Yes, there's a 'range' for each position. That range could be very wide. But they don't normally tell you the ceiling. Generally speaking the range is 10%-20% of the salary they offered. Say if they offered 100k, the bottom could be 80k, the ceiling could be 120k.
With that said, the '1k' floating is most likely BS.
Will they go for the 2nd candidate if you ask 5k more? Possibly but not probably. That 5k won't cut into the decision maker's W2. So why go for the cheaper one?
With that said, the '1k' floating is most likely BS.
Will they go for the 2nd candidate if you ask 5k more? Possibly but not probably. That 5k won't cut into the decision maker's W2. So why go for the cheaper one?