Salary: I undersold myself to the recruiter!

21 Comments

1. AnonymousJuly 29,2022 at 1:05PM UTC

   You could. I don't know if it's proper to do so, but it also wasn't right that the recruiter claimed not to know. It seems very sneaky. I'm so sorry this happened to you. It's a real dilemma.

2. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 6:09PM UTC

   I think it's very possible they aren't told. They were just the initial screener, not the main HR rep. And the posting on the job board was made directly by the hiring manager so they may not even know she did that or maybe just the details the post requires.

3. AnonymousJuly 29,2022 at 2:11PM UTC

   I would definitely mention it to the recruiter. They have a vested interest in you staying on the job and if you are underpaid that’s unlikely.

4. AmyJuly 29,2022 at 2:32PM UTC

   I’m a recruiter and I’d wait to progress. A good recruiter won’t under cut your offer based on your request. If you continue through to interviews, I’d follow up to say that you’re targeting x after additional market research. If it’s suddenly an issue with them, that’s a red flag and I’d mention it’s what they had posted on the site.

5. AnonymousJuly 29,2022 at 6:40PM UTC

   I undercut myself once and the recruiter called me out on it and said I should never go below $x! I was quite surprised and thankful for the advice. I didn’t get the job, but I got some knowledge.

6. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJuly 29,2022 at 8:14PM UTC

   Yes - I would mention it to the recruiter now. I would say that since you've had a chance to learn more about the position through your interviews, the midpoint of the range is more in line with your comp expectations and position responsibilities.

7. Crystal HowellJuly 30,2022 at 1:07PM UTC

   Let the recruit know you reconsidered your range, and after reviewing the skillset, you want this much$______.

   Recruiters always know how much the range is, how would they get paid?

8. ChrishoggJuly 30,2022 at 3:21PM UTC

   Hi Anonymous --- Thank you for posting this.

   And let me say I don't know what you should say in the current situation, but I think the advice you've gotten to re-negotiate from Crystal, Joan, and Anonymous is the way to go.

   But in the future, know what you want and what you will accept BEFORE talking to recruiters or anyone else.

   Apparently you told this recruiter you wanted X, but then, when you discovered/remembered that the job was paying Y, you wanted Y.

   TOO LATE!

   If you said X, and your skills, experience, or knowledge have not changed, why exactly do you deserve Y?

   That's like me going into a store and asking a clerk what the price of a gourmet cookie is, the clerk saying $7, me asking if the clerk can make change for a ten-dollar bill, and the clerk responding with, "Actually, the price is $10."

   That wouldn't seem fair to you, would it?

   In the future, I think a much better answer to a recruiter, HR specialist, or hiring manager asking what you're looking for would be something like, "Actually, I'm looking to be appropriately compensated for the value I bring to this position. What is the range for this role?"

   Then you can decide to proceed or not.

   And if the person refuses to disclose the range or exact pay (there is almost always (99.999% of the time) a range or exact amount), that would probably be a good time to thank the person for their time, ask to be remembered the next time, and say goodbye.

9. AnonymousJuly 31,2022 at 4:03AM UTC

   It is unnecessary to harp on the mistake that was made. The asker is not an idiot, she just made a rookie mistake as we all have once.

   I personally did exactly what crystal said and got a huge raise AFTER underselling myself early on. It’s ok to “reevaluate” as the interviews proceed.

   Whatever new number you pick - don’t budge on it. As my mother taught me - start low stay low - if you take that job for a discount, you’re likely to continue to be underpaid throughout your career there.

10. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 6:10PM UTC

    Salary negotiation is very different than retail sales in the US. Weird comparison.

    Now, if you've bartered for things at a marketplace in some other countries... The clerk would 100% do that.

11. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 3:05PM UTC

    I wouldn’t work with a recruiter in general…. Even if you oversold yourself to a recruiter, chances are they may still show you positions below your desired range.

    In my experience communicating with recruiters were a waste of time in finding any sort of position that fit my needs.

12. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 6:06PM UTC

    This was an internal HR recruiter.

13. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistAugust 2,2022 at 12:03AM UTC

    "a waste of time in finding any sort of position that fit my needs."

    That's because, as a general rule, recruiters don't find jobs for people - they find people for jobs.

14. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 6:06PM UTC

    This was an internal HR recruiter.

15. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistAugust 2,2022 at 12:01AM UTC

    Not all recruiters are compensated with a percentage of the new hire's salary.

16. KirstinAugust 2,2022 at 12:33PM UTC

    I’m curious why you feel undersold in the first place? Is it just because you saw a higher range for the role, or did you give a range you weren’t comfortable with in the first place? Because If you’re comfortable at the top end of your range, just because it may be the bottom of theirs…- what’s the issue?

    the hiring manager may have just put something in that post without actual regard to salaries set by HR (most companies have a range for the purpose of internal equity, and I know plenty of managers that don’t know salary ranges)

    That being said, I would recommend bringing it up either before or after the first interview with the bringing manager, and letting them know after considering the role and responsibility you’ve changed your salary requirements. At no point would I say anything about seeing it posted and wanting to get more because you think you can. That’s a way to burn a bridge.

17. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 3:07PM UTC

    Exactly…. I never sought out a recruiter, they sought out me so I’m sticking to my original statement of how they are a waste of time!

18. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 6:07PM UTC

    This was the type of HR recruiter that does the screening call before you have a hiring manager interview. Not someone who contacted me about a potential job. So it's not like I could choose not to talk to them.

19. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 7:45PM UTC

    I got that. I was referring to outside recruiters.

    My one experience with an hr recruiter wasn’t pleasant either. It was a job I got hired for right before the pandemic and I was put on furlough. I decided not to go back at all. I would avoid dealing just with a recruiter in a hiring process because I got no feel for how the management would be. My interactions between the two were day and night. If management or supervisors from the team are not involved with the hiring process at all, I would be skeptical. Recruiters won’t have useful information on what it’ll be like in actual departments.

20. Maegan, Nike Sales Rep & Career CoachAugust 3,2022 at 8:49PM UTC

    You can wait until you are in the interview process . Then you can let them know based on your recent research and responsibilities about the role $XXX-XXX is more appropriate for your experience and skills

21. AnonymousAugust 9,2022 at 3:25PM UTC

    Exactly!