon I would still be working for them. I did receive every COLA, and quite a few perks & bonuses - and I was not a manager. It was a delightful experience, to be recognized at the time I was hired, that I was a valued employee.

33. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 23,2022 at 10:59PM UTC

    That's not how salary ranges work.

34. Paula Manczuk-HannayJune 24,2022 at 12:42PM UTC

    This makes complete sense to me. Companies set ranges for positions, budget accordingly. If you get to the top of the range, you literally are no longer eligible for merit increases. They won’t pay more. If the company does colas, you’d get a cola adjustment, but that’s it.

35. AnonymousJune 24,2022 at 1:37PM UTC

    Are there not other negation to be made aside from money? Benefits, time off, etc?

36. AnonymousJune 24,2022 at 3:36PM UTC

    The whole bracket will move with cost of living increases (those who don't get annual 3% "merit" drift to the bottom of the range), otherwise they could not compete for new hires.

    This isn't an absolute, but companies have to manage payroll. Place yourself as high in the bracket as they will allow. It may well be 50%. And ask to see the bracket each year as part of the negotiation.

37. Krystin MorganJune 24,2022 at 3:48PM UTC

    This is very common. Essentially, companies have a pay band for each role. All employees should be paid within that range, meaning that if you are already at the top of the range there is no room for additional compensation.

    Often, people who come in at the top of the range are later frustrated when the company can't give them pay raises, especially if it's during a company-wide annual raise.

    That said, there are definitely a lot of folks who would rather make the top amount now vs. wait for raises later.

38. AnonymousJune 25,2022 at 2:12AM UTC

    Yep

39. Marion Badin LatourJune 26,2022 at 10:41AM UTC

    So perhaps you should ask for the top of the salary range now :)