Recruiters Are Not Your Friend (Stop Idolizing Them)
Recruiters claim salary caps are rigid laws of physics. They are often simply compliance filters designed to catch people who negotiate like employees rather than investments.
Last October, I advised a client who moved an offer from a $1.2M annual package to $1.9M in a single phone call—then we finished the deal at $2.2M.
When I shared that wins like this are possible on LinkedIn, the reaction from the recruiting industry was visceral.
My post was simple:
Companies disclose a range.
Often they hold back 20-40% more for candidates who prove exceptional value.
That disclosed range?It's for people who negotiate like everyone else.
Don't be everyone else.
One executive recruiter commented:
“NFW (No F’ing Way). That is impossible.”
I guess they weren’t lying. To them, it is impossible.
Because to a recruiter, you are a line item.
But to a business, you are capital.
If you don’t understand the difference, you will leave 40% of your value on the table time and time again.
And remember, your mistakes compound throughout your career.
You Are Negotiating with the Wrong Department
To understand why salary bands feel rigid, you have to understand the incentives of the person you are talking to.
Most candidates spend their energy trying to convince a recruiter to pay them more. This is like trying to convince a cashier to lower the price of a steak.
They don’t have the authority, and asking them just annoys them.
Many recruiters manage OpEx (Operating Expense). Their metrics are:
Time-to-Fill: Speed trumps fit.
Cost-Per-Hire: Cheaper trumps better.
Process Compliance: Safety trumps potential.
When an OpEx recruiter looks at you, they do not see an asset that generates revenue.
They see inventory.
They are incentivized to treat you like office furniture—get the best functional utility for the best possible price.
Hiring Managers manage CapEx (Capital Expenditure). The P&L Owner—and elite headhunters—operate in a different reality. They are judged on ROI.
Impact: Will this person make me money?
Speed to Value: Can they solve my $100M problem now?
The Disconnect: You are trying to sell a high-yield, complex asset to a person who is only authorized to buy paperclips.
Of course they say “No.”
They lack the authorization—and the vision—to say “Yes.”
You’re barking up the wrong tree, and it’s costly.
The “Budget” Is a Zombie Number
This brings us to the lie that kills too many negotiations:
“We don’t have the budget.”
Top senior leaders understand a fundamental truth of corporate finance: The “Maximum Approved Budget” is almost never the “Maximum Available Capital".”
The “Budget” is a zombie number.
It is often a placeholder assumption made by Finance six months ago, based on outdated market data and conservative estimates.
“Capital,” on the other hand, is liquid power.
It is a resource available to solve urgent, expensive problems now.
When a recruiter tells you “We don’t have the budget,” they may be blind to the larger P&L. They see the line item; they don’t see the liquidity pool reserved for emergencies and opportunities.
If you solve a $100M problem, a $1M compensation difference is a rounding error to the P&L owner.
But to the recruiter, it is a compliance violation. There are no benchmarks to prove that paying you a million more is competitive.
Good—this is what being differentiated feels like.
The trick is finding the big expensive problem that only you can solve—and aligning all of your narrative, timing, and expertise to maximize your leverage to take advantage of it.
If you can do this…
Stop negotiating with the person paid to save pennies.
Start negotiating with the person who needs to make millions.
How to Bypass the Gatekeeper
I am often asked: “Jacob, how do I go over the recruiter’s head without looking like a jerk?”
First—you aren’t going behind their back; you are going above their pay grade. You are relieving a functionary of a decision they are not qualified to make.
The “salary band” is a filter designed to catch people who negotiate like employees.
If you stop at the recruiter’s first “no,” that is a failure of strategy.
You cannot overcome the recruiter’s resistance by arguing logic. You must bypass the gatekeeper entirely and speak directly to the P&L Owner.
Here is how you do it.
Script A: The Employee (Weak)
Context: Speaking to the Recruiter.
You: “Is there any flexibility in the base salary? I was hoping for something closer to $350k.”
Recruiter: “Unfortunately, the band is capped at $310k. We can’t go higher. It’s our policy.”
Result: Dead end. You triggered a compliance check. The recruiter’s brain predicts a headache if they say yes, so they say no.
Script B: The Asset (Strong)
Context: Speaking to the Hiring Manager.
You: “I understand that the recruiting team is working to maintain precedent across the executive leadership team—and I respect your constraints. However, we’re not in a position where I can move forward with the current offer. What’s the chance that we can get creative, make this deal better for everyone, and get started immediately? I have no doubt that we can get there.”
Result: Opportunity. You have engaged the “Investor Brain” and unlocked an opportunity to collaborate on the real capital. Now how can you connect the value you create to better incentivize everyone?
Why this works:
Validation: You acknowledged their constraints without disparaging the recruiter (“I respect your constraints”). This lowers their cortisol and stops the threat response.
Reframing: You shifted the conversation from “salary” (cost) to “value” (making the deal better).
The Bypass: You moved the negotiation away from the person who can’t say yes, to the person who can.
Be The Exception
I understand your skepticism. But this is the reality of the top 1%.
The difficulty isn't the tactic; it's the self-awareness.
Everyone claims to be exceptional. Few are.
For those who align on every metric, this isn't arrogance. It is simply how business gets done at this level.
The people who mock this advice—the ones screaming “No F’ing Way!” in comment sections—are comfortable.
They are safe inside the herd.
They rely on “market data” because they don’t know how to create market value.
Their lack of creativity is your leverage.
While they are busy following the rules, you should be busy leading the terms of engagement.
There is always capital for an asset that generates value.
Make your case.
You have enough resistance in your career without following yet another middle-management voice in your head telling you to sit down and be quiet.
If you want the outlier results, you have to stop acting like the average candidate.
Need help applying this? Upgrade to paid for monthly live sessions with Jacob.
Stay fearless, friends.
I disagree that recruiters are idiot cashiers that don't have a sense of what corporate greed is and don't have direct access to the larger P&L. I admire your ambition to inspire people to ask for beyond the listed comp, but your readers also must understand that for most positions, even at the C-Suite level, there are backup candidates. When the economy is booming again, we can all get cocky again and sh*t on recruiters but for now, I would proceed with caution. That recruiter may decide to position things in a positive light toward candidate B, and they do have power with leaders and final decision makers.