Monday, June 18, 2012

Wrestling With Low Offers



Offers that come in under the salary expectations of a job seeker is a tough position for both the company and the applicant.  These situations are becoming more common within the insurance industry.  Margins are low.  Development positions are cropping up but companies have smaller budgets to build them from.  Now is an especially important for insurance professionals to understand how to navigate low offers in the right way.   

What Leads To A Low Offer?
1. Career transitions.  Companies cannot pay someone without relevant insurance experience the same as an accomplished professional with career experience.

2. Equity.  Companies have salary ceilings for every position.  Rarely do they want a new employee's salary to start out at the top.  There is no room to give raises and it jeopardizes internal equity with tenured employees.

How to Present A Low Offer
As the employer you set the table early and often with the applicant that its going to be tough for you to compete with their current salary.  You ask, "What other factors besides salary do you place value on?"  Then you use those items- PTO, Benefits, Retirement, Schedules and Expenses- as ways to put together a competitive package.

You also acknowledge the bonus opportunities.  You point out the way bonuses are factored (tenure, performance, position) and the earliest the new employee is eligible for one ("Our review period is only five months after your start date!").

You remind them of advancement opportunities.  Job seekers want to go where they are wanted.

How to Receive a Low Offer
As the job seeker you don't have to apologize for making more money than the offer.  What you should do is remind the employer of your flexibility and the non-monetary factors that impact your decision.

You decide early on what your bottom dollar is.  There is always a Want vs. Need battle.  Low offers don't stack up to the "want" but they might meet the "need".

Make your decision based on this simple question:  "What is more important to me- the perfect position or the perfect company?"  If its the first you'll decline a low offer because the perfect role pays exactly what you demand.  If its the latter you'll take the lower offer because progression is always possible with a perfect company. 


Mary Newgard, CPC, AU | Senior Search Consultant
Capstone Search Group

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