James Reed

How can an applicant or candidate know that they're getting a fair deal?

So you're looking for more people.

These skills are in short supply.

Yeah, so larger companies often have pay layers, don't they?

That people need to fit into, which can make negotiation a little less flexible.

That's correct.

But you're saying smaller ones, you can often get a better deal.

So the market you're working in, financial services, you've just described is what I would call a seller's market.

The people applying for jobs in that market have got quite a lot of negotiating power.

Do you find that you're in the intermediary in conversations when the employer's saying, I'm offering X, but the candidate's saying, I want Y quite a lot?

And how do you achieve an outcome where both are happy?

Yeah, often the best candidates are not good at interviews because they haven't had a lot of practice because they've been doing a great job somewhere else.

Whereas someone who's done lots of interviews might be better at doing it.

So you have to gauge.

So this combination of capability and experience is what you're looking for.

And that's key, as you say, and that's what a...

an individual needs to evaluate.

Do you find that, you know, employers are often low-balling salaries because they haven't been in the market for a while or they're not aware that this is an area where there's a lot of competition now for people and you have to talk them up somewhat?

You might be talking some applicants down a little, but you have to talk the employer up to explain, you know, you're not going to get anyone at that if you advertise a job at that level.

I mean one of the most common mistakes that candidates make when assessing their salary expectations