Candidates Are Asking for More Money. Here's Why You Should Listen.

So... my CEO said to me the other week, “You haven’t written a blog for a while.” Naturally, I then spent my free time overthinking what I should actually write about. Market trends? Artificial Intelligence, World Cup?

And then yesterday, I had a conversation with a candidate that made the answer very obvious. When we got to salary expectations, he asked for a significant increase from his current salary. There was a pause, a bit of honesty, and then the moment that stuck with me was thinking this is exactly where the market tension is sitting right now.

Because while that example might be on the higher end of expectation, the wider pattern underneath it isn’t. Over the last few months, I’ve noticed a consistent theme: candidates returning with salary expectations up to $30K higher than their current salaries.

And in the moment, it’s very easy to default to the simplest line in recruitment: “That’s not in the budget.” But I think that response skips over what’s actually happening in the market right now. And one thing I’ve learned over the past 9 years in recruitment is this: always listen to what candidates are saying and then pay attention to why they’re saying it.

Because this isn’t just inflation in expectations. In many cases, it’s a widening gap between internal salary structures set in a very different market, and what the external NZ tech market is now signalling. Especially in a space where capability is still tight, transparency is higher than it used to be, and candidates have more viable options than ever, including contracting and offshore roles.

Let's reality-check what we're hearing on the ground

Since I wrote my last blog back in January, I’ve gone back through my notes and conversations to sanity-check what we’re seeing on the ground, not just what feels loud in the moment. One word has become increasingly common in those conversations: “underpaid.” It shows up repeatedly, often directly linked to why someone is open to a move, or why expectations are shifting.

In the same period, “counteroffer” also comes up regularly. And that matters. Because even when a counteroffer isn’t accepted, it still shifts something. It resets perception. It changes the internal anchor of what someone believes they’re worth, and what feels fair for the risk of moving.

So when someone comes back asking for a $20K to $30K increase rather than incremental movement, it’s not always framed as ambition. A lot of the time, it’s framed as a correction. And that language is showing up consistently in real conversations.

So, what is the market actually telling us?

On paper, salary movement always looks incremental. But hiring decisions don’t happen on spreadsheets. They happen after 12 to 24 months of quietly expanded scope. After teams get leaner. After delivery expectations increase, but titles don’t. After people are effectively operating one level above where their compensation sits.

So the questions candidates are really asking tend to sound like this:

• Am I actually being paid fairly for what I do now?

• If I move, will I actually be better off after the cost of living?

• If I’m taking the risk of leaving, is the upside meaningful?

You can have a market that looks stable in macro data, but feels very different in day-to-day hiring conversations. The pressure sits in the gap between internal bands and external reality.

SEEK says it's not just us noticing this

The latest SEEK NZ Employment Report reinforces that this isn’t just anecdotal.

Job ads in New Zealand have now recorded 18 consecutive months of month-on-month growth, showing a steady but ongoing recovery in hiring activity rather than a sharp rebound.

Applications per job ad have also started rising again, meaning more candidates are competing for roles, even as job volumes increase. This creates a more complex balance between supply and demand than a simple “talent shortage” narrative. Regionally, growth is no longer just Auckland and Wellington. Areas like Canterbury, Southland, and the West Coast are showing stronger momentum, largely driven by infrastructure and construction activity.

One of the more interesting signals is around AI. Roles referencing AI skills have increased significantly year on year, but they still make up only a small proportion of total job ads. In other words, it’s growing fast, but adoption is still early across the broader market. We are not in a shrinking job market. We are in a rebalancing one.

Why are people suddenly asking for another $20K to $30K?

1. People are correcting after staying put Many strong performers haven’t moved roles in 2 to 4 years. Even well-run organisations struggle to keep internal increases aligned with what the external market is now paying for the same capability, especially once someone has grown into a broader version of their role.

2. Role creep is real, and often under-recognised Scope expands quietly: delivery ownership, stakeholder complexity, mentoring, incident response, security accountability, platform reliability. But the title and salary band don’t always move with it. Candidates don’t usually say, “I deserve more.” They say, “My role has changed, but my salary hasn’t.”

3. Counteroffers reset expectations Even when declined, a counteroffer changes the anchor point. It makes it harder to go backwards and shifts what someone considers fair value in future conversations.

4. Transparency is moving expectations faster than internal cycles Candidates have more reference points than ever: peers, recruiters, online ranges, and offshore comparisons. The data isn’t perfect, but it’s enough to shift expectations quickly.

5. Cost of living means moves have to make sense For many Auckland-based candidates, a move only stacks up if there’s a clear improvement after tax and lifestyle impact. A $6K increase can disappear quickly. The $20K to $30K range is often where the decision starts to feel worth the risk.

The biggest hiring tension right now

Sometimes “that’s not in budget” is completely valid. But it shouldn’t be the end of the conversation. If internal bands haven’t kept pace with the market, the question becomes: What can we flex to still attract and retain the capability we actually need?

That might mean properly recalibrating role level and scope. It might mean building a structured progression that is real, not theoretical. It might mean rethinking total reward. And in some cases, it might mean leaning into contracting as a cleaner reflection of current market value without distorting internal equity. Because if we don’t adapt to it, the outcome doesn’t change. The talent doesn’t disappear; it just moves elsewhere.

What we've actually been hiring across Tech & Digital

Since January, one thing is clear across our Technology & Digital hiring activity: demand hasn’t been sitting in one lane. It’s been spread across the full “build, run, secure, experience” ecosystem.

The past 6 months alone across both Auckland & Welly region, we've recruited;

• Product (Product Owners)

• Project Managers

• Business Analysts

• Transformation Leads

• Senior Engineering (Staff Engineers, Software Developers)

• Cloud and SRE (including Azure-focused roles)

• Data Engineering (& Data Analytics Engineers)

• Cybersecurity (& Senior Security Advisors)

• Application Support and Service Delivery roles

• UX and Digital Experience design..basically - almost everything!

What that mix tells me is fairly consistent: organisations are still investing in core build capability, but there’s also a clear focus on stabilising delivery, improving reliability, strengthening security, supporting teams properly, and improving experience layers. It’s not just a new build anymore. It’s built, harden, and scale.

Final words from Poppy, our fabulous Chief Greeting Officer

Poppy said… If I step back and look at the last six months alongside the start of the year, the shift hasn’t just been in hiring activity. It’s been kept confidential. Candidate confidence in what they’re worth. Employer confidence in what they can stretch to. And a market that is quietly re-pricing itself in real time.

The SEEK data backs that up. Our conversations reflect it. And candidates are acting on it. It’s easy to respond with “that’s not in the budget.” It’s harder, but more important, to ask: Are we building hiring strategies for the market we’re actually in, or the one we wish we were in?

Because candidates are already answering that question with their decisions.

Whether you're hiring or looking for your next role, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out to Teresa or anyone at the Tribe team to start the conversation.