How do salary negotiations work? There's no shortage of ink spilled on the topic and regional nuances aside, the flow usually goes like this: a recruiter determines whether you'll fit within their budget and if so, the screening process commences. If the larger team decides to bring you on, they'll extend an initial written offer, which opens the door to a few rounds of countering, culminating in a final written offer.
Let's explore this in detail, starting with the rationale behind negotiations.
The very first step in a salary negotiation
When a recruiter reaches out to you, they will ask about your compensation in the first call or Zoom session. Why? It's a budgetary check. The recruiter found your LinkedIn profile and resume compelling, but those speak only to past experience, rather than the cold reality of whether they can even afford you. The larger the company, the more internal steps the role will need to clear before it's published. In one of these steps, HR will recommend a salary range for your role.
If listings in your locale are legally required to show the full salary range, you're in luck. If there's a single number shown, then HR likely posted the midpoint of their range. This early check is key because neither you nor the employer want to invest hours in the screening process, only to discover at the finish line your salary expectations are wildly mismatched.
One of our Hive members took a call with a recruiter once and, after being asked how much she was currently making, she confidently delivered her ask. The recruiter's eyes widened, then tap-danced a bit, clearly looking to end the call early. Turns out the salary was posted in rupees, so what the Hive member pitched in USD would've eclipsed what the CEO was making. Good thing they caught this discrepancy early!
Overcoming your nerves
Nervous about negotiations? Don't be. Your friendly Beekeeper once met a seasoned marketer — let's call her Rachel, even though that's not her actual name — to run through a mock recruiter call. After exchanging pleasantries, we got straight to it.
"What are you looking to make?" I asked.
"I want to–" she started.
"I'm currently–" she tried again.
And then a few false starts later, she gave up. Just couldn't spit it out, which led to feeling ashamed about this mental block to verbalizing her worth.
Flash forward to a few more 1:1s, two rounds of counters, and she landed an 84% increase in base. How on earth did she get there?
Knowing your pitch
Before your first conversation with a recruiter, you'll need to be confident about your ask. There are two parts to this:
Your walkaway: this is the absolute lowest floor you'd be willing to entertain for this role before walking away. You alone should know this number. Keep it locked away and don't say it aloud.
Your pitch: this is the compensation you want. Keep in mind if your target base is $100k USD, what you verbalize to the recruiter will need to be higher than that — so $115k, $125k. Check out Liquid Gold to see how your current compensation stacks up, along with what you should pitch. Otherwise, if you're targeting $100k and say as such, your prospective employer will negotiate you down from there.
If you need further help with landing on a pitch, we'll cover that in a future post — but bottom line, you're targeting the highest number in the range you can confidently verbalize.
Practicing your pitch
Once you decide on your pitch, practice saying it aloud with your partner, friends, family member, a stranger at the coffeeshop, one of our Flight School instructors — really anyone you need to help you get fluent with voicing what you want.
Remember, this is just a budgetary check. You're not imposing on anyone. You're not taking food from the mouths of the recruiter's family or your hiring manager by pitching higher. The recruiter saw something compelling in your past experience — and, provided there's no rupees-to-USD miscommunication, you're honoring your worth.
Delivering your pitch
Your walkaway and pitch will help you anchor yourself and the conversation, so you'll be prepped for your big day. The recruiter may ask you flat out what you're currently making. Instead of answering this directly, flip the script to focus on the compensation you need to join this prospective employer. Can they ask? Can they check? Generally "yes" and "it's possible, but tough to do so," and as always, regional nuances will apply. We'll dig deeper on this topic in a future post — but pivoting the conversation to what you need, rather than what you're making, is an effective move.
Feeling overwhelmed? You've got this. Take a moment to breathe, figure out your walkaway and pitch, and then join us in Part 2, where we walk through the rest of the negotiation journey. We'll be here when you're ready.