As a recruiter, I’m PAID to get people hired. I do NOT get paid to hire people at the cheapest possible salary. That would be ludicrous because who is going to stay at a company where they are vastly underpaid?
Most roles that executive recruiters (or headhunters) work on are mid to senior level roles that have an annual compensation plan. The plans vary based on a number of things (LTIs, stock and benefits, for example) and they all have a set budget.
The larger the organization (I’m generalizing) the more clear the pay bands are. Think of the Federal Government which operates within a GS (General Schedule) scope. Which means the bands are set within a high and low range for a particular level.
One of my roles as a recruiter is to advise the hiring manager what would be a competitive range for their open position. I make this recommendation based on the number of people within the organization who hold the same graded role in the same operating division. My recommendation takes into consideration the educational level of the average person in the role and their length of time in the position. The top of the range may be $125,000 for someone who has been in the role at the same level for 12 years and the lowest paid person in the role may be earning $80,000 having just graduated and joined the organization.
Please understand for purposes of this newsletter I am giving you a VERY bird’s eye view of this process - it usually can take an hour or more to sift the data and provide an accurate summation of a salary recommendation.
Other pieces that go into the salary recommendation include divisional budgets related to headcount, the types of benefits provided and more.
Once we have a clear pay range we stick to it.
When I review resumes it’s common that I will see candidates who clearly are overqualified for the position - based on title and tenure. And if I believe they could do the job I will call them. (I often work for companies that are required by law to post their pay range and I presume that someone who is vastly overqualified has read that pay range and is okay with it.)
There are many reasons an overqualified candidate will apply for a position and if they are clearly okay with the role and responsibilities and the pay range which I will again discuss during our intake call, then I will move them forward to the hiring manager.
This is fairly straightforward.
What if the pay range is not stated in the job posting?
As a recruiter one of the key elements of my discerning your fit for our open role and our organization is to have an understanding of your salary expectations. If you don’t give me a clear understanding of where you expect to be in your next position, I cannot and will not move you forward to talk to the hiring manager.
I will give you the pay range and ask you where you need to be stay whole from a compensation point of view. I will tell you that most candidates hear the top number and assume that’s what they’ll earn. I will tell you that most hiring managers hear the bottom number and presume that’s what they’ll pay. I will tell you that my time in the role of a recruiter has taught me that the majority of hires will fall in the middle of the range based on their experience and ability to do the job.
If you’re not willing to share your salary expectations (or full compensation) I will not waste your time or my hiring manager’s and I’ll end the process and move onto the next candidate.
Not sure how to answer the compensation question? Want to practice the conversation before your next screening call? Set up a time to consult with me today.
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