When a Candidate Turns Down Your Salary Offer

After much screening, interviewing and assessing, you’ve finally found the right candidate for the job. The trouble is they just turned down your salary offer and countered with a higher one. Whether you counter back, or consider your second choice candidate is up to you. But before you make a move, consider the following:

Define your boundaries.

How high are you willing to go for a candidate? As one of the leading staffing services firms in Houston, TX, Murray Resources can tell you that you must know your boundaries before you even start negotiating. Think about the maximum compensation you can offer and then if a candidate demands more, it’s time to walk away. If, however, their demands are higher than your initial offer but still well within your boundaries, then countering back certainly makes sense.

Get creative with your offer.

If you simply cannot offer more money, but still want a particular candidate, then get creative with your offer. Add extra vacation days, more generous health insurance, or extra perks, like the ability to telecommute. Those benefits may be more attractive to a certain candidate than a higher salary.

Clarify the advantages of your offer.

Make sure the candidate knows about and fully understands all the perks of working at your organization. For instance, if your company offers regular salary raises every year, communicate that. You want to ensure the candidate recognizes the big picture benefits of working at your firm, not just the details of the immediate offer.

Convey the value of a job offer beyond compensation.

Top caliber candidates want jobs that are challenging and rewarding. So make sure you convey what you’re truly offering to a candidate in terms of their ability to learn on the job, grow professionally and advance their career.

Be prepared to walk away.

Unfortunately, there are times when negotiations are stalled and neither party can make headway. If that’s the case, then it may be time to walk away and contact your second choice candidate. Hiring is always a risk and the last thing you want is to bring someone who’s a bad fit on board at a salary you can’t really afford. So it’s better to walk away and explore other options at this point.

Do you need more help hiring top pick candidates for your Houston company? Call Murray Resources. As one of the leading staffing services firms in Houston, TX, we can assist you with the entire search process – from sourcing and screening to hiring and retaining top talent. Contact us today to get started.