If you have recruiters tell you that you are asking for too little money, you need to read this article.
That is the the problem that I have had in my career. No this is not a humble brag. I have had recruiters say that my skill set should be higher paid that what I was asking from them.
Why would I share this personal detail with you? So that you don’t make the mistake that I have made.
Its is great if you realize that you don’t know everything, and if you admit when you don’t know something. That is very noble and transparent to do. However the cost of this is that we can often downplay our own worth to ourselves and others, and that doesn’t help anyone.
Let me give you me as an example. The first time I had someone tell me that I was too low in my salary ask was when I interviewed for my second professional job and my first one was in the 30’s. This was a long time ago. He said that my salary would jump to $50k if that was ok. I said yes that is acceptable. The next time was when I went to other jobs and they said that because of my expanded skill set, I needed to charge more. So I researched what the market rate was, and considered my skills and then asked for that range. Almost always salary was never a reason that I didn’t get the job. Recruiters would tell me that they found someone more experienced or something like that. Great.
Continually in my career I have gotten feedback from recruiters saying that they have a range and I put myself in the middle of that range. In New York the law says companies need to provide a range for jobs in NY. I ask for that range and say that I am somewhere inside it. If recruiters don’t have a range, then I tell them a range of what I have been getting from recruiters. I say that recruiters are contacting me for jobs in the x-y range.
Then recruiters will usually say something like I want to offer you more to make you happy and not look at moving. Great I think, but that doesn’t motivate me. I tell them directly that money doesn’t motivate me. I need money to pay my rent/bills but more money doesn’t inspire me to do more. I do IT because I love it, and I am internally motivated.
This is really frustrating to some recruiters. I have had recruiters say that we will pay you x per day which is far greater than I am asking per hour. It would be stupid to refuse them right? I have. Why? I don’t think I would enjoy the job and if I don’t feel that I can contribute and learn, then it isn’t a win/win.
Is it clear what you need to do? If not, then inMessage me and I will clarify any questions you may have. With this strategy I have slowly gone upwards in salary and responsibility. The other part of this is that I actually have the skills to do more complex work, and I demonstrate that in my jobs. If you want to grow your career, grow your skill set and the money will follow.