Salary Negotiation Gone WRONG

Before I continue it's worth noting that salary negotiations aren't bad, but they are often badly executed. 

True story shared with me last week:

Over the phone

Hiring Manager: What are your salary expectations?

Candidate: Around the £60,000 mark 

Hiring Manager: We're happy to move forward on that basis

Over email

Hiring Manager: We'd like to offer you the role. The salary is £52,000. 

Candidate: Thank you! I'd love to join the team. The salary is a little lower than I had in mind, is there room for negotiation?

4-day wait, call with no response, additional email follow-up

Hiring Manager: £52,000 is the most we would offer. Sorry this didn't work out. Thanks for your time and good luck with your job search.

There's a lot to unpack here, namely the mismanagement of salary discussions by the hiring manager:

✖ Agreed to a blind range without qualifying boundaries

✖ Wasn't honest about the salary cap

✖ Offered a position via email

✖ Did not provide a rationale behind the offer

✖ Presented offer as a single figure without outlining the total compensation package (pension, annual leave, additional benefits)

✖ Failed to revisit the salary discussion until the point of the offer

✖ Did not present the offer as the first and final leaving it open for negotiation

✖ Was dismissive (and unethical) in their closing response 

Yes, the candidate could have been more direct when giving their salary expectations, however, the major failure in this breakdown is on the company. 

(This candidate had a great experience up to offer point and, dependent on the full package they may have considered the initial offer, however, this experience has led them to move on).

Salary negotiations can be fiddly to navigate. Preparation, communication and ongoing transparency are key. 

𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲:

✅ Benchmark roles and have a clear salary band confirmed before going to market (use internal and external data)

✅ Be ready to explain the full compensation package 

✅ Ensure the right person is leading salary discussions - avoid putting hiring managers in uncomfortable positions if they aren't fully across the compensation strategy for the role

✅ Provide training to hiring managers on salary negotiation

✅ Have direct, open and flexible salary conversations with candidates

✅ Seek clarification if you're unsure, don't say yes and hope for the best

✅ Be prepared for negotiations if you haven't agreed upon a fixed figure

I work with companies to deliver a clear, open candidate experience from the first conversation. Whether it's guiding hiring managers or, taking on the role full cycle, together we minimise the chance of any surprises when it gets to offer.