Salary band limitations during salary negotiation
How much can I trust the recruiter when they say the offer is top of the band? I assume usually the first offer can't possibly be the highest limit? Does anyone have advice on navigating this? Wayfair senior PM TC 109 (Euros)
Sometimes this happens if your interview scores are not good enough for the next level but they still want to recruit you, so they offer the most they can. Then again, it could be negotiating tactic, that's what they get paid to do.
At this point, you have Wayfair's offer. So, you should counter with what it will take for Wayfair to seal the deal. Either they'll match and you'll be happy or they won't and you'll understand your market value to Wayfair per the hiring committee.
FWIW, my particular offer came in at max base for my band but middle of the road for equity. I was able to negotiate a doubling of my equity to end up at the top of my band. Since I'm bullish on the stock, that was a desired outcome and I stated as much during the negotiation. I also had another offer in hand, which helped as well.
The recruiter might be saying that so you complete the deal feeling like you got the most you could and that you will rate them positively later. They have no incentive to tell you that they lowballed you. To understand the range and whether you got a great deal, you have to do lots of research on paysa and Glassdoor to compare notes. You have to know what companies are paying on average for candidates like you and the job you applied for.
Second this. Also, levels.fyi for research.