Ask HN: Is patio11's salary negotiation guide relevant in today's market?

Post by Terretta » Thu, Oct 31, 2024, 12:20 PM UTC

ghshephard wrote: post #34

bkandel wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose this is true in some abstract sense, but not in companies of any reasonable size when it comes to hiring. There are lots of things that are firmly set company-wide, like the type of health plans offered and the company contribution, that are pretty much non-negotiable. Not knowing this makes you look naive or runs the risk of just confusing the hiring manager/HR.

A good example of non-negotiable, while traveling overseas, for one particular company, I was just randomly doing an expense report - and noticed there was a "medical" line-item in my expense report, that I figured I would use for cough-drops that I had purchased. Finance of course went ballistic, because the policy against expensing anything with that line item was absolutely forbidden (which begs the question as to…

Post by brtkdotse » Thu, Oct 31, 2024, 12:44 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #81

brtkdotse wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Negotiation start and stop with BATNA - Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement. The employers BATNA is they go to the pool of 35 other candidates. Yours is you go back to your job. If your job hunting first when your sick to death of your job, your BATNA isn’t very strong. If this is your only offer, your BATNA isn’t very strong. If you’re one paycheck away from being out of the street, your BATNA isn’t very strong…

This comment reads the same to me replacing “BATNA” with “alternative”.

Post by j0hnyl » Thu, Oct 31, 2024, 1:01 PM UTC

medvezhenok wrote: post #58

ryandrake wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But man, a lot of the people out there absolutely still do not grok negotiating. Unless you have some kind of very unique skill or you have other offers and the company really, really wants you, how exactly are you supposed to negotiate? Every comp negotiation I've ever had with a company has gone kind of like this: [Company]: Here's your offer for $X. [Me]: I'd like $Y. [Company]: Your offer is for $X. [Me]: Well,…

The magic incantation is competing offer . If they know you have alternatives, they are much more likely to negotiate. In fact the modern version of this guide is try to get several offers and negotiate them against each other (not you versus the company). Might be more difficult in the current market.

Post by sotix » Thu, Oct 31, 2024, 1:28 PM UTC

q7xvh97o2pDhNrh wrote: post #47

coreyp_1 wrote: post #23

The most important part of negotiation: Having an offer in the first place. Unfortunately, I and a dozen other software devs (all of whom I know personally, and all of whom are amazing) are not getting any interviews, much less offers. None of us have ever experienced a drought like this before, either. So... ??? Thankfully, we're all still currently employed.

Any thoughts on root cause from your perspective? I've been on the other side of the table recently, and I agree it feels like a buyer's market. But it still took a while to find good candidates, and a lot of candidates showed up to interviews weirdly unprepared on even the basics. If it's a drought for you, then I'd have to add: It seems like an especially weird drought, as well. Supply and demand seem to be doing o…

Post by em-bee » Thu, Oct 31, 2024, 1:48 PM UTC

neltnerb wrote: post #48

eastbound wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I hire you and fire you in two weeks if you’re not a senior React+Java dev? Because most candidates who say that, ask for the senior price, while not being trained in the tech we’re asking. There’s a lot of value in getting someone who has already done some React. Or some Typescript. Or some Java. There’s a triple-your-salary kind of value, and everyone asks for the tripled salary.

Senior people that need years of training in a specific tool are the exception that proves the rule. A ton of people basically know enough to do a new role with a few weeks or months of mentorship. Remember orgs are a pyramid, for every senior person there are many many people who aren't, or who have entirely support roles like answering phones. People underestimate how many mid-level skills are easily transferable.