27 Aug 2014

Client advice: Be realistic about salary

27 Aug 2014

Clients want to find and hire amazing candidates but they need to realize that talent of this caliber usually comes at a cost.

Let me caveat this by saying I fully realize that clients have budgets and must respect these numbers in order to run their companies successfully. However, they should also keep in mind and make an effort to match the “going” rate for particular levels of experience.

Example- if an advertising agency seeks  an Account Director but the budget is only 90k (purely hypothetical) they should be open to senior account supervisor candidates or quite junior ADs–  who can grow into an account director role and whose salaries are in line with the position to start. It is unrealistic to expect to attract a seasoned account director when this type of salary is being offered.

Clients who are offering a salary that is not in line with the level of experience they seek are going to have trouble finding that amazing candidate for the role because –

1) That awesome candidate is most likely not going to take a paycut for the role and frankly shouldn’t.

2) No matter how promising the role is, the qualified candidate will not consider it in most cases because the company cannot match or exceed current salary.

3) It often makes the company look bad when they appear to be lowballing great candidates (even if this isn’t the intention) Recruiters are very knowledgeable about salaries in their respective industries and companies should take their advice when it comes to establishing a range for a role and negotiating offers to candidates.

Obviously companies shouldn’t break the bank in order to make an offer but they should be realistic and fair when establishing salary ranges for particular roles.

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