Amy Miller - Technical Recruiter, Microsoft

1. Take The Drama Out Of Salary
Negotiations:
The How-To for Recruiters
AMY MILLER
TECHNICAL RECRUITER, MICROSOFT
ABOUT.ME/ALARECRUITER

2. Assume Good Intent

3. Salary Negotiations
 The psychology of the salary
 How to work within your organization’s parameters and compete
 Setting the stage for positive negotiations
 Make the Hiring Manager and Candidate your ally in these
discussions
 Leveraging data for better decision making

4. What Does Salary Mean To You?

5. What’s the Problem?
 An adversarial mindset
 “Us against Them”
 Common HR / Recruiting myths
 Really, REALLY bad advice
Guess which one is the recruiter?

6. What does the internet say about
Salary Negotiations?

7. What do the “experts” say?
 “We know negotiating is tough and often unpleasant work. But it's also
necessary if you want to be paid fairly, get a raise or snag that promotion.”
 “There is one, and only one, time to discuss salary in any detail: when they
say they’re ready to make you an offer.”
 “It’s unfortunate that women can’t aggressively ask for what they want and
deserve without being perceived as a shrew or she-devil. Maybe someday.
Until then, it’s better to work around the double standard.”
 “According to a recent study in the Journal of Organizational Behavior,
failing to negotiate on an initial job offer could mean missing out on over
$600,000 in salary during a typical career.”

8. Expert Advice?
 If the company asks for a number on the application, leave it blank.
 When the company verbally asks how much you'll take, you say, "I'm much
more interested in doing [type of work] here at [name of company] than I
am in the size of the initial offer." [the author] says this will suffice about
40% of the time.
 If the company asks a second time, your answer is: "I will consider any
reasonable offer." This is a polite stalling tactic, and this will work another
30% of the time.
 About 30% of the time, you'll reach this final step. Again, your response is a
polite refusal to answer the question: "You're in a much better position to
know how much I'm worth to you than I am." This is your final answer, no
matter how many times the company tries to get you to go first.

10. Questions to ask yourself
 What is my range for this role/team/org? Where do I have flexibility?
 What does the labor market say about this?
 What’s in my favor? (strong salary, excellent employer brand, cool
mission)
 What are my landmines? (low compensation, unrealistic HM requests,
location)
 What is my “pitch”? – factor in pros, cons, leave room for candidate
wants/needs
 What is my personal discussion style?

11. Setting the stage with the candidate
 When is the right time to
talk money?
 Questions you can ask
 Why it matters
 Navigating pushback

12. When is the right time to talk $$?
 Early, often, and specifically
 We have a role / team in mind
 If the next conversation is with
the business

13. Frame the conversation
 “At some point, we are going to have to discuss money. I know many people
are not comfortable with that discussion, especially so early in the process.
Do you have any thoughts on it at this stage, or specific questions I can
answer for you?”
 “I will have more definitive numbers once we identify the role and team, but
would it be helpful to talk ballpark ranges?”
 “The most important thing is that we don’t get through an interview with a
lack of information, causing frustration and missed opportunities for both
you and the team. What do you think?”

14. The Results…

15. Results
 Two week period
 12 candidate screens
 66% of candidates provided valuable information
 Two candidates provided current & expected comp
 1/3 did not disclose, but the stage is set

16. Navigating Pushback
 Explain why you’re asking
 Empathize / understand
 Turn the conversation to the market -
what’s reasonable? How does this fit their
view?
 More than just base salary – other
compensation elements
 Decide if you CAN move forward, and
how
 Transparency with hiring managers

17. After you. No, after you!
 Does it REALLY matter who goes
first?
 Establish trust and credibility
 Be conservative, but HONEST
 Conversation starter
 Transparency at every point

18. Bringing It All Together

19. Partnering with your candidate
 Cover components of the offer, how does that compare to
existing comp and / or other offers?
 I can’t beat what I don’t know
 Weighing important factors – bonus, stock, relocation, sign on,
benefits – all must be taken into consideration
 Confidential conversations – be a trusted advisor
 Objective tools, salary insights

20. The Pre-Close
 “Has anything changed since we
last talked?”
 Revisit target comp discussion,
expected / conservative salary
ranges
 How is the candidate “showing
up” during the interview? Senior
level money demands senior level
interview – act accordingly

21. Negotiating with Hiring Managers
 Let the data speak for you
 Keep track of previous offers,
company norms
 If asking for exceptions, be
prepared to make your case
 Competitive offers, information
 What happens if we lose?

22. In Closing (see what I did there)
 Always assume good intent
 Transparency is key & sunlight is the best disinfectant
 Remember YOU are the expert – coach, educate, and influence
 Helpful links
 http://www.salary.com/ free & paid resources, hard to navigate
 www.glassdoor.com user generated content, YMMV re: validity of data
 www.payscale.com more intuitive, lots of questions, log in required
 www.bls.gov gov’t site, labor market statistics including career outlook
 Job Offer Evaluator – Fidelity plug in current / proposed comp, factors in relocation,
additional perks, etc.

23. Thank You!