The Salary Conversation Nobody Wants to Have
There’s no doubt that salaries across the built environment have shifted significantly over the last few years.
Inflation, rising living costs, hybrid working expectations, talent shortages, retention concerns, and increasingly competitive markets have all played their part. Add title inflation into the mix, and suddenly the salary conversation has become more complicated than ever.
And if I’m honest, it’s also become one of the most difficult conversations recruiters now have on a daily basis.
Over the last 12 months, I’ve spent a huge amount of time recruiting within the data centre sector. It’s one of the fastest-growing areas in the industry, attracting enormous investment and naturally becoming hugely appealing to professionals looking for their next move.
The challenge is that many candidates see the headlines, hear about the scale of projects and the fees involved, and immediately assume salaries must be dramatically higher across the board.
In some cases, they are.
But what we’re increasingly seeing are candidates with little or no direct data centre experience requesting salaries that simply don’t align with their background, technical capability, or market value.
The assumption seems to be: “Data centres equal big money, therefore my salary should significantly increase.”
Unfortunately, the reality is more nuanced than that.
Clients are still hiring based on experience, delivery capability, sector knowledge, and commercial value. The premium salaries are typically going to individuals who have already operated successfully in these environments — often under immense pressure, on highly technical schemes, with critical infrastructure exposure and complex stakeholder management responsibilities.
It’s not just about wanting to move into a “hot sector.” It’s about proving you can deliver within it.
What’s also interesting is how expectations around bonuses, hybrid working, and titles are now tied into salary negotiations more than ever before.
Candidates are no longer simply asking: “What’s the basic salary?”
They’re asking:
How many days in the office? What’s the bonus structure? What title will I have? How quickly can I progress? What’s the long-term earning potential?
And rightly so. People are thinking more carefully about their careers and quality of life.
However, there does need to be some realism on both sides.
A more flexible role, better culture, stronger leadership, or exposure to a growing sector can sometimes offer far more long-term value than simply chasing the biggest immediate pay rise.
Likewise, employers also need to recognise that expectations have changed. The market today is very different to the one we operated in five years ago. Strong candidates know their worth, and businesses that fail to evolve will struggle to attract and retain talent.
The difficulty is finding balance.
Because somewhere between genuine market progression and unrealistic expectation, the industry has entered a phase where salary conversations can sometimes feel disconnected from experience.
The best career moves are still the ones built on sustainable progression, credibility, and long-term opportunity — not just salary headlines.
And perhaps that’s the conversation we should be having more openly.
