Let’s keep the money conversation going. On Nicole Jamal’s page this week, she covered how candidates can navigate comp during the interview process. Today, what happens when an offer’s on the table and the number isn’t quite there.
She was talking with someone in her network recently catching up, and she was telling me how she had an incredible internal candidate but the search was at risk over a few thousand dollars. Not a massive gap. Just enough to stall things.
Here’s something we lean on often in that exact moment: if the base truly can’t move, look at the shape of the offer instead. A sign-on bonus to bridge the gap in year one. A written commitment to revisit base salary in six months. It doesn’t always mean spending more long-term, just structuring the offer differently than a straight base bump.
But here’s what matters more than the dollars: when a company gets creative to close a gap, it tells the candidate something money alone can’t. It says we want you enough to problem-solve for you. Even if it doesn’t come together, that effort is remembered.
A few thousand dollars shouldn’t be the reason a great hire falls through, especially when there’s usually more than one way to close the gap.