Negotiating before interview?
Recently, two jobs I have applied for have asked me about salary before interviewing me. For example, I applied for a position and was contacted by the recruiter via email. In the email she gave me additional information about the role, including the salary and benefits, and asked if I would like to continue with the interview process with that information. If I would like to negotiate salary, do I do that now? How do I go about it?
I have it happen so we weren't wasting each other time if the range that I am not what they are willing to pay. If companies would put a wage range on the job listing that would also so I am not wasting my time in filling out the apps and the anxiety of not hearing back.
User deleted comment on 11/09/20 at 2:34PM UTC
I noticed this happening too, and when I asked about it, one recruiter said they wanted an idea of my range to see if it matched with theirs so they didn't go through the exercise of an interview only to have it fall apart over salary in the last stages.
If you're talking to a third-party recruiter, I'd give them a wide range and let them *try* to talk you down. For them, it's a numbers game, so you have nothing to lose by telling them what you think you're worth.
If you're talking to a recruiter who actually works for the company, I'd turn the question around on them with something like, "I'm very excited about this role and this company. I'm looking for XYZ in a new role, and salary is less important to me than those things. Can you please tell me what your budget is for this role, and maybe a high-level overview of benefits?"
The recruiter is trying to see what your compensation exceptions are as to not waste time if you are outside their budget. I would give them a range. The lowest you are able togo and what you are looking for, for example $20-22/hr
There are times that recruiters try to settle salary so that they don't waste time if they could find other candidates accepting of salary expectations. So if they press you on the salary before moving on to next steps, the best way to negotiate salary is to either have them bring it up again ask what the employer says is the maximum budget for compensation then go from there or bring it up as something they asked about previously that you need to address to state your salary range. Good luck.