Why Employers Ask About Salary So Early

Episode 243 - Salary is one of the most uncomfortable parts of the job search, especially when employers ask for expectations early in the process. In this episode, compensation consultant Matt McFarlane explains how companies think about pay, salary bands, job titles, negotiation, and what experienced professionals need to understand before naming a number.Few moments in a job search create as much discomfort as the salary question. It often appears too early, too bluntly, and too impersonally. A candidate is completing an online application, still unsure whether the role is a genuine fit, and suddenly a form asks for salary expectations or current compensation. For experienced professionals, especially those in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, that question can feel less like an administrative step and more like a trap.Read the full Blog on the WebsiteBook a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:0:00 The question that traps every job applicant0:47 Why nobody wants to talk about salary1:56 What employers really do with your number7:02 A smarter way to answer the salary question9:42 How companies build your pay package14:38 Why the top of the band is rarely offered18:21 Job titles, ego, and what they cost you22:29 Why startups hand out titles instead of money25:23 What startup hiring gets wrong (and right)30:55 The client who wrote his own job description34:07 Do employers expect you to negotiate?38:57 What you can negotiate besides salary39:47 Who fixes broken pay structures42:49 Inside the Startup People Summit44:34 Ask Matt your questions on LinkedInLinks mentioned in this episode:LinkedIn profile, Matt McFarlaneWatch the Replay of the Startup People Summit 2026FNDN’s website (Matt’s business)Podcast episode about salary negotiation (245)Podcast episode with startup founder Alex Naoumidis (47)Podcast episode with startup Chief People Officer, Emily Zhang (191)About the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

Episode 342 - What if confidence isn’t the thing holding you back? I’m sharing what I’m seeing in the job market right now, from executive presence and relatability to why being more human may be your biggest advantage in the age of AI.Confidence has become one of the most common explanations experienced professionals give me when their careers stall.“I need to be more confident.”“I’ve lost my confidence.”“I don’t think I come across confidently enough in interviews.”I hear versions of these statements every week from people with 15 or 20+ years of professional experience. They have managed teams, delivered complex projects, advised executives and built careers that demonstrate considerable competence. Yet when they enter a job search or begin aiming for a more senior role, confidence suddenly becomes the diagnosis. Increasingly, I think we may be diagnosing the wrong problem.The professionals who stand out today are not necessarily the people projecting the greatest certainty. Often, they are the ones who communicate with enough self-awareness to be credible, enough courage to be visible and enough humanity to be memorable. And in an employment market increasingly saturated with AI-assisted communication, those qualities may become considerably more valuable.Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:0:00 The new luxury is not using AI1:06 Why today is off-script2:49 Three things I can't stop noticing4:18 Why relatable beats confident8:21 Confidence is overrated10:31 It's not really confidence they lack12:04 What executive presence actually is15:07 There's no one right way to command a room17:16 The worst thing you can do in an interview19:43 The new luxury: slowing down in an AI world21:27 The career privilege nobody talks about23:54 When AI writes everything, being human is scarce26:23 Why slow is the new status symbol30:19 Become more of yourselfLinks mentioned in this episode:LinkedIn post from the beginning of 2026Episode 118 - Generalist or Specialist: Chances Are, You May Be Misusing the Labels!The ONE Thing Executives Who Land Jobs Fastest All DoAbout the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

Episode 341 - Financial stress can change how we assess risk, negotiate, job search and plan our next career move. Carrie Joy Grimes, founder and CEO of WorkMoney, joins me to discuss financial runway, career transitions, money anxiety and how to make better decisions when your income or employment suddenly feels uncertain. When experienced professionals lose their jobs, one of the first questions I ask is not about their resume, LinkedIn profile or network. I ask about money. How long can you afford to be out of work? The answer matters because a job search conducted with six months of financial runway can look very different from one conducted with six weeks.Financial stress has a way of turning a career decision into an emergency. Suddenly, the goal is no longer to find the right next role. It is to make the discomfort stop. That distinction came up repeatedly in my recent conversation with Carrie Joy Grimes, founder and CEO of WorkMoney, a U.S. nonprofit focused on helping working people improve their financial lives, and author of The Joy of Money: How to Do More With and Feel Better About Your Money, No Matter How Much You Have.“Financial stress isn't a thing that we walk around saying, ‘I'm financially stressed right now,’” Grimes told me. Instead, she described it as something that gradually weighs on us until we become accustomed to operating under pressure. That pressure can have consequences well beyond our bank accounts.Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:01:03 Introduction and Context of Financial Stress02:31 Understanding Financial Stress and Its Impact05:11 Strategies for Managing Financial Stress08:22 Navigating Career Transitions and Financial Decisions12:51 The Role of Employers in Alleviating Financial Stress17:59 Adapting to a Changing Workforce and Financial Landscape21:15 The Importance of Financial Education and Support25:50 Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Financial Well-being33:18 Embracing Change: The Transition to Entrepreneurship36:36 Budgeting for Joy: Finding Freedom in Financial Choices38:41 The Reality of Financial Distress: Sharing Real Stories41:27 Overcoming Financial Anxiety: Understanding Your Worth45:22 Empowering Women: Negotiating and Understanding Value52:09 Building a Supportive Community: The Role of Organizations54:07 The Joy of Money: Understanding Your Relationship with FinancesLinks mentioned in this episode:Carrie Joy Grimes’ new book, The Joy of MoneyCarrie’s non profit organization, WorkMoneyAbout the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

👉 Ready to take the next step in your career? Book a free Career Coaching Introductory Meeting with me.👉 Join 5,000+ senior professionals getting actionable ideas to get your next job and take control of your career directly in their inboxThe people deciding your next role form an opinion about you before you ever apply. This conversation shows you how to shape it.My guest is Vanessa Errecarte: marketing lecturer at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, consultant, and author of Valuable and Visible. She created one of the only for-credit MBA courses in personal branding in the United States, and she has a message for every senior professional who was taught that great work speaks for itself: the market stopped listening to silent excellence.We talk about why decades of strong work can disappear from view after a redundancy, how recruiters and hiring managers now discover senior candidates before a resume is ever read, and what separates real authority from empty visibility on LinkedIn. Vanessa explains why the advice to simply post more backfires, and why helping people publicly beats talking about yourself.You will also hear the practical layer: her formula for introducing yourself so people remember you, the difference between an influencer's job and yours, what AI can and cannot do for your thinking, and a minimum viable personal brand that takes 1 to 3 hours a week, starting with one LinkedIn post.In this episode, career coach Renata Bernarde and UC Davis marketing lecturer Vanessa Errecarte argue that personal branding is about creating value for others rather than promoting yourself: senior professionals get remembered, referred, and recruited when they publicly help their audience solve problems, because visibility without earned trust produces no career results.Your one thing this week: write one LinkedIn post using Vanessa's formula. Open with a short personal story, connect it to why it matters, then teach a framework of three to five steps your peers can use.As I say at the close of this episode, your expertise can be recognized, remembered and recommended through a little bit of work on your part. Subscribe so next week's episode finds you.Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:00:00 Introduction to Personal Branding and Visibility03:06 The Shift in Career Progression and Recruitment05:55 The Importance of Genuine Authority in Visibility09:08 Navigating Personal and Professional Branding11:52 Building Trust Through Value15:03 Leveraging Personal Stories for Professional Growth17:46 The Role of AI in Personal Branding20:56 Overcoming the Visibility Trap23:57 The Challenge of Authenticity in Online Presence27:33 Creating Engaging Content28:30 The Impact of Viral Posts29:04 Building Trust and Authenticity31:57 Navigating Job Transitions36:06 Minimal Visibility Strategies39:31 Consistency in Personal Branding43:24 Leveraging Different Platforms46:17 The Human Element in Online Engagement50:11 The Importance of Real-Life ConnectionsLinks mentioned in this episode:Vanessa’s websiteLearn more and join Renata’s RB Career ClubAbout the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

Ready to take the next step in your career? Book a free Career Coaching Introductory Meeting with me.Episode 339 - I answer the seven LinkedIn questions my career coaching clients ask most often, from headlines and About sections to recruiter visibility, skills, posting, and making your profile support your next career move. Most experienced professionals know LinkedIn matters. They know recruiters use it, hiring managers check it, and that former colleagues, board contacts, clients, and professional peers may look them up before making an introduction.And yet, many still treat LinkedIn as a digital filing cabinet. A place to store job titles, dates, and old responsibilities. That is a missed opportunity.Your LinkedIn profile is designed to be a record of where you have worked. It is a positioning tool. It should help the right people understand who you are, what you are known for, what problems you solve, and where you may be heading next.This is especially important for professionals in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. By this stage, your career is usually more complex. You may have worked across sectors, held several leadership roles., and you may be changing direction. For example, you may be moving from executive work to board roles, from corporate to consulting, from one industry to another, or from full employment into a portfolio career. If that's the case, your career complexity can be valuable. But if your LinkedIn profile does not translate it clearly, it can become confusing.That is why Episode 339 of The Job Hunting Podcast focuses on the seven LinkedIn questions my clients ask me most often. These are not questions from people who lack experience. They are questions from people who often have a lot of experience, but are not sure how to make that experience visible, searchable, and relevant. Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:00:00 The Importance of LinkedIn for Professionals06:05 Utilizing the Featured Section08:20 Choosing the Right Skills14:37 Crafting Your About Section20:53 Why Recruiters Aren't Finding You26:05 Positioning for Future OpportunitiesLinks mentioned in this episode:My LinkedIn Audit ServiceMy websiteAbout the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

Ready to take the next step in your career? Book a free Career Coaching Introductory Meeting with me.Episode 338 - I answer the seven career questions my clients ask most often about visibility, CVs, achievements, career change, age bias, role choice, and career storytelling. My clients don’t come to career coaching because they lack experience. They come because they are trying to make sense of that experience. They have done the work. They have led teams, managed complexity, navigated politics, influenced stakeholders, delivered projects, rebuilt systems, survived restructures, and made decisions under pressure.But when they sit down to explain what they want next, the story often becomes unclear. This is especially true for experienced professionals – those in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. By this stage, your career is rarely linear. You may have worked across sectors, changed functions, taken time out, held several leadership roles, been made redundant, moved countries, started consulting, returned to employment, or begun exploring board opportunities.Your experience may be rich. But rich experience can also be hard to explain. That is why Episode 338 of The Job Hunting Podcast focuses on the seven broader career questions my clients ask me most often.These are not LinkedIn questions. I will cover those in another episode. These are the bigger questions behind a job search, career transition, or professional reset. They are the questions that sit underneath the CV, the interview, the networking conversation, and the search strategy.And if there is one idea I want you to take from this episode, it is this: Your experience does not speak for itself. You need to translate it.Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:00:00 Understanding the Translation Problem in Careers01:07 The Seven Key Career Questions02:01 Visibility in the Job Market05:25 Tailoring Your CV for Success08:38 Highlighting Achievements Over Responsibilities11:15 Navigating Career Changes14:02 Addressing Age and Experience Bias17:53 Choosing the Right Roles to Apply For20:10 Crafting a Clear Career StoryLinks mentioned in this episode:You can find more information about Renata's coaching services at renatabernarde.comAbout the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

Ready to take the next step in your career? Book a free Career Coaching Introductory Meeting with me.Episode 337 - Job searching can test even the most experienced professionals. In this episode, I reflect on Sabalenka’s emotional loss at Roland Garros and explain why job seekers need to move from emotional reaction to strategic response after rejection, redundancy, long job searches, interviews, and career setbacks.There are moments in sport when we see more than performance.We see pressure, and the private battle that sits underneath public achievement.That happened recently at Roland Garros, when Aryna Sabalenka lost a match many expected her to win and later said she felt like she wanted to quit tennis. Reports from Reuters and Sky Sports captured the emotional weight of that moment. It was not polished or strategic. It was human.I was watching the interview with my father, and he said something that stayed with me. He observed that Sabalenka has the physical gifts of an elite tennis player. The strength, the talent, the training, the ability. But at that level, the difference is often mindset.That comment made me think about job seekers.Not because looking for work is the same as elite sport, of course. But because both can place people under intense pressure. Both require repeated performance under judgment. Both involve rejection, recovery, comparison, and the ability to reset after disappointment. Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:00:00 The Emotional Side of Job Searching05:45 Mindset Matters in Job Search10:01 Navigating Redundancy and Emotional Responses17:17 Dealing with Rejection and Performance Feedback22:12 The Challenges of a Long Job Search28:00 Exploring Career Changes and New Directions32:47 Building Resilience in Job Search StrategiesLinks mentioned in this episode:Renata's website About the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

Ready to take the next step in your career? Book a free Career Coaching Introductory Meeting with me.Episode 336 - If I were job hunting now, I would not apply at scale, outsource my voice to AI, or wait until I was unemployed to build visibility. This article explains five common mistakes experienced professionals should avoid and how to make the job search more strategic. If I were job hunting in 2026, I would not start by asking how many jobs I should apply for each week. I would ask a more useful question: what would genuinely improve my odds?That shift matters because the job search has become more efficient and more frustrating at the same time. Candidates can now use artificial intelligence to write resumes, tailor cover letters, prepare for interviews, research employers, and apply for more jobs in less time. Employers are also using AI to screen, sort, compare, and manage applicants. In theory, this should make hiring easier. In practice, it has made the process noisier.A 2026 Robert Half survey found that 67% of HR leaders say AI-generated applications are slowing hiring, 84% of HR teams report heavier workloads as AI-tailored applications increase, and 65% of hiring managers say AI-enhanced resumes make skills harder to verify. This is the paradox of the 2026 job search: job seekers can apply faster, but hiring managers are finding it harder to trust what they read.For experienced professionals, especially those in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, the answer is not to join the noise. The answer is to become sharper, more credible, and more strategic. There are five things I would not do if I were job hunting now.Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:00:00 Introduction to Job Hunting Challenges00:50 Stop Applying at Scale06:39 The Role of AI in Job Applications10:11 Building Visibility Before Job Seeking14:08 Education vs. Real Career Problems18:27 Analyzing Job Search Data for ImprovementLinks mentioned in this episode:Renata's websiteAbout the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

Ready to take the next step in your career? Book a free Career Coaching Introductory Meeting with me.Episode 335 - Most job seekers focus on applying more. But in a tougher market, volume alone is not enough. Kyle Austin Young explains how “probability hacking” can help professionals improve their odds, de-risk career change, prepare better for interviews, and make smarter career decisions. Most professionals do not think about their careers in probabilities.They think in effort.They think, “I have worked hard.”They think, “I have good experience.”They think, “I am qualified for this role.”They think, “If I apply to enough jobs, something will happen.”And sometimes, something does happen.But in a tighter job market, hope is not a strategy. Volume is not always a strategy either. The experienced professionals I work with are often surprised to discover that the most important question is not, “How do I apply for more jobs?”The better question is: How do I improve the odds that the right opportunity will convert into an interview, an offer, and a good career decision?That question was at the centre of my conversation with Kyle Austin Young, the guest on Episode 335 of The Job Hunting Podcast. Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:00:00 The Journey to Consulting and Writing10:32 Strategies for Career Success15:13 Building a Personal Brand20:10 Navigating Career Pivots27:15 Identifying Weak Links in Job Searches33:30 Navigating Job Hunting Strategies35:02 Building a Personal Brand37:26 Leveraging Social Media for Networking38:31 The Importance of a Portfolio39:28 Practicing Communication Skills41:41 Dealing with Rejection and Failure46:50 Learning from Setbacks49:25 Understanding Employer Needs55:31 Final Thoughts on Goal SettingLinks mentioned in this episode:Kyle's LinkedIn profileKyle's websiteKyle's book, Success Is A Numbers GameAbout the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter

Episode 334 - Executive headhunter Gerard Miles explains how search firms identify, assess, and approach candidates, and what experienced professionals can do to become more visible, relevant, and memorable to the recruiters who matter.Many experienced professionals reach a point in their career where the job market starts to feel strangely opaque.Earlier in their careers, they could apply for advertised roles, hear back from recruiters, attend interviews, and move through a relatively visible hiring process. But at senior levels, the rules change.The hiring process is quieter. The shortlist may be built before a role ever becomes public. And the people being considered are often not actively looking.This is why so many senior executives become frustrated when they approach the job market the same way they did ten or twenty years ago. They update their resume, apply for roles online, wait for responses, and assume that if they are good enough, the market will find them.But executive recruitment does not work that way.In my conversation with Gerard Miles, a headhunter specialising in the games and entertainment sector and co-founder of Mission One, we discussed what really happens behind the scenes in senior hiring. And although Gerard works in a very specific niche, the lessons are not limited to gaming.Replace the word “gaming” with mining, education, retail, health, technology, financial services, or government, and the same principles apply.At the senior executive level, hiring is less about applications and more about relevance, reputation, timing, and trust. Read the full Blog on the Website Book a Free Introductory Consultation with Renata31 Days of Action for Job SeekersFind Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career GrowJoin 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe NowLear More About Renata's career coaching and courses Timestamps to guide your listening:00:00 The Journey into Gaming and Entertainment06:52 Headhunting in the Gaming Sector12:25 Sourcing Candidates: The Headhunter’s Process18:33 Navigating the Hidden Job Market21:16 Patterns of Successful Candidates24:27 The Current State of Gaming and Entertainment31:15 Building Relationships with Headhunters39:17 Effective Networking Strategies42:00 Navigating Career Opportunities in 2026Links mentioned in this episode:Gerard's recruitment firm, Mission OneGerard's Podcast, Mission One: The Executive EdgeGerard's LinkedIn ProfileHalt and Catch FireAbout the host, Renata BernardeHello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. Watch the Episodes on YouTubeFollow Renata on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramFacebookX / Twitter