
Exactly what to say when recruiters ask you to name the first number - derwiki
http://blog.interviewing.io/exactly-what-to-say-when-recruiters-ask-you-to-name-the-first-number/
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paulriddle
Some advice doesn't feel right to me.

> I also promise not to accept other offers until I have a chance to discuss
> them with you.

Such things should be discussed separately. At this point I might not even
know how solid our communication channel is. What if I have two offers and I
really like one of them, now I can't accept it until I discussed it with the
other two companies? They might flake on me and go dark. And now I broke my
promise. Why would I even promise to them such a thing? It's like saying I
will accept your offer no matter what, so feel free to lowball me. Because
it's an unsolicited promise. It either doesn't have any weight behind it and
you're a liar or it is a highly submissive gesture. It is submissive because
the offer is to you, but you're discussing it with them, a third party, as if
asking their permission to accept it. And you promised that. Nobody asked you
to.

> How about I make a decision by…?

And then they try to negotiate _your_ deadline by bringing it closer to
theirs. Seeking a compromise. Not good. The correct thing to do is to
communicate to them that their deadlines are their problems, not yours, and if
they have to hire somebody within the next few days, then maybe they are not
in the best position to be hiring anybody and should resolve their internal
issues first. Forcing their deadline on you is rude. You can't name a number
because you don't know how long the interview process at other companies is
going to take. What if N days from now you're at the last stage of the
interview at another company but the deadline with this company is about to
expire? Now you have to call them and beg like a filthy peasant to extend
their deadline for you. It was completely forced on you. A made up thing,
respecting it is silly.

