Krista Whiting, CSAM’s Post

You know why you hesitate to tell a recruiter what you need for a salary? (And yes, even when the salary range is posted, people hesitate to give a firm number, even if it’s in that range.) Anxiety is telling you that if you give your number first, that they’ll lowball you. Your fear is saying “What if I COULD have gotten more? The internet tells me to negotiate!” The distress of missing out on money is why. Anxiety tells us what could go WRONG. What if by being honest with your recruiter/salary expectations, that negotiation was to go the other direction, and go RIGHT with MORE money? Or...not waste your time on a place that can't afford your expectations! Money IS time! For example, I spoke with a director yesterday who is interested in being submitted. I asked her salary requirement, and she said $100k. I said..."No, let's bump that up to 120k. 100k is not enough for your background." Several times a week, I coach people to ask for more. If they were never honest with me about what they needed, we never would have gone for that number. Does it happen ALL the time? No. Does it happen enough to have hope that it can? ABSOLUTELY. I cannot WAIT for the 'Era of Distrust' to end, on both sides of the recruiting equation. Let's be decent, honest, people helping people as best we can.

Just had a fantastic conversation with a new recruiting partner that I’ll be working with! The conversation was NOT about: 🤮 Business bragging and who does what 🤮 KPIs or that kind of measuring contest 🤮 And we CERTAINLY didn’t talk about “recruiting hacks” Instead, we spoke about normal human things, like how much it stinks to replace a fence, how his hospital is a close-knit community instead of a corporate monster, and how bonkers it is being a recruiter right now. I work better WITH people who are people with me, instead of executives trying to prove their worth all the time. We’re partners, not competitors. And those are the BEST people to work with. 😁 Authenticity wins, every time.