One of the most salient features of our Tech Hiring culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted.
Yes! It helps so much to figure out your boundaries and decision tree before you are talking with someone in a stressful situation.
Another one that can help is to make it your policy to never make life-changing decisions without first sleeping on it and discussing with family. That way even if you feel pressured to accept an offer on the spot, you can say,
"Thank you so much. I'm really excited about opportunity! However, it's a policy of mine to always sleep on a big decision before signing. When is a good time for me to call you back tomorrow?"
I think it's important to point out that there are no right or wrong candidate boundaries. For some candidates, the worst case of not answering a phone screen or application question could be getting rejected (or ghosted), and that might not be a risk they're comfortable with at this point.
Every life decision contains trade-offs, and there are many great companies and roles that have less than perfect hiring processes. You might not want to (or be able to afford to) miss out on an opportunity simply because of a recruiter interaction.
In that case, hopefully these phrases and encouragement from myself and @jmfayard
are helpful, but if a recruiter can't move forward without ticking the box, you may want to give your (full, bonus including!) compensation in order to move forward. That's ok!
Tips:
Don't lie: it might come back to bite you.
Be polite: they are still evaluating your communication skills and how you make others feel.
"I don't do that" is clear, but a bit terse and depending on tone could be taken as rudeness. You don't want to introduce red flags early in a candidacy, especially if the role requires collaboration. It could also push the recruiter further away from you rather than getting them invested in moving you forward. If you can be both clear and kind that will give you the best options.
Last thought: if it's a written application, you could enter $1. It is obviously wrong, but would still get you through validation and an automated salary checker. It introduces some risk since a human reviewer might reject you because of the answer.
Ok here's my LAST thought: if you haven't done any interviews yet for a company but you really want that interview, don't sweat the salary questions. Try to avoid giving an answer, but if you have to answer to get an interview GET THE INTERVIEW!
Application questions aren't negotiations! You're not locked into anything until you sign.
Impress the heck out of the interviewers (leverage!), get a great initial job offer, and then negotiate it.
One of the most salient features of our Tech Hiring culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted.
it works wonder.
definitely do it.
That's how busy self confident powerful bosses answer their emails
I know that's stupid, but I'm not the one that invented this job market industry.
you can also try
OK
or
that's a pass thanks
or
busy right now third weekof January ok
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
The important thing is to make a commitment to never answer the question.
Then it doesn't really matter how you do it, it will become better with practice.
Right now I make it simpler than what you propose
Worst case scenario: after this, the recruiters gets pushy, insist that I have to obey his rules for... reasons.
That's actually a win for me because I have decided to not work with ethically-challenged people.
But usually the recruiter moves on and it's a win for me.
Yes! It helps so much to figure out your boundaries and decision tree before you are talking with someone in a stressful situation.
Another one that can help is to make it your policy to never make life-changing decisions without first sleeping on it and discussing with family. That way even if you feel pressured to accept an offer on the spot, you can say,
I think it's important to point out that there are no right or wrong candidate boundaries. For some candidates, the worst case of not answering a phone screen or application question could be getting rejected (or ghosted), and that might not be a risk they're comfortable with at this point.
Every life decision contains trade-offs, and there are many great companies and roles that have less than perfect hiring processes. You might not want to (or be able to afford to) miss out on an opportunity simply because of a recruiter interaction.
In that case, hopefully these phrases and encouragement from myself and @jmfayard are helpful, but if a recruiter can't move forward without ticking the box, you may want to give your (full, bonus including!) compensation in order to move forward. That's ok!
Tips:
"I don't do that" is clear, but a bit terse and depending on tone could be taken as rudeness. You don't want to introduce red flags early in a candidacy, especially if the role requires collaboration. It could also push the recruiter further away from you rather than getting them invested in moving you forward. If you can be both clear and kind that will give you the best options.
Last thought: if it's a written application, you could enter $1. It is obviously wrong, but would still get you through validation and an automated salary checker. It introduces some risk since a human reviewer might reject you because of the answer.
Ok here's my LAST thought: if you haven't done any interviews yet for a company but you really want that interview, don't sweat the salary questions. Try to avoid giving an answer, but if you have to answer to get an interview GET THE INTERVIEW!
Application questions aren't negotiations! You're not locked into anything until you sign.
Impress the heck out of the interviewers (leverage!), get a great initial job offer, and then negotiate it.
it works wonder.
definitely do it.
That's how busy self confident powerful bosses answer their emails
I know that's stupid, but I'm not the one that invented this job market industry.
you can also try
or
or