#SalaryScreen #JobOffer #HRtactic
Have you recently encountered a situation where you received a “salary screen” instead of a formal job offer? This new approach by some HR departments may leave you wondering about the proper response. Let’s delve into this topic and explore the best strategies to navigate through a salary negotiation that begins with a “salary screen.”
**What is a “Salary Screen” and Is It Common?**
A “salary screen” is when HR provides you with an expected pay rate before extending a formal job offer. While this approach may seem unorthodox, some companies use it as a way to gauge your interest and weed out candidates who may not be satisfied with the proposed salary.
### Pros and Cons of a “Salary Screen”
**Pros:**
– Gives candidates a chance to assess if the pay aligns with their expectations early on
– Allows companies to filter out candidates who may have unreasonable salary expectations
**Cons:**
– Can put pressure on candidates to accept a specific rate without knowing the full details of the job
– May limit negotiation opportunities down the line
**Best Responses to a “Salary Screen”**
1. **Ask for More Information:** If you receive a “salary screen” email, it’s essential to request additional details about the job offer, including benefits, time off, and any other pertinent information. This will help you make an informed decision before committing to a salary.
2. **Express Your Interest:** If the proposed pay rate meets your expectations, it’s okay to express your interest in moving forward with the process. However, make sure to clarify that the final terms of the offer, including benefits and other financials, will play a crucial role in your decision.
3. **Negotiate, if Necessary:** If the expected pay rate falls below your expectations, don’t be afraid to negotiate. Politely express your concerns and try to open up a dialogue with HR about finding a middle ground that works for both parties.
4. **Consider Your Options:** In some cases, it may be in your best interest to walk away from a job opportunity if the proposed salary doesn’t align with your expectations. Remember, it’s essential to value your skills and experience appropriately.
### Conclusion
In conclusion, while receiving a “salary screen” instead of a job offer may feel like a new tactic, it’s essential to approach it with a clear strategy. By asking for more information, expressing your interest, negotiating if necessary, and considering your options, you can navigate through this process effectively. Remember, you have the power to advocate for yourself and ensure that any job offer aligns with your expectations and values.
“My expected salary is a million dollars per hour, and I’ll retire after my first week.
Now, have you got any more ridiculous questions, or are you going to tell me your expected salary range so I can consider whether I want to go any further?”
It sounds to me as though the email is an attempt to see if the salarly/rate is in the ballpark before they trouble themselves putting together the “real” offer. You’re not agreeing to take the job if you say “yes”. Personally I would say yes – to keep my options open – if I thought the salary was in my range and wait to see the details. You can always decline the “real” offer.
And in spite of what the email says, everything is negotiable.
Depending on where you live (or want to live) you might not have any options.
80% of Florida’s medical facilities are owned by 1 company. You’re basically going to take what they offer or leave the state in Florida. And because they’ve got beaches and college grad kids that want to live near them they can get away with it.
OTOH if you’re in a state with more competition and good unions then tell them what you want and walk if you don’t get it.
Honestly, that’s a good thing. Why bother going through more if what they want to pay is not in line with what you’re looking for.
Seems like all of that bullshit could be avoided if they would just disclose the salary when advertising. Would save everybody time.
This is a giant red flag. It means they are trying to hire the cheapest employees possible.
seems fine, I mean if its an amount you are happy with you say yes I would like to proceed with next steps if not you say no this rate is not acceptable to me.
it would only be annoying if say, the original listing said salary is 90-110k and then in this text they sent they were like well we’d really only offer YOU 70k so reply if you’d take it. That would be shady but still, you can just say no I won’t accept 70k an move along with your job hunt.
“The final pay rate is not negotiable”.
haha. Thats a good one.
I had a recruiter do something similar.
Kept pushing me to tell him if a salary was acceptable without me knowing any deep details about the job, the workload, benefits, expected hours etc.
I told him it sounded probably ok depending on the details of the job and he ghosted me.
This is hilarious. You used to be able to look at a job posting and see salary ranges before you even applied, but the corpo meta changed to hide this and rely on people being desperate enough to take whatever lowball was offered at the end. Now they’re realizing how much time and money they’re wasting going through interviews only to have people reject their offers, they’re putting it back up front.
Is this a union represented position? If that’s the case, then things truly will be set in stone for salary and benefits.
> Given how effective it was in me, it could become common because it seems to give them stronger negotiating power.
You gave them stronger negotiating power by submitting to it. You had no idea at the time if was going to be worth the amount of work you would have to do.
That would be like you stating an amount you want from an employer and refusing to give your resume until they accepted your salary screen.
Your option #2 is the best in my opinion. A salary number isn’t really helpful if it is absent benefits. PTO, Health insurance, bonus structure make a huge impact on whether a salary is reasonable to the applicant because it contextualizes a lot about the job.
At best this is a check for them to say, “Does it make sense to continue?” but at worse they could be sending these offers to multiple people and fishing for the lowest priced candidate. It does not make sense to me to agree to a pay rate without the full picture, and this feels like a way that they can say, “Well we told you it was X, so even though the benefits are shit you already ‘agreed'”
Benefits and time off are usually the non-negotiable parts, not the fucking salary.Â
Mention you’d have to consult your lawyer after all benefits and requirements are taken into account. Also request a employee handbook for your lawyer’s review. (You don’t actually have to have them review it)
This sounds like a great way to waste the time of everyone involved honestly. Personally, benefits and other variables that go along with salary are part of a total compensation package for a job and I know it would be impossible for me to really compare roles without all the information. And it does seem like a way to get the cheapest employee, which is a gross tactic.
The thing is, any answer other than “Yes, this is acceptable” is going to get you rejected / ghosted.
I definitely think everyone should definitely try to negotiate for themselves at every chance, but an org that wants to send you this aggressive of a response this early on is just trying to find the lowest bidder, basically.
Ordinarily I’d offer up a detailed way to try and suss this out, but this is one of those times where I think keeping it at face value makes the most sense.
If their initial screen doesn’t meet your needs, then you should say so.
If it could, or might, you say yes and *then* you worry about negotiating during the interview stage, presumably during the final stage / after the offer.
An acceptable salary is also contingent on other benefits of the job so you can’t decide if the salary is acceptable unless you know the other benefits, a lower rate of pay may be worth it with good insurance and time off while a high salary may not be worth it if you get no or garbage insurance. While the second option can still be avoided before the job offer, the reason they want to lock you in to the salary is because the benefits probably don’t even out to make it worth it and then they can say “you agreed to this salary already, it is non negotiable” after you find out about garbage benefits. Removes bargaining power of “hmmm these benefits aren’t great I require a higher salary to compensate.”
If the rate was reasonable with an average level of benefits, I’d probably reply “Yes, assuming the benefits are reasonable.” If they try to be pushy later ala “You said this was enough money!” I’d remind them that it wasn’t a job offer.
Waste their time.
Every pay rate is negotiable. I have never seen an organization where HR can unilaterally make a decision this impactful. I would have strong-armed them and told them you would be unable to commit to any one detail of compensation without considering the offer package as a whole, but I’m aware that I’m in a position where I can be choosy about employment and not everyone else can do that. If you’re happy with that good rate then I’m happy for you.
Option 2 all the way. What sneaky way to disarm a potential hire. >:(
Sounds like a good cop vs bad cop combined with the lowest bidder strategy.
They’ll ask all their candidates the same question and try to squeeze their desired candidate to the lowest bid possible while still recruiting them.
They’re going to offer you your asking salary if it’s lower than their budget. They’re going to offer you their budget if your asking salary is higher. There’s no winning move.
I’d just toss them a figure, and try to negotiate afterwards anyway. Letting a job bully you from the literal start is just asking for trouble.Â
I like this. The first question I ask when contacted about a job is salary.
Just say yes and wait to see what the full offer entails. Keep looking at other jobs in the meantime. You can ghost them later if (most likely) they’re full of shit. Places will stop doing this when potential employees keep backing out at the end. They need to learn a lesson.
Not really that new. While the way they did it was pretty dickish this is a good way to ensure that neither party’s time is wasted. Generally you want to do it with a phone call. I’ve done it when I’ve hired people.
Sounds a bit shady. Everything is negotiable. I’d ignore that bit,
I’d respond: “I need $X/yr with (some criteria), but ultimately it depends on the contents of the offer”.
Make sure what you say is a good rate.
When they come back with an offer, if it’s not what you want, decline it, and make a counteroffer. See? No negotiation. 🙂
If the salary amount is within reason, given position, market and experience, what’s wrong with a simple “Yes, this portion of the compensation package merits us moving forward.”
If it gets to the stages of an actual offer, there’s nothing stopping one from negotiating based on the the other items that make up the total compensation package, ie. 401k match, PTO, Holiday schedule, etc.
If they kick about it, the simple response is “My earlier response was based on only partial information. Now that the entirety of the compensation package has been provided, I want to discuss X…Y…Z.”
For example, they only want to pick up 50% of medical benefits cost? Ask for more money because their cheap ass is under market by 25%. They only want to offer one week PTO annually? That’s a 5% salary increase because they’re under market by a week.
Then you can negotiate until someone shits or gets off the pot. As always, don’t be afraid to push, don’t be afraid to walk. Either they’ll work with you, or go look for another one to be their sucker.
If the base rate is a match with what you want then say yes.
This is a strictly preliminary expression that, assuming all other elements of the position are acceptable (hours of service, benefits, vacation time, holidays, work environment , tools provided, vehicle, etc) you’re interested.
Once you have the full and complete offer is when you make a final decision. This ain’t that..
Now… Corporations are Turdwookies and they may try the “BuT yOu SAID..” bullshit, but again this is only a PRELIMINARY expression of interest at that rate IF everything else is also satisfactory. With that in mind I’d suspect they’re trying to finagle you into accepting a lesser perquisites package by implying you into the Sunk Cost Fallacy.
That doesn’t matter. If the cash rate is good but the benefits or vacation time etc. suck ass, that’s a perfectly valid reason say “No” or “With these suck ass benefits y’all need to jump up on the cash rate if you want me.”
No matter how hard they try to shift this dynamic, it is ALWAYS a negotiation and we (if we’re smart) are always interviewing them at least as much as they’re interviewing us.
Final pay-rate is always negotiable, the negotiation begins when you reject it.