Negotiating after a negotiation

Question

Last week I negotiated with a recruiter about a contract position salary, after I received the offer and the job duties were clear, I asked if there's any flexibility with the salary. The recruiter said there is no flexibility with the offer because he has already prepared a contract with the employer and they agreed on a particular rate that can no longer be changed (which is probably false). He also said that if I don't make a decision soon that will have to move on to other candidates ( and I was given a reasonable amount of time to decide).

I proceeded to say something along the lines that I am interviewing with other companies that are very interested, it is fine if you have to move on to other candidates, I understand that you must do this to keep your client happy, I just wanted to ask the right questions that may facilitate my decision.

He said something like "I understand, there is no flexibility there, when are your other interviews scheduled for?" ... "I will do anything to make my client (the employer) happy, so I will contact the employer, to answer some of your questions (not regarding salary) and get back to you."

Judging from the conversation, is there any potential to attempt to re-negotiate when the recruiter calls back with the answers? what would be a good way to do this?

The bottom line is, the offer given is decent, other interviews would probably yield offers that compete with this one, with less responsibilities, in the near future. However, it is not wise to turn down in offer without any other offers on the table. If I was given a tiny bump in the current offer rate, I would agree and can start asap. Note, that during the conversation, the recruiter also mentioned that the employer really liked me and thought I was good fit.

Answer 1

Judging from the conversation, is there any potential to attempt to re-negotiate when the recruiter calls back with the answers? what would be a good way to do this?

You can always re-negotiate.

The risk is that the recruiter will conclude that you are dragging out the negotiations past the point where it is worth his while, and turn to a different candidate.

Your best shot is probably to tell the recruiter "If I was given a tiny bump in the current offer rate, I would agree and can start asap." and see what happens.

Be ready to decide on the spot what you want to do if the recruiter says "no bump".

And be ready to stop stringing the recruiter along if he actually does get you a "tiny bump".

Answer 2

Recruiters have to think about their commission as well, though, some commission is better than none.

This normally means that even if their client can't budge, they can, to a limited extent.

If you make it clear to the recruiter that "given a tiny bump in the offer rate" you will accept the offer, it will be a good incentive for them to get that bump (you don't have to specify how small the bump need be, though being clear about figures may help them figure out if they can make the difference).

It will not hurt to mention you expect "offers that compete with this one, with way less responsibilities" to explain why you believe a higher rate is fair.