Career Coach reveals the one question you should ALWAYS ask during salary negotiations with a recruitment agency to protect yourself

A career strategist has lifted the lid on the question you should always ask when applying for contract jobs through a recruitment agency.

Kyyah Abdul, 29, is a digital creator and founder of Career Savage, which aims to help students and entry-level workers with their professional development.

The Nigerian-American businesswoman, based in Los Angeles, California, has over 223,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares career advice.

In a recent videoshe revealed the one red flag to look out for if you are negotiating your pay rate for a contract job through an outside search firm.

In a recent video, she revealed the one red flag to look out for when negotiating your salary for a contract job through an outside search firm.

“If the recruiter calls you and asks, ‘What is your hourly rate for this position?’ And they say the maximum amount for this job is $60. The next question to ask is, “What is your margin for this role? What is the company’s margin for this role I am applying for now?” she explained.

“Because they’re going to tell you the most they can pay you is $60, but that’s not true. The maximum amount allocated for that role that the company is willing to pay the recruiting firm for you is probably $160.”

Abdul said the recruiter will tell you that the maximum amount they can pay you is $60 per hour, when in reality they will receive $100 of the available $160.

“This is ON TOP of what they may have already charged the company while searching for you,” she noted in the caption.

The career expert admitted that she finds it annoying that recruiting companies ‘Take away these ridiculous margins for doing absolutely nothing but finding you.”

“And I get it. Everyone has work to do, but it’s frustrating,” she continued. ‘You as a talent, you as a professional, must protect yourself in the salary negotiation phase and ask that question.’

Abdul added that the recruiter will likely be “surprised” if you ask about the company’s margin, because “no one ever asks that question.”

“When you find out what their margin is, make sure you’re comfortable with the margin they take,” she concluded.

The career coach explained that you should always ask what the recruitment company’s margin is for the position you are applying for

Abdul’s video has been viewed more than 50,000 times and many recruiters confirmed that she said it was true

Abdul’s video has been viewed more than 50,000 times and received nearly 150 comments since it was posted on September 29.

“Wait now, I’m more annoyed by the fact that I know I’m not getting paid enough for this contract role I’m in,” someone replied.

“Sometimes the difference between invoice and salary is sooooo big that it’s ridiculous,” agreed another.

‘RIGHT!! Some of them take 50%!!!’ Abdul replied.

‘This is right! There is an invoice rate = total costs. They will always bring out the minimum and not the middle or the maximum,” someone else noted.

Many recruiters also had an opinion about the margin that external search agencies take.

‘As someone who has worked in the staffing industry for over 5 years, you speak FACTS!!!’ wrote one viewer. ‘Depends on (the) client, but contract activities always have a wider pay range.’

“This is a tough one because I’ve been recruited but I also started a recruitment agency and I use the same math so I’ll stay quiet,” someone else admitted.

‘As a recruiter, I agree. Don’t tell them what your salary expectations are, ask them what their range is. They should tell you,” another added.