How much is too much to ask for in a job offer

I hate to break it to you, especially on a Monday morning, but money does not grow on trees, nor does it rain from the heavens when an employer is preparing an offer for you as a prospective employee.  A common misconception is that companies are just rolling in piles of cash that they are not using for anything else, and naturally they should be able to dip into that reserve and go above the range they were anticipating to fill a role.

The bottom line is that companies go into a search for a new employee with either a very specific range they are looking to pay, or at least a pretty solid idea of the top end of that range.  I have been recruiting for over twelve years now and have never had a client say to me, "Just find me the right employee, and we'll pay whatever it takes.  The sky is the limit!"

While I realize money is not always the main motivator for a job search, for the purposes of this topic let's assume that money matters.  With that in mind I typically have two questions that I ask of candidates when considering an offer.  Or more importantly when they are in negotiations and looking for that right number that makes them feel like they received something competitive, but didn't ask for so much that it turned off the employer.

The first question is fairly objective - What does the market pay for a like position in a like company?  There are many ways to figure this out, including working with a third party search firm to see what they are experiencing at any given moment with similar projects.  If I am working on a position that typically pays $55-65,000 and a candidate tells me they want to make $80,000, I am quick to tell them that is unlikely based upon what I'm seeing.  So if you are interviewing for a position where you thought that was the range from the first conversation, but somewhere in the back of your mind you were hoping to blow the high end out of the water, think again.

You would be surprised how many times this happens.  I see it all the time, and I've heard stories from clients with similar outcomes.  Do not even enter into an interview process if you are only looking to comparison shop and accept if you get a 50% raise.  It will burn bridges, and it is too small of a world to consider that.  If you really want that kind of money in a job offer, say it up front.  I guarantee it will limit your options and could even possibly prevent you from entering into a conversation that would have otherwise been a perfect job move.  But at least you'll be honest with all parties involved.

The second question is a little more subjective, but possibly even more important - What are you willing to accept if you do get an offer?  I have had candidates recently tell me that they don't want money to eliminate them from consideration.  Yet they have a salary expectation that is unrealistic when compared to the employer's expectations.  They get to the end of an interview process, get asked the question "What will it take to get you to say yes to an offer?", and then quote a number that is high.  As if this is the same negotiation process that one experiences at the used car lot.  I go high, they go low, we meet in the middle, and everyone is happy.

Instead what usually happens is the employer says no, or at the very least seriously re-considers if you are the right candidate.  Now you've created an awkward situation where they wonder if you do say yes if you are really committed to the long term.

My best advice for both employers and candidates is to seek the enthusiastic yes.  Now companies are clearly going to try and do that within the pre-ordained salary range, but candidates need to play by the same rules.  If you are a candidate who receives an offer in the top end of a range, or even slightly north of what that number was supposed to be, that should always get that enthusiastic yes to an offer.  With the two questions I outlined above as your guiding light.

Have you ever asked for too much in an offer and had it backfire?  Or is asking for more simply expected any more and what you should do in offer stage?