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Ask HN: Tell company I am getting actively recruited?

by casper345 on 5/23/19, 4:38 PM with 13 comments

• by world32 on 5/24/19, 4:58 AM

  No, don't tell them. Not because they will take it as a threat but because you will look quite silly if you do mention this. Recruiters scan LinkedIn for anybody that has even just a couple mention of the skills they are looking for and then send all the matches messages along if they're be interested in a new job.

  If you had an actual job offer on the other hand then that would be a different story. Then you could reasonably say "I have had an offer for this much salary so please can you match that otherwise you are asking me to work below my market rate for you and although I like working here I don't think it's fair to ask that of me".

• by tedmiston on 5/23/19, 5:39 PM

  I've always personally believed in the show-by-doing approach here. If you want to negotiate a raise, find a way to provide more value to your company, get feedback from your boss that it would be valuable. Then come review time, demonstrate that you've been contributing beyond your current role in this capacity.

  Most engineers are getting messaged by recruiters regularly. This is not a surprise to your boss if he has good engineers on the team. But I don't think that leveraging this in itself is an effective technique for negotiating a raise. In my opinion, being recruited doesn't affect the value you create in your current role unless you believe that your comp is below market, or you have grown significantly beyond the role you're officially in now. Just my 2¢.

• by thiago_fm on 5/24/19, 10:25 AM

  If you want to negotiate a raise, you can tell them what you did and display that you want to grow more with and in the company. Without having anything to show that is not possible.

  You can also take those interviews, ace them and use a higher offer as leverage, but that can be risky, as you company might say no and you need to go to this other job.

  What I recommend is that people even though that they enjoy their jobs, they do interviews for perceived good companies, that they would like to work on, and in case they get an offer, they negotiate with their own company. So if the company doesn't want to give you that raise, you go to the other company which gives you a potential good outcome for both possibilities.

• by eb0la on 5/27/19, 2:42 PM

  Would you tell your wife/partner someone is flirting with you?

  We all know the job market lives crazy times right now; but if you mention you are getting recruiter calls, It might backfire.

  Better use that calls to know how to advance your careeer, which skills are un high demand, and use that info wisely.

• by obstacle1 on 5/25/19, 12:43 PM

  You negotiate when you have leverage. Leverage is an implied threat that you will leave the company where the cost to the company of you leaving will be significant. You have to be ready to actually leave the company in order for this to work. Generally this involves having a competing offer in hand.

  Since you do not have an actual offer and you are not going to leave the company, you should not try any tactics in negotiating a raise. Your best play is to make a case based on the value of your work and ask politely and hope for the best. This will not get you a big raise, but it may get you a modest one.

  This is not the optimal position for you in terms of career development, but it is the position you are putting yourself in by wanting to stay in your current job regardless of potential opportunities externally.

• by vebu on 5/24/19, 10:47 AM

  I am in a similar situation but I already put my notice. What I did was speak to my manager and then speak to the founder. Both of them agreed that I should take the new opportunity and move on. Go ahead and talk to your manager/founder. They'll not feel threatened. They will support you with good advice.

• by ziddoap on 5/23/19, 4:41 PM

  In my opinion it comes down to approach.

  If you hang a banner above your desk ("I'm being recruited all the time!"), yes they will have a sour taste.

  If you go through your review, and you aren't making headway on negotiations without bringing it up - it might be time to approach it.

• by shoo on 5/23/19, 8:04 PM

  > I am getting actively recruited from both large and small companies. I am not interested as a enjoy my job alot.

  If your employer is aware that you enjoy your job and are not interested switching companies, that might lead them to not give you much of a raise -- since you're already happy and not going to leave. (Not everyone would think this way, but it's a fairly obvious line of reasoning).

  Suppose your yearly review does not produce a result you are happy with. What are you going to do?

  Are you cultivating alternative options for employment that you could tolerate and would give you the raise you desire? I.e. are you turning the inbound interest into actual offers for jobs and packages you'd be willing to accept?

• by SamReidHughes on 5/23/19, 7:46 PM

  Everybody gets actively recruited. So the words don't mean much.

• by askafriend on 5/24/19, 7:13 AM

  Ha. I’ve been getting recruiting inbound every single day for years and so have many engineers I know.

  It’s just largely top of the funnel spam.

  Doesn’t give you any leverage, unfortunately.

• by saluki on 5/23/19, 7:12 PM

  y, I wouldn't express hey I'm being recruited.

  If they value you and you are providing value use that as leverage. Sometimes no matter how good a developer you are or how valuable you are they won't give you the raise you think you deserve.

  Sadly sometimes the best way to get a large raise is to change companies so keep that in mind.

  Good luck.

• by tuananh on 5/24/19, 7:30 AM

  the best leverage is when you get an offer AND you're prepare to leave!