I looked up the salary on the web...

Hi Danny,

I found the answer to "What does the position pay?" but what about after a candidate that has been through the interview process. He and I have spoken about compensation a few times (of course, he said $$ is not the motivator). He then decides to look on the internet and give me the average $$ for the "title" of the position. Example - he said - I just looked on salary.com and it says the median for this position is ........ thanks!

Danny's response:

You need to get used to this mantra: The difference between online salary surveys and the salaries companies pay is same as difference between Blogs and Journalism.

Within a few moments, I can set up a blog, and I am a blogger equal to all other bloggers. If I decide to start a rumor or want to air an opinion that is wholly based on fantasy or supposition I am free to do so. There are no standards, no checks and balances, no "proofreaders". Journalists must have multiple sources and credible evidence. Their editors will ask for every fact to be verifiable. If it's in the newspaper it's probably true. If it's in a blog, it's guesswork.

Online salary surveys are also "averages." Your company is a specific opportunity with a specific wage structure at a specific point in time. If the company called me and told me they saw a survey that said they should pay you 10K less than they had planned to because it was the "average", I would tell them the same thing I am going to tell you...that survey is irrelevant!

Long before this rant, we should have started to drill down and narrow the conversation about money as the interview process goes along. Obviously, at the end of the interview you ask if money was discussed and the nature of that discussion. The underlying "Unifying Principle"...(see our rookie tracks) is that you manage expectations by closing candidates low and companies high. You need to test for flexibility. What if they can only match your salary? How much of an increase is necessary if the opportunity will make you happier? If they can only match your salary do you want me to pull you out of process? These are the "test" questions that will give us a sense of how much room we have to work with. Take that room, add 10-15%, and tell the company that number is required. This will in time create a Win-Win scenario.

I know this works. I saw an article about it on a blog...