My experience back in my advertising illustration days---
I was fed up, "Okay, what's your budget?"
They answered-- "6k"
F-Yes, I said "Okay, I want all of it."
They answered, "Okay. You got it."
End of story.
A good tactic I've heard is to give a number +150% the going rate, and then say "Talk me down, there are things I care about more than money", so you get your foot in the door to negotiate the contract terms not just the salary.
Recruiters have access to things other than money and almost nobody negotiates for them.
You can create boundaries about what's reasonable to ask (eg, a clearly defined role), and you can establish a track and rate of income growth in your contract against inflation.
If someone offers you something like a gym membership or hello fresh, run for the hills.
The thing you really want is a more senior title than you had in your previous job, so you can ladder into better positions with higher returns by leveraging the miscommunication.
Your goal is to never stay at the company, its to come away with a title and good things on your CV, and a bump that is %$over inflation so your buying power isn't decreasing over time.
One nobody talks about is you can even wiggle out of an NDA by asking what the early termination clause is in a strategic way (eg, asking what you shouldn't do) -- which is helpful if you want to put the thing you're doing on your CV legally.
Just tell us the budget! We can usually accommodate it, but if this is just an opportunity to save money, then last time I checked, Fiverr is still active. 90% of the time it's not even their money either. Spend it. Everybody wins.
That is an a-hole move to make on their part. They're counting on the sunk cost fallacy to keep you around. Ugh.
I work on a hourly rate for my services. If ppl ask me for pricing, I tell them my hourly rate & will tell them roughly how long I expect the work to take. If that's not in their budget
we discuss what we can do within their budget. Asking for what the budget is first makes me feel like you're going to charge me the max you can regardless of what services I get
I hate when you give an hourly rate and then are asked how long the job will take. Like, I don’t know how many random last minute changes you’re going to want
The most effective thing I've found is saying "the normal budget for what you're asking could be as high as X." Which keep open the dialogue but also gives them an idea what you're thinking.
Sounds like there's a need for some kind of "blind auction" service for negotiating rates. The challenge would be figuring out a percentage commission for such a service...
I'll often ask this of indie game projects that come my way, because a lot of times they can't afford my full rate. But I'm usually willing to work for less than my usual rate (sometimes as low as half) if I like the project a bunch in exchange for a percentage of sales the first year of release.
I had the worst experience with this. I kept asking how much she wanted me to pay her, again and again. She kept changing the subject.
So I hired someone else.
Comments
I'm happy to pay what they're worth, but a 50% upcharge because of the town I live in is a bit much.
I was fed up, "Okay, what's your budget?"
They answered-- "6k"
F-Yes, I said "Okay, I want all of it."
They answered, "Okay. You got it."
End of story.
You can create boundaries about what's reasonable to ask (eg, a clearly defined role), and you can establish a track and rate of income growth in your contract against inflation.
The thing you really want is a more senior title than you had in your previous job, so you can ladder into better positions with higher returns by leveraging the miscommunication.
You should put real time into figuring out how you can imply the work you did.
I just don't want to insult an artist or professional
though, in all honesty...
it's the rates, my budget is nonexistent
I don't want to lowball people and I don't haggle.
So I have to cancel when they tell me "It's +100% to use commercially" and feel like an absolute prick.
I work on a hourly rate for my services. If ppl ask me for pricing, I tell them my hourly rate & will tell them roughly how long I expect the work to take. If that's not in their budget
Just post your rates, seriously.
"I charge $40USD per hour, here is an example of a 10 hour piece. Exact times will always vary, estimates will be offered up front."
So I hired someone else.