COMPARING PAY RATES

If you feel that the candidate’s pay expectations are too high, or they are out of range for what the opportunity offers, try drawing comparisons to their pay expectations. This will often times help put things in perspective for them and keep you from being the “bad guy” who just wants to pay them less.

COMPARE TO THEMSELVES

Compare the candidates pay expectations to their own pay rates from past positions. If your candidate is out of range and they are requesting a higher pay rate then they have in the past for similar roles, try comparing the roles. Comparing the two roles will help identify why the candidate is now requesting a higher rate as well as used the candidates own background to negotiate a lower pay rate.

COMPARE TO OTHERS

The second way compare pay rates is by comparing your candidate’s requested pay rate to the pay rates of other candidates being considered for the same role. If your candidate is out of range for the role, a good tactic can be to inform your candidate that other candidates being considered for the same role are requesting less. Explain to your candidate that there are other candidates in consideration for the same role, with similar skill sets, who are requesting a lower pay rate and that your candidate could be passed over for the opportunity because the client has similar, less expensive options.

With the candidate knowing that they could potentially be passed over due to asking for more money than others, it gives them the option to lower their pay rate to stay competitive.

COMPARE TO THE MARKET

The third way to compare a candidate’s pay rate is by comparing it to market rate. In other words, you are explaining to the candidate, that for roles similar to the opportunity at hand, you typically see pay rates range between X and Y. This is a similar tactic to comparing the candidate’s rate to other candidates in that it sets the tone that if they want to stay competitive, they need to lower their rate.

COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES

It is not uncommon for career contractors to have a preferred pay range, requesting higher rates for some roles and lower rates for others. If you ask a candidate if they can lower their rate for an opportunity and they tell you that’s what they were paid in the past at XYZ company, make sure that the two roles are similar. When doing this, you need to determine if there are any differences to the past role that would justify the higher rate. Maybe the past role was a lead role, and this opportunity is not or maybe the past role did not offer benefits, and this opportunity does. Whatever the differences, if there are any, make sure that the candidate recognizes them and then explain how those differences affect pay rates.