How to Lead IT Salary Negotiations with Integrity

At the current rate of adoption, artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to take over all information technology work by 2030.

That’s the gist of Gartner VP analyst Alicia Mullery’s keynote address during the recently concluded Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™ 2025 in Gold Coast, Australia. She stated that AI-assisted work will account for 75% of an IT department’s workload in five years, while the rest will be fully automated by AI. Currently, 81% of IT work is still performed unassisted. ⁽¹⁾

Future generations of IT professionals will need to be proficient in AI if they want to secure a job in this economy. On that note, those who already are will realise that their skillset will be in high demand. It’s already happening, with a Nexford University survey revealing that nearly one in three hiring managers say they prefer candidates who are AI-proficient. ⁽²⁾

Hiring managers like you can expect the candidates to leverage their AI skills in negotiating a higher starting salary. While you shouldn’t lock them out of a raise later, you also want to urge them to prove they’re worthy of it. Here are some tips on leading IT salary negotiations without looking like you’re underestimating the candidate.

Know the Job’s Market Value

No salary stays constant, even if it does so for too long. Anything (and everything) from the cost of living to global crises can impact a person’s view of how much a job really pays.

^{Supplementary reading: 5 Practical Tips To Negotiate For Salary Raise}

Yet, HR experts argue that most of their people are too fixated on current rates. One hiring manager for a Fortune 100 company interviewed by SHRM stressed that “compensation is built around ranges.” These ranges, calculated using a formula, are a staple of negotiations with candidates, allowing recruiters flexibility in their offers.

The more a job pays, the more critical it is to use median salary ranges. The tech sector offers some of the highest-paying jobs, at least in the U.S., with a typical annual IT salary range of around six figures. Below are some examples based on wage data from an IT recruitment consultancy.

With the pandemic giving everyone a taste of what it’s like to be cut off from their source of regular income, experts agree that candidates are more likely to negotiate on the high end. Salary ranges can help you in a bind.

Handle Gen Z Candidates Carefully

In 2024, the Department of Labour’s Employment and Training Administration reported that Gen Z surpassed Baby Boomers in the share of the U.S. workforce. Despite Millennials and Gen X still making up the majority at 67%, their numbers have remained stable since 2018, whereas Gen Z’s numbers are going up. ⁽³⁾

If recent stories are any indication, Gen Z is a whole different breed. Online resume builder Resume Templates defined this generation as “lacking the independence, motivation, and real-world knowledge to contribute to the workplace.” For instance, a survey conducted that same year found that some individuals tend to ask their parents for help in getting a job. ⁽⁴⁾

That also includes advocating for a higher salary.

However, that’s only the minority. The rest who negotiate their salary themselves do so to the point that it has changed the game for salary negotiations. Gen Z is more likely to do so than any other generation, and when they do, they do it with intensity. Analysts suggest that several factors contribute to this trend, including applicants having access to more information.

^{Read more: Stop Asking Candidates for Their Last-Drawn Salary}

Some hiring managers admit to favouring older candidates over younger ones, but they soon won’t have this luxury. Caroline Castrillon, a Forbes senior contributor and founder of the career advice newsletter Corporate Escape Artist, suggests that one approach is to understand how Gen Z negotiates their salaries. Some of their strategies include: ⁽⁵⁾

• Getting multiple offers before entering salary negotiations
• Working with recruiters instead of downright demanding
• Leveraging job offers from other competitors
• Preparing scripts and talking points ahead of time
• Sharing the salaries of their peers in similar roles

When making a counteroffer, it’s essential to highlight its contents. As far as tech jobs go, you can argue that your offer is a comprehensive benefits package that includes IT training programs. There’s always room for tech professionals to improve, as technology continues to evolve, so applicants would do well to consider this.

Ask Candidates to Justify Their Salary

In a way, you can think of a salary negotiation as akin to a thesis defence. You’re a member of the panel scrutinising the applicant’s demand for a high starting salary. And just like any successful defence, the latter has to back it up with data.

Speaking with CNBC’s Make It, tech career coach Adam Broda advised applicants against “throwing out numbers without a chain of logic.” Asking for a high starting salary without a compelling case risks a candidate’s prospects by appearing selfish. In most HR people’s eyes, Broda states that it can look like they’re being taken advantage of.

This is all the more reason, considering that the younger generation changes jobs frequently. Millennials and younger generations are driven by a strong desire to explore alternative paths in their careers, or even different careers. Job hopping isn’t as taboo now as it was in past decades, especially with a fickle job economy.

By asking candidates good reasons to agree to their salary request, you give the impression that you’re serious about considering them. Any supporting evidence they provide also allows you to justify budget-related requests to management.

Broda advised candidates to offer one or two solid examples to support their case. Some examples include candidate experience, positive results they helped achieve for a former employer, or proficiency in in-demand skills. Sometimes, their reason can be to make up for the commute (unless it's full remote work) or factors beyond their control, such as inflation.

Conclusion

Salary negotiations can be challenging, especially in the lucrative IT job market. That said, securing an outcome that benefits both parties starts with leading the negotiations with integrity. Let facts, such as salary range data, dictate the flow of the dialogue to arrive at an understanding instead of conflict.