How do I resolve interviewing where companies offer 10% less than I ask? [closed]

Question

I'm actively searching for a job right now and passed a decent amount of interviews. I ask average salary in the market and have several offers. The selection is not so big, but I revealed a rule: companies offer 10% less than I asked. For example, if I ask companyA for salary x per year, they offer about 0.9x per year. Then companyB is asked for salary 1.1x per year and they offer x per year. Ok, now I know how to be offered x.

But the question is: is that a game? What is the purpose of this game? How to handle this? That is a bit offensive.

P.S.: This happens in Europe and never happened in my homeland.

Updated: The deviation is not always 10%, it might be 6% or 8%. The difference seems not significant for a company.

Answer 1

You seem to lack a little something when it comes to salary negotiations.

Some thing to keep in mind:

1. How much they can pay

The average developer salary in southern Ontario is, I'm told $75K. I can tell you right now that no one outside of Toronto (and a few special cases) is going to pay that much. The most you can hope to make outside of Toronto (for a non-senior) is maybe $60K - $65K as an intermediate dev with solid experience (5+ years).

In other words, if I live in Niagara and ask for $75K I would probably get exactly nowhere, as few employers in that area have that kind of budget.

Furthermore, even if "a lot" of Toronto companies offer $75K, not all of them do. Some will not value your skills as highly, while others will simply not have the budget.

2. Negotiations

The other biggie to keep in mind is that companies are like customers at an auction:

They want the best talent for the least money.

Many articles on the topic say that in a negotiation the first person to name their salary range loses. I agree with this assessment, but with the addendum that unless you're an experienced professional with a valuable skill set (for that company) your negotiation leverage is limited.

As an intermediate dev I still try to retain some control by not revealing how much I make, but rather what I want to make. This is how a typical conversation with a recruiter of HR rep will go:

HR: In order for the process to move forward, we'd like to ask you a few more questions. How much do you currently make?
Me: Well, I don't feel comfortable revealing that information to you at this time, however I can tell you that I'm interested in making between $x and y$ (where x is what I want to make, and y is x + $5000)
HR: Oh? I can guarantee you that whatever you tell me remains strictly confidential, and I'm afraid it's information I require for us to go forward.
Me: My salary makes sense for my current position, responsibilities, and situation. In order to make the jump to your organization - something which interests me greatly - I feel that compensation within the range of $x - $y would be appropriate. If you disagree then I am sorry that we will have to part ways. If you however have a counter offer I am willing to hear you out.

If you tell them "I want $X" then they will immediately quote you a lower value because it's within their interest to do so.

Play your cards closer to your chest, and keep your interest in mind. If a company simply cannot give you what you ask they may be able to supplement the amount with a signing bonus, or by offering more vacation days, or other perks. You have to inquire and negotiate.

Answer 2

If you see a pattern or trend, then factor it into your negotiations.

If everyone is offering 10% less than what you ask for, ask for 10% more initially.

There's many reasons why they might be doing it, and in fact your estimation of the normal amount might be wildly inaccurate both in terms of the locality and in terms of the companies. You can analyse these factors forever and get a different answer each time.

It's a negotiation, you aim high and give yourself enough margin to negotiate with. There is no point in aiming low unless you're desperate.