What do you do when you lowball yourself during the first/screening phone call? The recruiter asked about the expected salary and I gave a salary 10-15% lower than what I would accept the job offer for. He said my expected salary was very reasonable, within the target. How HR is using that information? Do they stick to that number, or they just want to make sure expectations are met? Is it bad if I ask later in the process (=offer stage) for a higher salary?
Always ask for more than you think they can give which gives you room to negotiate. Try to get competing offers ASAP
I was in this situation few months back. Low balled my salary and RSU+ bonus. I later learned that market range for my position was much higher than what I told the recruiter. I nailed the interview and they offered 5k less than my initial expectation. I tired to negotiate +30k base but they didnt increase single penny. It was very good learning experience and it helped me for negotiations later. And as others said if you get competing offer in hand then you can ask them to beat it.
As a recruiter, the main reason I ask for your comp is to make sure we can be competitive based on the level you're likely to earn. It would be a giant waste of everyone's time if we get to the end of the process with you approved for hire at, say, L4, but you're making like 350k total comp. I want to know from the beginning how much we need to plan on offering you so that I make sure to give you every possible opportunity to earn the appropriate leveling. If you are at the lower end of the market for your level, that won't necessarily hurt you. If, hypothetically, the standard offer for a certain role/level combo was 150 base / 15% bonus / 250 RSU's, and your current comp is 20% less than that, and you told me your target was still 5% less than that...you'd still get the standard offer. I wouldn't use the fact that you'd be happy with less to close you cheaper -- there's nothing in it for me from an internal incentive perspective, and it's also just the wrong thing to do from a pay equity perspective. And if you just don't share anything at all, you'd get the standard offer. If you're paid above market, I'd need to have specifics to make a case for increasing your offer. And if your current pay is low but you want a lot more, competing offers are the way to go (within reason -- if you crush your FB interview and get an L6 offer from them, but have an off day with us and only get approved at L4, there's not much I could do about that). Bottom line is that at least in our process, sharing comp never hurts you, and often helps you, both in terms of getting the pay you want, and saving your time by only interviewing for roles that make financial sense.
Google is probably the only company that does "the right thing" with this information. I suspect every other company revises the standard offer downward if you are currently making less. The rationale that a company needs to know your current comp to ensure they can pay you enough is bogus, in my opinion. (No offense to you, you sound like a good egg). The only number a company needs to know is the number you're looking for. If I'm looking for 200k and they can't afford it, they can't afford it. That's fine. The fact that I'm currently making 150k (or 170k or 120k) is irrelevant. The employer may need a number, but that number doesn't need to literally be your current comp.
Thanks qeFV63!!! That's a very helpful and honest reply! I had few interviews with google before and my experience was very nice! You just confirmed it again :) The issue is that the position I applied is a Manager position (while being a non-manager now), so when I was asked about the salary target I made the mistake and gave a number I would give if I was interviewing for a similar role to my current; i didn't factor in the increased responsibilities and the higher "level" of the role.
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you can always lead with a competitive offer and they will try I match it