Negotiating a Candidate’s Salary: Common Blunders to Avoid

When hiring a candidate, talking about their salary is inevitable. More often than not, they will attempt to negotiate on how much the company has to pay them. With increasing work demands and a shortage of talents in the information technology industry, it can be challenging to settle on a middle ground.

During the negotiation of a candidate’s salary, many employers get so overwhelmed with the pressure that they give full control to the potential employees. As a result, the company may end up paying more than what it can afford. With this, here are some blunders that novice recruiters often make but more seasoned IT staffing agencies have learned to avoid:

Blunder #1: Failing to Publish a Salary Range

Publishing a salary range may not be appropriate for all positions, but many professionals appreciate knowing how much they could potentially make. It can draw candidates in and filter out those who demand higher compensation than your company can afford to give. As a result, both recruiters and candidates can save a lot of precious time and effort.

The main drawback of publishing a salary range is that many unqualified candidates may apply because they’re attracted to the compensation. However, professional IT staffing agencies will be quick to filter them out if they don’t have the right education, skills, experience, and attitudes.

Blunder #2: Not Knowing State Laws

Asking candidates about their salary history is an excellent way to set a negotiation point. Employers can offer more competitive rates to draw potential employees in without offering an unreasonably large amount. However, it’s best to brush up on state laws before doing so. 

In some states like California, it’s illegal to inquire about candidates’ past or current compensation. Recruiters can navigate around this by instead asking how much they expect to make and ensure that their expectations are reasonable.

Blunder #3: Offering Highly Unequal Compensation

It’s always best to offer all candidates a salary that is not too outlandish compared to their peers’ compensation. Many employers place regulations that forbid employees from discussing how much they make, but the reality is that those rules are nearly impossible to enforce. People will talk, and seeing huge discrepancies will quickly become demotivating for many IT professionals. It’s best to stay within a certain range for the same roles.

Blunder #4: Skimping Out on the Right Candidate 

As much as companies want to save money, pinching pennies can put them at risk of losing out on highly qualified candidates who make for an excellent fit for the team. Skilled IT professionals are difficult to encounter nowadays, and paying a little more for their work is a price worth paying if they’re capable of transforming your organization.

Invest in IT Staffing Services for Your Company

The increasing demands of IT jobs and a shortage of professionals often put pressure on employers when negotiating candidates’ salaries. However, by knowing these common blunders, your company can avoid losing thousands of dollars in profit each year by paying too much for low-quality employees. By learning to avoid these mistakes, you can better build an expert IT team for your organization!

Working with experts can help you find the right candidates for your organization. If you’re looking for professional IT staffing agencies in the US, Technical Paradigm has you covered. Let our IT staffing solutions help your company find the right candidates that can transform along with you. Grow your team with us—contact us today!

Your Success is Our Success

Building a company primed for growth means staffing it with skilled and reliable team members. Time is crucial in the highly competitive IT talent market, which is why it’s a good idea to leave the task of searching, testing, vetting, and interviewing candidates to us. In doing so, you’ll get to focus on what genuinely matters—running your business to the best of your ability.
Partner with Us