Negotiating salary when you're not precisely what they wanted

October 3, 2013 11:10 AM

A young person I know has applied outside their current employer for a Senior Program Officer position at a non-profit, advertised at a specific salary. The job would be a big step up for the applicant, both in responsibilities and (they hope) in compensation.

But in the second interview, an interviewer 'casually' mentioned that the position might be lowered to a Program Officer level, depending on the experience of the hire. The applicant can live with the lower title (the title/job would still be significantly higher than their current one) but wants to make sure the salary isn't drastically lowered as well.

Assuming an offer, how should they negotiate to prevent being low-balled on compensation because their experience is less than the employer had originally specified. Other factors: compensation aside, this would a great opportunity for them, and it would be their first attempt at negotiating a salary.

posted by mojohand to Work & Money (9 answers total)

You should know what you're worth. If they offer the money that you're worth, then you can clear your throat (or simply say, "that's less than I was expecting, is there any way of getting more?") and then see what happens.

If the young person in question applied for the job because he/she had the qualifications for it, such that other applicants were passed over based upon that skill set, why on EARTH would one suddenly downgrade his/her title and salary. THEY OFFERED THE POSITION!

I'm not so sure I'd want to work somewhere where I was pretty much told to my face, "Well, if you had more experience, we'd give you a better title and more money, but we're going to hire you because we can lowball you. Expect that no significant raises will ever be in the offing and that we'll always have some reason for denying you the better title and better money."

Seriously, that's what this is. A bid to get a qualified candidate, cheaper.

I've never seen anyone successfully, significantly increase his or her salary after being hired in at a lower title.

I'd simply say, "I possess the skills and experience to do the job at the senior level, and I believe that I deserve to be compensated at that level."

Don't just grab because you're desperate.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:17 AM on October 3, 2013 [6 favorites]

Your young person probably can't prevent a lowball offer. What they can do is decide how they'll react to it, and get comfortable with the idea of walking away if the pay isn't enough to keep them excited and make switching jobs worth it. Because any movement on the prospective employer's part is going to hinge on their belief that your acquaintance will actually walk away if the compensation is too low, and the organization will have to settle for its second (or worse) choice, or start the search all over again. I would not focus on memorizing some magical phrases to make things happen. Instead, I'd spend time thinking about my alternatives, weighing various possibilities. If your person goes in thinking that this job is their only hope, then they aren't likely to fare well.
posted by jon1270 at 11:31 AM on October 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

Does Young Person possess any skills/experience that exceed the Sr Program Officer requirements? If so, highlight them during the negotiation to offset the fact that s/he has fewer years of experience than specified.

It would be great if s/he could get a copy of the job spec for the Program Officer position to show how s/he would be overqualified for the lower level position.
posted by jshort at 11:43 AM on October 3, 2013

Is this a big non-profit? Small places might be less structured, but at big firms there is a clear criteria on job titles. What the person may have been saying is that your years of experience do not qualify you for the Senior title; however, they'd be willing to lower the title for candidate they like.

I always post the absolute highest title I can get approved because I want to hire the best, most experienced person. People will generally apply for a position a bit (or a lot above), but mid-career people don't often apply to lower level jobs unless they are desperate.

You may be unwilling to take the job and compensation at the lower title. They may be unable to offer you the senior title/compensation since, as you say, this is a big step for you and your years of relevant experience may not meet the senior criteria.
posted by 26.2 at 11:54 AM on October 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

wants to make sure the salary isn't drastically lowered as well

If the applicant is not going to get the title, they're not going to get the comp, so your applicant should figure out what the "junior" position makes and confirm they aren't getting lowballed for that.

Bringing YP on board as, say, an analyst instead of a senior analyst, at anything but analyst pay makes comp difficult across the board: they might then be paid than others with the same title; their own comp will be more expensive down the road as they get raises; and if the employer brings in a "real" senior analyst, that person has to be paid more than YP. (I have watched these machinations play out, although fortunately not with my own jobs.)

Getting the higher salary is a nice wish, but I think it's more likely that the employer will even lowball the offer on the junior package. Viewing an applicant as "underqualified" for a particular position is "sticky," even if the position is re-listed as a more junior position (and they may especially want a bargain if that really wasn't the position they were originally trying to fill). Also keep in mind that they might be best of the bunch of (unqualified) applicants for the senior position, but there may be more competition for the junior role, and the employer may be disinclined to haggle too much on comp if there's a broader field of applicants.

YP's greatest resources here are research into what the lower title should pay, and time. Make sure they don't accept too quickly.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 11:56 AM on October 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Negotiating salary when you're not precisely what they wanted

You negotiate salary based on the position and what you bring to it, not based on what doesn't line up. *Nobody* is precisely what they want - if they are hiring the young person in this scenario, then the young person is who they want to hire. Negotiate based on that, after determining the range for that title in your market, the amount you're aiming for, and the lowest number you'll accept.
posted by headnsouth at 12:05 PM on October 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

This doesn't sound like an opportunity at all.

You are doing this Young Person harm by not pointing out that they are potentially being set-up to get taken advantage, and that they should not get excited or upset, it's just business.

Non-profits are notorious for under-paying people, so that's Red Flag #1. But downgrading the title and compensation (because lowering the $$ is automatically what downgrading the title means) yet still intending for the applicant to do the same amount and quality of work?? That's not a flag, it's more of a Neon Sign that this is a shitty employer.

Use this opportunity to your Young Person how not to get taken advantage of in the workplace!

Let them go through the interview and offer process. If a reasonable counter offer for Young Person's services is not accepted by the potential employer, teach Young Person to politely decline without burning any bridges.

That's how you help this Young Person.

Look. If this organization is intending to pay fair wages, then all Young Person needs to negotiate successfully is a solid idea of the appropriate compensation in dollar$ and benefits for this position + the confidence to say "No Thank You," if reasonable money and benefits for the job are not offered. That's it.
posted by jbenben at 2:01 PM on October 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

Junior staff versus a senior staff is not the same thing. Junior/entry level staff need more supervision and are a drain on coworkers. I can hand off an assignment to someone senior and not see it until it's delivered. A junior person will need more guidance, time and mentoring.

I like developing talent and always have a few people on the team who are starting out. People did that for me (and still do when I try to grow into new skills). However, to pretend that someone with one year of experience is equivalent to someone with five or seven years of progressive responsibility is naive.

This young person doesn't meet the experience level specified. Compensation will be accordingly lower.
posted by 26.2 at 2:55 PM on October 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

To me, this sounds very straightforward. They were looking for a Senior PO @ a salary X and the person you know came in to interview. As a result of the interview, they evaluated that he's probably not Senior PO material but realized that he has potential and may be a good hire as a Junior PO (at the corresponding wage Y < X). At the same time, they realized that a junior candidate can probably perform most of the work they require, with some assistance, so there's some potential for a fit.

I've definitely observed times when my place of work was looking for a guy to do a task X (which wasn't enough for a full time job) + other useful contributions. Depending on the candidate's potential for the other useful contributions, the compensation would be drastically different; a junior candidate would be considered *only* because they would be a cheaper option. Since the young person's current title is much lower than PO, it's quite likely that this is what they're thinking. In that case, this isn't a case of trying to stiff someone because they're willing to accept less pay, but rather hiring a less able candidate because they're currently cheaper and have potential to grow.

Regardless however, this applicant should do his best to negotiate what he can by focusing on what he can contribute, what his market rate is, etc. BTW, when I say market rate, I mean market rate for the candidate and not the job description, which is something that's best demonstrated with other, better offers. Perhaps the young person has friends with similar skill-sets who can help him figure out what his market rate is.
posted by bsdfish at 3:40 AM on October 4, 2013