'Exactly What Candidates Ask For, No Salary Negotiations': Bengaluru CEO’s Approach To Hiring

A LinkedIn post about a unique way to handle salary negotiations is circulating online. Arjun V, co-founder and CEO of the Bengaluru company Zoko, shared his unusual approach during hiring. He revealed that, unlike the usual method, his company doesn’t negotiate salaries with job applicants. Instead, they pay candidates exactly what they ask for to attract top talent.

Arjun, CEO of Zoko, wrote in his post, “After hiring over 18 team members, I’ve discovered the key to keeping top talent: We don’t negotiate salaries. We simply pay what they ask for.” He added that the company adjusts salaries annually to keep compensation fair and competitive. Arjun also mentioned there are various reasons for this approach but didn't go into details in his post.

The CEO of Bengaluru-based startup Zoko also shared a rare instance where he did negotiate a candidate’s salary. He said, “I’ve only negotiated salaries one time, and that too was to increase a candidate's pay, as he was under estimating his worth.” He ended his post by explaining this situation.

Within hours of being posted, LinkedIn users reacted with different comments and questions.

One user asked, “Arjun, what happens if candidates request unrealistic salary hikes? I’ve had to negotiate with candidates who asked for 100% raises.”

Another user commented, “This post could serve as a mini guide for recruitment.”

A user who praised the approach said, “This is great and other recruiters should follow it. We should discourage situations where recruiters push candidates hard just to save money for the employer.”

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