
Here is a conversation I had once.
“Hey you are perfect for job X. The range for this is y-z.”
“No thank you, I am making more than that now.” I replied.
“Ok thanks.”
Time passes.
“Hey we spoke to the client and what is the lowest range you would work for?”
I replied “I am not interested in the client or your company and if my time isn’t valued then I don’t want to work for them.”
They replied “We went to bat for you to get a higher salary.”
I replied “I don’t work with companies that low ball people.”
If you reach out to me and your negotiation is to tell me that you offer a price that I haven’t worked at for 5 years, that isn’t going to work for me. I don’t become less valuable with time.
Companies that look for the cheapest person are the most expensive and wasteful hire.