Interview Question: What Are Your Current Salary Expectations?

You should not talk about salary until you have the job in hand. If you are asked about salary, you politely say you would like to learn more about the job and would be happy to figure out salary once it appears you are a good fit for the position. However, if you are forced to talk about salary, or you have finished both interviews and it looks like you are about to be hired, you will need to answer that question.

How to Answer

Do research. The more research you have on hand, the easier it will be to negotiate salary. Don’t talk about what you want. Talk about what you know the job is worth. Look up labor statistics, etc. Also, see if it is possible to make the interviewer give you a range first. We will show two options of that below.

Bad Answer

“I would like $50,000 plus full benefits, including vision. I would also like maternity leave, and I would like a company care. No, wait… Two company cars. And a masseuse. Shaken, not stirred.”

Good Answer #1

“What salary range is your company looking for?”

Good Answer #2

“According to the bureau of labor statistics, the average salary for this job in well-populated cities is between $40,000 and $50,000 per year. Based on both my experience and the work expected in the position, I am looking for around $47,000.”

Good answers will either make the employer give you an offer first, or be backed with a considerable amount of research so that you can justify why you deserve the amount of money you are asking for. If you make the first move, remember to always start with a number above what you want to make, in case the employer tries to bargain you down.

Take Away Interview Tips

• See if you can get the company to make an offer first.
• If not, back up your salary expectations with research.
• Never answer questions about salary until you have the job in hand, if you can help it.

Why Negotiating a Higher Salary is Good for the Employer

Sweet. You nailed the second interview and it is time to negotiate salary. We are so proud of you. You are our prized pupil and you deserve a pat on the back, but now you need to try to get as much money as possible from the employer. Squeeze them for whatever you can.

When you are fairly desperate for a job, there is a natural tendency to try to lowball your needs and wants during salary negotiation because you do not want to ask for a number that may affect the employer’s decision. The last thing you want to do is to ask for a few million dollars and get your contract ripped up before you sign it. You don’t want to ask for some ridiculous number.

However, you do not want to ask for too little either. In fact, you want to try to get as much money as possible. Why? Because the company wants you to.

What?

Okay, maybe they don’t want to give you more money than you are worth. They don’t want to be cheated out of revenue that could be used elsewhere. It’s a tough economy, and companies are struggling enough as is.

However, they also want you, and once they have you, they want you to stay. Once you are hired, they never want you to leave provided you do your job adequately. You are an investment, and they want to continue making good ROI.

One of the best ways to do that is to pay you a dollar value that you are satisfied with, because one of the most common reasons that people leave jobs is because they find a higher paying job elsewhere. Since the company does not want you to leave, finding a pay you are satisfied with is the best way to keep you around. Thus the company wants to pay you a dollar figure that makes you happy, provided it is not egregiously high.

Try to Get the Realistic Dollar Amount You Want

You cannot ask for the moon, but you should try to get a dollar amount that you will be very happy with. The company wants you to stay, so any amount of money that might encourage you to leave 1, 2, or even 5 years down the road is too little.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Try to get as much as you can.
• Realistically.

5 Salary Negotiation Tips for Job Interviews (And Life)

It’s not that fun to negotiate salary. You want to make as much as possible, but you don’t want to harm your job interview by asking for a lot more than the company thinks you deserve. It is a delicate balance, because the perception is that if you ask for far too much, you are going to make it sound as though you think you are better than you truly are.

What you must remember though is that paying you as much as possible is as important for the company as it is for you. You are an investment. The company is wasting its resources on you. Assuming you do your job adequately, the company wants and needs you to stay for as long as possible. If you go into salary negotiation and ask for less money than you want in order to help you get the job, that’s bad for the company because although they get to hire you for less than they were willing to pay, you will also now have incentive to leave and find a new job when you are tired of how little they pay you. One of the most commonly cited reasons for staff turnover is that the employee wanted to make more money.

With that in mind, here are several tips for how to attack salary negotiation at your job interview or at your current place of employment.

Salary Negotiation Tips

1.       Research

The best way to negotiate a good salary is to have a good understanding about what you are “supposed” to make. The best way to do that is to research the position in full. See if you can find salaries for the company, average salaries for those with your job title, average salaries for those with your educational background, etc. The more you know, the more you can stand behind the number you choose.

2.       Be Honest With Yourself

As mentioned, it is in both the company’s and your best interests to pick a number you can be satisfied with. If you need more to be happy, then you need to ask for more. If you know you don’t deserve more and don’t need more to be happy, ask for a bit less.

3.       Wait Until the End

You are in a much better position to discuss salary if you wait until the end of the interview. You will know exactly what your job will be and how it should be valued by the company. You are also in a much better bargaining position if you already have the job than you would be if you asked for a high amount of money before the interview is over.

4.       Get the Company to Offer a Number First

If you can get a salary range from the company before asking for a dollar value, you are in a better position. IF they tell you “We can offer anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000” then you know that you can lean north of 40,000 and still be in an acceptable range. If you give a number first, the company will have an easier time knocking you down.

5.       Find Out About Growth

In some cases, it may be useful to take less pay if you know that you have a chance to grow quickly in the company. For example, if you get a job as a marketing assistant, but know that promotions to marketing associates come with bigger paychecks, and most marketing assistants become associates within a year or two, then maybe you can live with less money with the knowledge that it is only temporary.

Be Willing to Walk Away

Finally, if you cannot make as much money as you need, you may need to look for another job. When the economy is tough, many people try to get any job they can, regardless of income. Yet if you make less than you know you deserve and/or need, you are going to be unhappy, and the chances of remaining employed at the company are slim. Why take a job that you are simply going to leave anyway?

Start the negotiation asking for a little above what you want to make and try to get as much as you can. Only then will you be happy at the job, and the company will be happy knowing you will stay.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Research to find a starting point.
• Learn about the company.
• Try to get the company to make the first offer.