When to push back on an employer (recruiter, hiring manager) during the interview process

Something that comes up consistently when I coach job seekers is when to a) address red flags and b) negotiate for what you want.

While everyone’s situation is going to be different, here are the two things I often share with clients:

1. Negotiation starts early & often.

If you accept everything a recruiter, hiring manager, or employer says to you at face value (not to mention an offer), this sets the tone for on-boarding & working there.

Do some employers have a terrible process, and then once you're hired, things are amazing? Yes, this can happen, but it's not likely because these are people we're talking about. If a company/org structure isn't very people-centered or has messy, unfocused operations... negotiating early signals that you will negotiate once you are on the job, too.

If an employer doesn't like that, you might as well know upfront before they casually drop that "by the way, you'll be writing speaking points & presentations for our CEO" on you.

2. For a large percentage of qualified candidates (you can do ~70% of what's in a job description, assuming it's written correctly), positioning is the most important factor.

This is not great positioning –> "I've got a broad skillset, I've done/can do marketing, operations, sales, and support"

This is better –> "I'm a full-stack marketer who is particularly strong in analytics, dashboarding, and strategy/budgeting, and is dedicated to working in the social impact space."

When your employer says, "and can you do social media?" ...you can respond, "my focus area is analytics, forecasting, and strategy, which includes advising on social spend, channels, and strategy, I certainly know my way around social media but always advise having dedicated resources for content creation, design, and marketing operations roles in driving growth."

If you don't know or aren't clear about your boundaries and non-negotiables, you'll end up doing things that you don't want to do or are not well suited for, which can cost you money & career growth now and later. How much and how to push back will differ for each person, but I always advise some degree of it, because you need to know what you'll be getting into and start the relationship in a balanced way.

By the way, in addition to sharing funny, thoughtful content on LinkedIn, two of my favorite coaches are Brianna Doe and Adam Karpiak, who both consistently share some great questions and tactics for interviewing your interviewer, so make sure to follow them and put their tips into practice.