Recruiter got in the way...help!A recruiter called me last week; arranged an interview (then 2 more). The job was supposed to be contract-to-perm, but the company wanted me, so they decided to offer me a permanent position right away. The recruiter told me a couple of salary scenarios between the 2nd and 3rd interview without specifics on benefits (both contract and perm). Now, the employer really wants me and I'd like to take the job, but I countered and they won't budge. The recruiter clearly incorrectly set expectation (high for me low for the employer) and I feel stuck. I don't want to lose the opportunity, but the lower salary is just a bit too low. If the company would counter some where in between, we'd be set. How do I fix what the recruiter broke? HELP! Hopefully you are negotiating, or trying to, through the recruiter, not directly with the company. And it could be that the recruiter isn't the problem. Maybe he/she was relaying to you what the company originally indicated to them! Who knows? Companies sometimes will give a recruiter the full range of what the starting salary is according to their internal guidelines--without having any intention of paying it.... In any event, what the recruiter did or did not say shouldn't have an effect on the end result of this. It boils down to what you are willing to accept, and what the employer is willing to pay. If the two do not meet, they don't meet. You cannot force a company to pay you more than what they are willing, regardless of whatever mistake the recruiter may have made. If anything, the only thing that can be "fixed" is what you are willing to accept, and if you simply can't accept the offer, then simply decline it. The only other thing you can do is have a direct, heart-to-heart talk with the recruiter, and find out exactly what happened that your expectations and the employer's are so far off. If you really believe the recruiter misled you into wasting your time interviewing for this position, then you could always ask them to throw back some of their commission to the employer, to be put directly into your salary. This is done often in contract jobs, when the hourly rate the employee wants is more than the company will pay, the contract firm will take less percentage for themselves off the hourly rate and give the rest over to the employee to make up the difference. However, I am unsure if this can be done with a direct-hire position and what I assume is a flat fee to the recruiter. If the contract money is a lot better, even accounting for lack of benefits, perhaps you can ask for a 3-month contract period, after which--assuming you have proven yourself worth the extra money--the company would meet your requirement. Even at a higher hourly rate, it's usually cheaper for a firm to have you on as a contractor instead of direct. Maybe they would agree to some arrangement like that. Believe me, I understand where you're coming from but you are not holding the cards; the company is. My husband had to quit a contract job that was a contract-to-perm situation, and one for which we were actually in the process of relocating out of state, because the company's offer for direct hire came in at nearly $10k less than what the recruiter (and the department head of the company he was on site at) had initially told him would be the salary on conversion. Unfortunately, the HR dept, which held the purse strings, had never had any intention of paying that much--to anybody coming in as a direct hire, even after a glowing contract period. In this case it was NOT the recruiter's fault. Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I told the recruiter in no uncertain terms that I could not make a decision on base salary alone; I needed to consider the whole package. Somehow, he heard that as "yes, I will accept the lower salary." Then he proceeded to tell the company that I would accept the salary and, further, told them my current salary (like I said, first time working with a recruiter...I shouldn't have told him my current salary). When he called me with the terms of the benefits and the original salary, it was not as good of a package as I have now. I countered with more base salary to make up for the rest of the package. The recruiter was shocked and said I was switching numbers on him. I reminded him that I said that noone can evaluate a package based on salary alone. He's scrambling because the company wants me over the other candidates and if they don't get me, they won't use him to fill the position. The company is upset because he told them I would accept the lower salary. I don't think he's a bad guy, but I do think the recruiter incorrectly set expectation because the company and I felt it was such a good match and he thought it would be a slam dunk. We're not far off, but I do need them to come up just a little to offset the rest of the package. I am confident that if the recruiter wasn't involved, I could have done better myself... arrrggghhh. Thanks for your help! Yes, well, it does seem the recruiter got a "bit" overanxious!!!! They do that sometimes.... An unfortunate situation for both you and the company--and the recruiter as well! Well, I hope the recruiter has, as he should, fall all over himself apologizing to his client company, and has explained exactly what took place--you certainly do not want the company to think you are reneging on something you said. It doesn't make sense for you to switch jobs if the complete compensation package isn't more than what you're making now. Best of luck; let us know what happens!
You're in the fortunate position of being able to stay put in your present job, if necessary. Having read both of your messages, I don't think there's much you have to do at this point. Sounds like it's up to the recruiter to straighten this mess out - particularly in view of the fact that it's the recruiter who screwed it up. Unless the recruiter can come up with a better deal then you have now with your present employer, all other things being equal, it doesn't make much sense for you to agree to a job that will leave you worse off in terms of realistic salary expectations and fewer benefits. No one should take a job without know what's contained in the benefit package. There's really not much you can do to fix this without going around the recruiter, which really isn't the way this should be handled. I think you have to give the recruiter time to fix this mess. But remember that the salary offer isn't negotiable and it's possible that benefits are set by company policy - so there may not be much the recruiter can do at this point, either. Wait and see. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert | |
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