These days you can't afford to say "I've had three interviews with the same company, so it looks like I'm going to be working there soon." There are too many things that can and do happen to disrupt the hiring process. You can't stop your job search just because you're involved in one organization's hiring pipeline, no matter how far along in it you are.
You may have discussed compensation with your hiring manager. I hope you have! You should bring up the topic of salary by the second interview, at the latest. If someone doesn't ask you "What kind of salary are you looking for?" you can say "Are you the right person to talk about salary with? I'd hate to waste everyone's time if we're not in the same ballpark."
You may have talked about salary, but that doesn't mean the salary figure in your job offer will make you happy. Here are some of the excuses our job-hunting clients have heard for lowball salary offers:
"We absolutely know you're worth a lot more, but this is just where we need to bring you in." (This job-seeker had been earning $100K and told them he needed at least $95K to consider the job. The offer came in at $86,500 with no mitigating factors that would have justified a pay cut.)
"We all know you'll help our team tremendously, and as soon as we see the results we know you're capable of, we'll boost your salary." (Really -- everyone on your team is crazy about me? So crazy that you're only willing to hire me provisionally, and see what happens? Is that what you tell the plumber when s/he comes to fix your toilet, too?)
"There's a bonus program that will bump your compensation level quite a bit, but we haven't figured out the details yet." (Run away!)
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It's maddening to go through the whole hiring process and be hit with an unexciting salary offer, but the situation may be salvageable yet. By the time a manager makes you an offer, they're already invested in you. They can see you in the job. They're probably throwing your name around as though you already work there. They could certainly survive if you turned down the offer, but there's seldom another candidate waiting in the wings who's as good as you are. They'd feel the sting of your rejection, let's put it that way!
Here's how to handle a salary offer when you want the job, but you simply can't settle for the low number they've offered you.
BOSS: So anyway Amy, we're excited to get you on board.
AMY: Terrific! I'm excited too. Can you run down the specifics of the offer for me?
BOSS: Well, the job title is Online Strategy Manager. The job reports to me. The salary is not quite where I'd like it to be, but over time I'll have more flexibility.
AMY: (Oh geez - I've heard that before! I'm not going to jump in here and make it easier for him. I'll let him sit in the silence. La la la, still waiting --)
BOSS: It's seventy-nine thousand, four hundred dollars.
AMY: Thanks, Jim. How was that figure arrived at?
BOSS: It's in the low-middle of the range for the position. I got it from HR.
AMY: (I worked for a wuss one time and it was the worst job I ever had. I'm not working for a wuss again. If Jim can't get me the minimum number I require, this deal is over.) I'm curious, Jim - why the low-middle of the range? I've been in this field for seven years and am pretty happy with my accomplishments.
BOSS: Of course! It's just that we never start people above the midpoint.
AMY: I'm confused, Jim. We talked about salary a few weeks ago. I told you that I needed to earn eighty-five thousand dollars per year. We haven't talked about compensation since then, so I'm surprised to get an offer that's significantly below that figure. (In other words, Bromingo, you lied. Can I work for a guy who lies, even before I've started the job?)
BOSS: I know. I thought I could get you more than seventy-nine four, but I can't, not as a starting salary. Partly, it's because you're new to our industry.
AMY: Honestly Jim, we're talking about starting a business relationship that's going to be very significant for both of us. I wish you had shared that news with me earlier.
BOSS: So you can't accept the offer at seventy-nine, four?
AMY: I have a big concern about taking the job, Jim. It has to do with the salary offer, but only tangentially. Shall I share my concern with you?
BOSS: Please do. I'll see what I can do to overcome it.
AMY: Okay. Here's my thought process. You and I talked for several hours about the critical nature of this job to your team and your results in 2015. You interviewed several candidates. Some of them must have come from inside the industry, correct?
BOSS: Of course.
AMY: But you decided to hire me over those people. So how important is industry experience, really? You met people with industry experience and you didn't want to hire them, so how can 'lack of industry experience' possibly be a rationale for low-balling me?
We both know the scope of the job and the financial results I'd be responsible for if I join you. So I'm very concerned to take the job with you Jim, because you've got a big set of shoes to fill, and for some reason it seems that you weren't able to find anyone you felt one hundred percent certain of. You weren't able to find anybody you had full confidence in.
BOSS: I have full confidence in you, Amy!
AMY: Evidently not, Jim. The job offer is fifty-six hundred dollars below the number that you and I agreed was fair. On top of that, you're letting somebody in HR who doesn't know me and doesn't know the role tell you what you can pay your new hire. How could I take a job with you under those circumstances? Honestly Jim, if I join your team I'm going to be looking to you to shake certain things up on the management team, and you've told me you're game to do that. I'm going to shake some things up on my own, without your help! This is not an auspicious start to a campaign like that.
When I take a job, it has to be a job working with people who get me and value what I bring. I have to feel the same way about them. I'm not taking a job with such a weak mandate. If I'm not the right person for the job, find the person you'd be happy to pay eighty-five thousand dollars to and let me go find people who understand what I bring.
BOSS: Give me twenty-four hours.
AMY: I can't guarantee that, Jim. I'm not taking myself off the job market for any period of time. Look at the job offer you just extended, compared to our earlier conversations. Why would I wait around to see whether you're successful getting me the number I assumed I'd be getting to start with?
BOSS: You're right. That wasn't a reasonable request. I'll talk to Felix tonight, though.
AMY: Either way, it's nice to know you Jim, and I wish you all the best.
BOSS: Don't say that! Can I call you tonight if I make headway?
AMY: No, but you can send me an email message and I'll respond in the morning.
BOSS: Okay. Thanks, Amy.
AMY: Thanks, Jim.
