"Sometimes The Market Knows Your Value Before You Do"

A candidate received an offer more than double his salary. Here is what that process taught me.

I recently completed a recruitment process that taught me something I wasn’t expecting.

The candidate ended up receiving an offer that was more than double his current salary. Everyone was happy. The candidate. My client. And me. But the biggest lesson was what happened before he got the job. There were three people looking at exactly the same opportunity. And all three saw it differently.

The candidate. He believed he had the skills. He believed he could do the job. He believed he was worth the salary. But he also admitted he wasn’t sure whether anyone would actually pay it. His thinking was simple. “If I’m going to move, it has to be for this salary. Otherwise, there’s no real reason to leave.”

The recruiter | Me. I genuinely liked the candidate. I thought he was technically strong. But I also remember saying to him, “I hope you get it… but there’s always a chance the salary expectation alone might stop you from getting an interview.” Looking back… I wasn’t questioning his ability. I was questioning what I thought the market might be willing to pay.

The client. Interestingly… My client never once questioned the salary. They didn’t compare it to what he was currently earning. They didn’t ask whether he was asking for too much. They simply looked at one thing. Could he create enough value to justify the investment? Their answer was yes.

He got the job. Ironically, his current employer even matched the offer. He still chose to leave.

Looking back, I realised something. The candidate believed in his value. I believed in his ability… but I still allowed his current salary to influence what I thought might happen. My client didn’t. They simply assessed the value he could bring to their business.

This had never happened before in my entire recruitment career. A candidate receiving an offer that was more than double their current salary. Lesson learnt. And onto the next one…

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