Contacted by recruiter for a job but waiting for retention bonus payment from existing employer
Hello there, the company I work for, where I have a middle management position, leading a team of 8, has been recently acquired by a competitor.
Because my work was very important to prepare and execute the acquisition, I received a retention bonus equivalent to half of my annual salary. First half has just been paid and second after 3 months from acquisition that will be February next year. In addition to that at the end of March next year I will receive my annual bonus that is 25% of my annual salary.
While the new company is working on the re-org and for now I’m just told to keep doing my old job with my old team, I’ve been contacted by a recruiter for a very senior role to lead a department of 150 people. This is a multi national company I have worked for in the past. I had a first conversation with the recruiter and they are now asking me to have an interview with the hiring team.
I know that the chances to be hired are limited but shall I tell them upfront about the retention payments I’m waiting for in February and the annual bonus in March?
Obviously if the current employer decides they do not need me they will need to pay all these + redundancy and I’ll be free to start a new job in January but I don’t have idea of when they will decide…..
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Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist
So I've cruised past your question several times and finally decided to add my two cents.
As a recruiter, by not sharing this information, you are taking away my ability to help manage this with you. Am I speeding up the process when - if I knew this information - I would be slowing it down?
Have you asked them what their timeline looks like? Have they indicated they're anxious to get someone on board asap?
If we were to make you an offer and then you spring this information on me, my first question would be "you knew this all along and never told me about this?"
I'm pretty sure that that would also be the hiring manager's question first question to me - why is this the first I'm hearing about this. What do I say to them?
I understand the reluctance to bring this up but how would you feel if you interviewed for a position, got all the way through the process, they made you an offer and then sprung it on you that they didn't want someone to start until March. It's about setting expectations..
You don't have to give them all the details - you can say you have a significant bonus that you would be leaving on the table, would they be willing to work with you on a March start date. If you're not comfortable bringing it up now, see how the first interview goes - but I would not recommend you wait until after an offer is made.
Many times, the earlier in the process something like this is brought up, the less of a big deal it is.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Good luck and please keep up posted.
Maria Paula Calvo
There is no need to open these events to a company that is in the process of evaluating whether they will make you an offer, until the moment they do so and these bonuses (retention, performance) should be good items for a concsious and well grounded negotiation. Don´t put yourself in a hurry, go step by step.