The strong economy in the United States means that job seekers have a plethora of opportunities. Companies within the industries of IT, finance and manufacturing are finding it challenging to fill positions with qualified applicants who have realistic expectations when it comes to compensation.

Your dedicated Techneeds Staffing Solutions Provider is a valuable resource for quickly finding qualified candidates, but there are also some best practices to consider for before and during the stage of making a job offer to an applicant:

It’s important to do your research and have current data about the logical pay range for a specific position in your industry, including what is an expected range of compensation in the job’s metro area. You can find salary range information about job titles on websites such as Glassdoor or Salary.com, but the most accurate information can generally be found at bls.gov. The site is a great resource that includes tax record data submitted by companies for specific positions, including the rate of pay and duration of time someone has spent in a position. Human resources professionals also complete an annual survey to keep the site current.  

At the beginning of the recruiting stage, publishing a range of compensation within the job posting stage can be helpful, as you’ve made it quite transparent to job seekers. They will see that the pay will not be less than a certain dollar amount and to not expect more than the posted dollar amount. This tactic can become a fast reality check for job seekers who are not comfortable with a pay range or can educate them on what the going range is for a particular region. Either way, it could be a time-saver for everyone if they know ahead of time what the compensation range will be. Keep in mind, there could be room for negotiation with the right candidate, but that does not have to be published within the job description.

Asking for references early in the interviewing stage can also be a helpful time- and money-saver. Some hiring managers choose to wait until right before an offer is made to ask for references as they are likely to only spend the time reaching out for up to three candidates’ information. However, if you experience a hesitancy from a job seeker to give references, that could be a red flag. The job seeker may not have “good” references they can share from former employers or co-workers. Asking a job seeker to send references as part of a first interview is the best practice. 

You likely have a range of compensation in mind when putting together a job description. If you have a minimum of five years required for experience for specific skills or job title, and the applicant you plan to make the offer to has 15 years of experience in the desired aspects, you can expect that candidate to be seeking the higher end of your pay range.

In general, once you make a job offer that includes the compensation, one counteroffer from a job seeker and a response from the hiring manager is typical protocol. Once you give your counter-response, if the candidate continues to debate you on pay, this is a red flag. You should be concerned that the candidate will be looking for another opportunity quickly, even if they accept your position. 

While the rate of pay is going to be a major factor for a job seeker, benefits are very important, too. If your company’s employees pay less than the industry standard for their health benefits, that’s something to include in the offer. Aspects such as paid time off, holidays and fringe benefits can also be very important to a job seeker when they are making a decision.

One of the great things about working with Techneeds is our job seekers work directly with in-house recruiters who are aware of their expectations and our recruiters give realistic expectations back to the job seekers. There’s transparency about compensation from the beginning, so once we send you candidates, you will know they are comfortable with the rate of pay. We believe in transparency across the board, as it will save you, the job seeker and us valuable time.