Articles From the Team

Is it all about the money?

So, you’ve discussed the role with your recruitment consultant, been through the interview process and it’s all looking very positive. By this point in time you may have had numerous conversations with your recruitment consultant (and family) about what salary you would like, what you would definitely accept…essentially what your bottom-line figure is. But what happens if the offer is lower than you expected?

Many firms have a clear salary path for junior to mid-level candidates. They can be very structured in this regard and it may mean that your dream job doesn’t come with the dream salary. Is this a reason to walk away from the opportunity? Our approach at BCL Legal is to work closely with candidates and clients to make sure that you both get the win/win. Very rarely do we find that candidates are moving just because of money. In most instances, the motivation to move is a myriad of factors – including quality of work, firm ethos, progression opportunities etc.

Recently I have worked with a couple of candidates that were offered the dream job but the salary was slightly less than they were expecting (although still offering an increase on their current salaries). Both candidates accepted the roles – because we were able to maintain open lines of communications with both candidates and clients. We were able to weigh up the various elements of the offers, negotiate on when salary reviews occurred and look at the other benefits that the firms offered. It really resonated with me that salary is rarely the only factor that people will consider. The lesson for me is that it’s always worth having the conversation with your consultant. When an offer is made, maintain the open lines of communication and tell us what is going through your mind! There are so many factors to consider and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming. We are on your side (and genuinely, my colleagues at BCL Legal are amongst the friendliest people I have ever met!). We want to help you secure the best role possible - and we have so much information that we can share with you, from real data that offers market-rate salary advice to anecdotal information about the team, culture and quality of work.

With all of this in mind, my best advice to you is to give us at BCL Legal a call or email us at info@bcllegal.com. BCL Legal focuses on private practice recruitment in London.