Job Offers

I felt embarrassed presenting this job offer. The candidate wanted £60k. The client offered £58k. Here’s how £2k derailed the entire process. When I spoke with the client about the offer for an operations role, I already sensed where this was going. The candidate had been completely clear. £60k was the minimum required to make the move. The client had flexibility. They simply chose not to use it. Instead, they came in £2k under. I felt uncomfortable putting that offer forward. From the client’s perspective, it probably felt like a small win. In reality, it sent a much louder message: “𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 — 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯.” That message lands on day one. And it lingers. £2k over 12 months is roughly £166 a month. Compare that to the cost of damaged trust and a poor first impression — costs that don’t show up neatly on a spreadsheet. Yes, everyone wants to save money. But this isn’t about a bullet point on Excel. It’s about someone’s career. Their perception of your culture. Their motivation to go above and beyond once they join. Top candidates remember moments like this. They talk to other top candidates. They share stories at industry events. And suddenly, your attempt to save £2k becomes someone else’s warning sign. Your loss. Someone else’s great hire. And a reputation that’s harder to repair than it was to protect.

If you’re in cloud, these 4 levels of expertise directly impact your compensation. 1. Cloud Enthusiasts → Tinker with free tiers, spin up EC2s/VMs, deploy static websites, basic terraform. → Know the basics but limited production exposure. Compensation: Entry-level salaries or internships ($60,000 – $90,000). 2. Cloud Engineers → Confident with Infra as Code, CI/CD, Kubernetes intermediate, monitoring, and security. → Can run production workloads, but mostly follow existing patterns. Compensation: $95,000 – $140,000. 3. Senior/Platform Engineers → Architect scalable systems across multiple services (load balancing, networking, observability, automation, AI Infrastructure). → Bridge DevOps + Security. Own reliability at scale. Compensation: $140,000 – $200,000+. 4. Cloud Architects / Principal Engineers → Design multi-region, hybrid, or AI-native architectures. → Optimize cost, governance, and compliance. Mentor teams and set org-wide cloud standards. Compensation: $200,000 – $350,000+ (with bonuses/equity). ⸻ Cloud is vast. But if you understand this hierarchy, you’ll know exactly where to double down and increase your chances. This isn’t an exhaustive list ~ there are many roles and paths in cloud; but it should give you direction on what depth looks like at each stage. Take a strategic approach. Pick a level. Deep dive. And position yourself as an expert there. • • • If you found this useful.. 🔔 Follow me (Vishakha) for more Cloud & DevOps insights ♻️ Share so others can learn as well!

Hiring a remote VP? You may have to “pay up” to the SF/NYC rate Traditional geo-discounting (pay differentials) for ICs has been to roughly pay ~10% less for “USA Tier 2” markets and ~15-20% for “USA Tier 3” markets vs your “USA Tier 1” HQ. Covid and the remote work wave disrupted these geo-discounting practices to some extent with the “pay based on your output regardless of where you live” mantra. But these days, geo-based cost of labor practices have mostly settled back into previous norms. 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼���𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦𝗔 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘀? ____________ In short, according to 323,000 analyzed USA employees in Pave’s dataset, => Managers generally have similar geo-discounts to their IC peers => 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲, 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝗼-𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀. See the attached chart for the specifics. If you’re hiring a VP/CXO who lives in a traditionally lower cost metro, you may have to “pay up” partially-or-fully to the market rate as if they were in a USA Tier 1 locale. Coming soon–we can look at a similar analysis but for equity/SBC. ____________ Methodology: -USA Tier 1 metros include SF Bay Area, NYC, Seattle. -USA Tier 2 metros include LA, Chicago, Austin, Denver, Boston, DC, San Diego, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento. -USA Tier 3 metros include all other notable metros in the USA. Geo-discounts (pay differentials) are calculated by measuring the impact of US Market Tier location on base salary, relative to US Tier 1, normalizing by family & level. A pay differential is the ratio of the base salaries for employees performing the same job at the same seniority level in two different locations. Pay differentials focus on differences in base salary. They currently do not include non-salary compensation like bonuses, equity, and benefits or costs like payroll taxes. #pave #geographic #compensation #benchmarks

7 Steps For Handling Multiple Job Offers (Without Burning Bridges): 1. Multiple Offers Can Feel Tricky You *finally* made it. You’ve been dreaming about getting an offer for months. But now, not only do you have an offer, you’ve got multiple (and maybe even some final round interviews happening). Here’s how you can minimize stress and maximize your chances of choosing the best role: 2. Don’t Go Off “Vibes” Instead, create an “ideal package” profile. This is a spreadsheet where you list all your ideal offer criteria along with specific outcomes (e.g. Salary = $X - $Y, PTO = 15+ Days, etc). Review each offer and see how many critieria they check. This will give you an objective way to score each one. 3. Communicate Early (& Clearly) As soon as you have one offer in hand, let the other companies know. Do it in a polite way that focuses on sharing facts: “I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity. I did want to let you know that I received an offer from another company and have been asked to share a decision by [Deadline]. I wanted to share this with your team so you were aware. I also wanted to reiterate how excited I am about this opportunity and I hope we can find a way to complete the process together.” 4. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For More Information When you’re deciding, don’t make assumptions or leave gaps in the offer. If you have a question, ask your contact at the company. They will appreciate it, and you don’t want to be in a position of accepting an offer only to find out that your assumption was incorrect. 5. Always Negotiate A LinkedIn poll I ran found that 93% of people who negotiated salary got more than the original offer. Review your ideal offer criteria from Step #1, then make the ask (with a business case) for each company to make up any gaps between their offer and your goals. With multiple offers, you are in the driver’s seat (finally!). 6. Trust Your Gut At the end of the day, you’re likely going to have a gut feeling about each off. DO NOT IGNORE IT. It may not feel rational or crystal clear, but if you’ve done the rest of the legwork outlined here and you still feel something’s off? It probably is. 7. Don’t Burn Bridges When you decided to accept an offer wait until everything is signed before notifying other companies. When you do notify the ones you didn’t say “yes” too, be polite, graceful, and keep the door open for the future. You never know when those relationships may come in handy in the future.

A common mistake I see when delivering an offer to candidates... In recruiting, we give out offers everyday so it can feel very routine and exciting for us. For candidates, this can be a decision that shapes their entire life and can come with a ton of mixed emotions. Think about this for yourself... Have you ever been in an interview process where things picked up quickly and all of the sudden, you are at the offer stage. You were so focused on completing each stage and putting your best foot forward that you didn't really take the time to consider all of the ramifications of changing jobs or considering multiple pathways at once. Recruiters tend to think that the moment of offer is going to be pure joy from the candidate (I made this mistake early on in my career), only to be surprised when you realize there can be 10 things that come up for the candidate that now have to be managed and worked through. Here are a few things I’ve learned to do differently: 1. Prep the candidate. I don't make promises. But I do find a moment in the process to say, “If you were to move forward to an offer, what are the things you’d need to consider in your decision?” That question alone opens the door for reflection. 2. Don’t lead with numbers. When I deliver an offer, I never jump straight into comp. I first ask: “Are there any open questions about the opportunity or role?” If there’s any vagueness or hesitation, we pause. No point delivering an offer until we’re aligned. 3. Give space to process. After I walk through the offer, I do ask if they've made a decision (a step I think is necessary as a recruiter) but I don't push after that. I answer questions. I follow up. But I respect that the weight of the moment takes time to sit with. 4. Ask how they make big decisions. I’ll often ask, “Who’s in your corner when you make big calls like this? Where do you go to think clearly?” This helps the candidate begin their decision-making process—and it helps me better support them, too. 5. Check in early and often. Sometimes I’ll say, “Hey, taking my recruiting hat off for a second—how are you feeling?” That small gesture can go a long way in building trust. We give out offers every day. But for the person on the other side of the table, this might be the biggest professional decision they’ve ever made. We should treat it that way. #hiring #recruiting #techrecruiting #techhiring

An offer letter isn’t the finish line. It’s just one moment in a long candidate journey. A friend once interviewed with a well-known media brand. It was a gloomy day in July—peak Mumbai rains. She took a 3-hour local train ride to reach their office, almost soaked to the bone. No umbrella could’ve saved her. She waited. And waited. The interviewer didn’t show up. No message. No apology. Just a casual “rains, you know?” She got the offer later. But the feeling stuck. If this is how they treat someone before joining, what would it be like after? Now compare that to another company she was speaking to: When her toddler fell sick, the interview was rescheduled with zero fuss. On the new date, she was welcomed with lunch, warm conversations and office tour. She lived quite far and asked if she would get an Uber from their location. Without hesitation, they arranged a car ride home. The hiring manager? A brilliant sales guy. When she said she’d need about two weeks to confirm the offer, he smiled and said, “You’d really take that much time?” It was subtle. Warm. Persuasive. She felt wanted. Another company she met along the way had a hiring team that stayed in touch throughout—updates after every round, casual check-ins, even an invite to a virtual HR celebration. No radio silence. No ambiguity. None of this was elaborate or expensive. It just made her feel seen, respected, and valued. We often ask, “Why did the candidate drop out?” Maybe the better question is—“What could we have done to make them stay?” Some simple things go a long way: • Keep the conversation going—even when you don’t have a decision yet. • Let hiring managers build early rapport. • Acknowledge personal situations—be human. • Give them a feel of your culture before they even step in. • Stay close after the offer—especially during notice periods. People don’t walk away just for better pay. They walk away when they don’t feel like they belong. What’s a small gesture you’ve seen that left a big impression on a candidate/ you? #CandidateExperience #HiringMatters #EmployerBranding #OfferDropouts #HRLeadership #TalentAcquisition #HumanTouch Images from google

Most engineers choose their next role based on the one number that matters least three years from now: Salary. I have coached engineers who took the highest offer and regretted it within a year. Not because the money was bad. Because they optimized for the easiest thing to compare and ignored everything that actually mattered. Here is how to evaluate an offer like someone thinking three moves ahead: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 Weak: Accepting "Senior Engineer" at face value because it matches your current title. Strong: Asking what scope, autonomy, and decision-making power the level actually carries at this specific company. A title is a label. A level is a reality. They are rarely the same across companies. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 Weak: Treating the interview as a one-way evaluation of you. Strong: Asking how they develop people, how they handle disagreement, and how the last person in this role grew. Your manager will shape your next two years more than the company name on your badge. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Weak: Focusing on whether you can do the job today. Strong: Asking where people who held this role went next and how long it took them. The role is not the destination. It is the on-ramp. Know where it actually leads. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰. 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 Weak: Choosing the offer with the highest number. Strong: Asking whether the role expands your scope, your visibility, and your skills, not just your salary. A raise into a role with no room to grow is the most expensive pay bump you will ever take. The offer that pays the most is not always the one that moves your career the most. Where you grow matters as much as what you earn. Save this post before your next offer conversation. If you are weighing an offer and not sure it is the right move, comment "OFFER." Let me help you see what the salary number is hiding.

Job offers aren’t just about the salary. They’re about what you’re walking towards and what you’re walking away from. A client of mine recently faced a situation that comes up more often than people admit. They were offered an exciting new role with real growth potential, but the overall package didn’t quite match what they already had. On the surface, the salary looked attractive, but once she factored in medical cover, income protection, life assurance, and long-term rewards the gap became clear. My client handled it brilliantly. She expressed genuine enthusiasm for the role and the chance to help build something new, but also explained that the total package needed to reflect both the benefits they would be giving up and the personal risk that comes with joining a venture still finding its feet. That’s not being difficult. It’s being strategic. Here are a few lessons that came out of that conversation: 1. Lead with value. Start by showing how you’ll help the organisation grow, not just what you expect in return. 2. Use your current package as your benchmark. Benefits are part of your worth. Understand what you’d be giving up, not just in money but in stability and security. 3. Recognise the risk. If the role is part of a new or developing venture, it’s fair for the offer to reflect that level of uncertainty. 4. Look at the full picture. A job offer isn’t just a number. Think about health cover, bonus structure, flexibility, and future growth. 5. Keep it collaborative. Negotiation isn’t a fight. It’s a professional conversation to find what works for both sides. When an employer comes back with a counteroffer, take your time. Weigh up your bottom line, your ideal package, and where a fair middle ground might sit. Your decision shouldn’t be rushed; it should be grounded in value, confidence, and long-term vision. Because real career progress isn’t only about earning more. It’s about protecting what you’ve built while stepping into something that helps you grow.

If you’re in HR or a job owner, you’ve likely seen this firsthand: 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀. 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀… 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. No message. No warning. Just silence. It’s become so common, it almost feels like the new 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 in recruitment. Where is this ghosting showing up the most? 1️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗡𝗼-𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 Many candidates apply without reading the JD or understanding the role. Once shortlisted, they realize it’s not a fit—and instead of saying so, they vanish. 2️⃣ 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 Some accept offers with enthusiasm—only to disappear by joining day. 𝗪𝗵𝘆? They use the offer to negotiate with their current employer. Or they job-shop with your offer in hand, waiting for a better one. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗻? Mass applying without checking JD or company and no intent to follow through Fear of saying “no” A transactional view of employment Lack of accountability on both sides 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀. Lost time and productivity Delayed hiring cycles Pressure on existing teams Damaged trust within and outside the company Even large companies feel it. But for SME's and startups with smaller teams? It stings even more. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗧𝘄𝗼-𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 Yes, candidates ghosting is frustrating. HR teams should also always communicate clearly and promptly with candidates even when it’s a “no”? A short email makes a huge difference to the candidate experience. 𝗧𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: It’s okay to decline. Circumstances change. But please don’t disappear. A simple "Thanks, but I’m not moving forward" is enough and that too well in time not on day of interview or joining day. 𝗧𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀: Every candidate interaction matters. Let’s not ghost them either. Respect and transparency should go both ways. Recruitment isn’t just about filling roles. It’s about building trust, relationships, and long-term reputation. 𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘁���𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿.

This boss showed exactly how to keep good people   Had a candidate pull out of our process, just before final interviews. Not what you want to hear when you've spent months finding the perfect fit. The candidate was everything my client wanted - experienced, culturally aligned, ready to start. We'd even talked about potential start dates and salary expectations. The candidate decided to inform his current company early - against my advice, no offer in hand yet. Predictably, the current company made him a counter offer. The candidate decided to stay put. My immediate reaction? "They're just buying time. Same problems will resurface in six months." I'd seen this dance before. But the candidate surprised me. "It's not about the money," he said. "They didn't even offer me more cash." Turns out, when the candidate informed them of his decision to leave, his boss did something unexpected. Instead of the usual panic-driven salary bump, he asked him to sit down for a proper conversation. "He listened to everything I'd been frustrated about for months," the candidate told me. "Being stuck on routine tasks when I wanted strategic projects, having my recommendations ignored, feeling like I was invisible despite delivering results. He actually took notes." More importantly, the boss came back the next day with concrete solutions. New project assignments, direct involvement in strategic planning, and a clear path to influence decisions he'd been excluded from. "Should we have had this conversation a year ago? Absolutely," the candidate admitted. "Could I have spoken up sooner instead of just grumbling to myself? Probably. But at least we're having it now." Sometimes you lose candidates not to better offers, but to better management. Marcus chose to stay because someone finally treated him like a thinking human rather than a replaceable cog. As headhunters, we often focus on what companies can offer to attract talent. But the real competition isn't always the next opportunity - it's whether current employers wake up and start actually managing their people. The best counter offer isn't more money. It's genuine care and actionable change. #Recruitment #CareerAdvice #HiringTips