The Compensation Conversation

Recently I spoke with a recruiter about a senior role at an (apparently) up-and-coming startup, and after a positive exchange about the job, the company, and myself, the recruiter asked about my salary requirements. I explained that I am fairly flexible on this point since I have in the past been compensated in a number of ways, though I think we can all agree that my vast experience and undeniable skills should command a premium. To illustrate my point I detailed the compensation numbers from a recent position, and it was like I dropped a dead rat in her lap.

“That’s the kind of salary on the level of a vice president,” she said with audible alarm. I didn’t even have time to relish the bare concept of (formerly) earning VP money before she abruptly ended the call. No response to my post-interview thank-you note, either.

I should point out that while I have no insight into this company’s finances, their headcount and press and relative age put them outside of bootstrap territory. So if my content-manager comp really did amount to a vice presidential package, well, it’s a sorry comment on the once-giddy days of tech-adjacent comp inflation.

Contrast this with a couple years ago when I interviewed with a high-end media executive headhunter. Very positive conversation there too, and when we got to his question about the compensation I was looking for, I gave him a number just slightly higher than my most recent job. He barked out a laugh and said pityingly, “Man, you are cheap!” He never landed me a gig, though he did respond to my thank-you note.

I was reminded of all this when the Vox Media union negotiation boiled over onto social media, and first and foremost let me say Vox Media needs a union contract pronto. I’d never take the public statements of the union or management entirely at face value, and there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that bit of rhetorical distance. But, clearly, the staff are right to organize, and Vox should give them a fair contract.

A number of Vox employees shared their comp numbers on Twitter to support their case for a contract, and almost all those numbers were shockingly low, not to mention inconsistent. Such comp structures are based on hiring cheap, young, expendable talent, salted with a few experienced pros and/or a few management-friendly bros who get paid more for … reasons? Of course, that’s been the model in media and publishing since forever, and it’s probably the one historical structure from the media business that tech-media companies are only too happy to maintain, on the down low of course.

Since today is the last day for the Vox union negotiations, this whole email could be irrelevant in a few hours. But I hope they work it out properly, or at least tolerably. The end result is important not just for Vox’s employees and Vox Media as a company, but as an illustration for other companies (and especially investors) that they need to get over their fanatical hatred of unions. It’s irrational, wasteful, and ultimately bad for business.

I am terrible at haggling and negotiating on my own behalf in all cases anyway, but I’m always interested, scientifically, in how people arrive at these acceptable ranges that I am often on the wrong side of. I never abide by “salary requirements” questions too strictly (within a survivable range) since it’s just too wrapped up in assessing the whole job. The jobs that I enjoy the most—like my current role editing and writing about progressive tech and science—are most enjoyable because I love the work, even though they pay peanuts. I once worked for a small publisher that experienced a series of physical disasters (mudslide, then a fire!) and the owner announced everyone would have to get 20% pay cuts for the company to survive. In such cases, a company gets a little financial breather from the employees who leave due to the pay cut. But none of us left. That’s how much we loved the place. Conversely, probably my best-paying job was the one I ended up despising the most.

I’m very aware this view is based in a position of privilege. I’ve been absurdly fortunate many times, and I’m absolutely not encouraging anyone to settle for less than they need or want. Really I intend these thoughts less for job-seekers, and more for those doing the hiring and managing. Despite what your balance sheet may tell you, it is not a victory to pay your people less than they deserve. It is a very real cost that you can fool yourself into thinking doesn’t matter, just because it’s not monetary. But you will pay it, one way or another.