Offered position "X", yet I am qualified for position "X+1"

Question

I have recently spoken with a recruiter from a well-established accounting/consulting firm about exploring potential opportunities with that firm.

The conversation was standard - my background, future interest and existing opportunities. Additionally, admin questions about location and salary expectations. To the salary expectation question I provided a reasonable response - until I know the specifics of the job and the responsibilities/expectations I'm unable to provide a range.

There was no push from the recruiter on this response, however, the recruiter mentioned that the potential opportunity could be "X" (title) in business area "A" and roughly paying $YYYY. I did not comment on this statement, however, I did ask about the job tile hierarchy/org structure to better understand how this firm is organized (versus one I currently work for).

The recruiter quoted a title "X", which is the equivalent of my current title/role at my current employer, while I'm seeking the next step up with a title "X+1". The recruiter emailed the job description that has the title and the minimum experience requirements (minimum 3 years) vs title "X+1" (minimum 8 years). I exceed the 8 year requirement, yet was quoted for a title "X".

Question : While I have not pressured the recruiter about the title at this point (this was the first conversation), at what point should I make it crystal clear that I will not be entertaining an opportunity until the title and salary are to my expectations?

I risk not being presented in front of the hiring authorities or later at the offer letter stage. I'm hoping that during the interview process the hiring authorities will gauge my experience and make an appropriate offer.

Update: I followed-up with the recruiter to express my desire to be considered for the role (title wise) that is reflective of my experience, value I bring to the table and the next step I'm seeking. The recruiter indicated the there was currently no role for the title I was seeking, but that if I'm interested, I need to apply for the role that exists and that the team will evaluate the right title during the interview process. In the end, I decided to not apply for the role. I reviewed several (20 or so) LinkedIn profiles at the company to evaluate my experience for the role I am seeking and based on my assessment, I would be significantly underselling myself by applying for the role suggested by the recruiter.

Answer 1

at what point should I make it crystal clear that I will not be entertaining an opportunity until the title and salary are to my expectations?

Seems that the recruiter clearly mentioned that the possible opportunity would be for position X specifically. If you are interested in position X+1 you should not be pursuing something else.

Chances are that you are indeed a good candidate for X+1, but the company may not be currently searching for someone to fill that role but are in need of someone to cover role X.

In order to save your and their time, I suggest you should soon make clear your intentions for a X+1 role, and ask them if they are or will be willing to consider someone for that position (perhaps during your next talk, or a follow-up email). Otherwise, there is no point in continuing this process.

Edit: You sense that you could perform greatly on the next steps and be able to negotiate a better position, so then it could be worth the shot. However, I still suggest you try to probe or find out if they really are not looking to hire for X+1, so you know if this is a lost cause or if you can work this out somehow.

Answer 2

at what point should I make it crystal clear that I will not be entertaining an opportunity until the title and salary are to my expectations?

There are a few approaches here.

First, you just make this clear initially (or now). When you allow the recruiter to talk to you about a position X with salary Y and neither are appropriate to you, it basically conveys to that recruiter "still interested."

Something like:

• "Can you clarify whether the role I am applying for is X or X+1? Given my background/experience, I am interested in X+1 roles, does also have this role available?"

is something you really need to clarify. Otherwise, you're wasting their time.

The second option is going through the process hoping the company will be able to upgrade the position to X+1. If you want to keep going through this route, I would strongly recommend:

• Asking recruiter what positions they are hiring for
• Reviewing job postings at that company to verify they are hiring for the X+1 position
  • Sometimes, companies will have multiple jobs posted at once or have jobs that contain language about the actual title being based on experience, flexible, etc

Dukeling correctly points out too companies might have different interview processes for different roles, too, so with (2) you have a risk that you are locked into position X without re-interviewing.

Ultimately, given your wording in the question, I would recommend option (1) here. You seem less interested in the company and more concerned with the job/pay itself first. Which is natural. But you also sound like you will 100% turn down any offer for position X, so you might as well learn that initially and save everyone time.

Answer 3

You can either talk about the job title now or the job title later. Whether you talk about this now or later depends on how different the skills are between X and X+1 position too.

Personally, I interviewed for a role Z I knew I was a bit too senior for. I ended up showing and wowing the interviewers to where they want to offer me a job on the spot. I then negotiated hard for both a higher salary and a bump Z+1.