3 things your recruiter needs to know to get you the best offer
The benefit of using a recruiter is that we get to do the negotiating for you and eliminate any back and forth when it comes to a company making an offer. For us to get you an offer you’re ready to accept, we need these 3 things first:
#1 Salary Transparency
First and foremost, we understand how uncomfortable it can be to openly discuss your compensation with other parties. However, we’re on your team during the negotiation process- so, the more we know, the better we can support you! Being open with what your currently making helps us to make sure we’re getting you fairly and competitively compensated when switching positions.
Salary transparency also allows us to let you know if you’re currently below, at, or above the average compensation for your background and level of experience. This is a great way for us to educate you on where your salary compares to people with similar experience. If you’re being underpaid, we want to be sure you’re getting an offer that’s fair to MSLs with similar experience. If you’re making more than MSLs with the same level of experience, we don’t want to waste your time interviewing, if financially the position we’re working on won’t make sense for you.
Being open with us on what you’re currently making is the first step in making sure we’re getting you the best possible offer.
#2 Your Compensation Expectations
We know that money isn’t everything, but it is something. We want to make sure you’re excited about every aspect of a job, including the compensation. When it comes to money, if you have an anticipated dollar amount in mind, let us know so we can openly discuss that. When it comes to expectations, it’s helpful to have a “good, better, best” scenario for us to help know what’s acceptable for you.
Good: This offer is your absolute bottom dollar, but still an acceptable offer for you
Better: An offer you’re excited about, and it a bit above what your bottom dollar would be
Best: This offer blows you away – it’s everything you’d ask for and more
Having these numbers together allows us to let the company know what kind of offer you’d be over the moon about and allows the recruiter to know what would and wouldn’t be an acceptable offer when it comes to negotiating.
#3 What You’re Leaving Behind
When it comes to negotiations, it’s not just about base salary. Your recruiter needs to know every aspect of what you’d be leaving behind and what you’d be looking for in an offer.
This could include:
- Bonus percentage, and when it pays out
- Equity, or other things you’d be leaving behind (stock options, RSUs, other LTIs, etc.)
- Car vs car allowance
- Health benefits
- Time off
- Title
- Etc.
Everyone’s priorities are different when thinking about taking a new job, and these are things that many don’t think about until the last minute. Be sure that you already have an idea of what all you’d be looking to negotiate so we can mention those things early in the process.
Recruiters are here to make your life easier, and to make the process of interviewing and getting an offer as seamless as possible. At PharmaFinders, we do our best to eliminate as much negotiating for you as possible. Keeping these 3 tips in mind will help us get you the best offer possible! If there are other things that would be beneficial for us to know when it comes to negotiating for you, let us know in the comments.