Expected salary

I am me123 · 03-03-2021 1:30pm #1

Interview question:
"What are your salary expectations?"
What is generally the desired answer here?
Should you:
[Aim as high as possible even if it sounds unrealistic

[State that this is something that could be discussed at a later stage if a role is offered.

Thoughts?

1percent · 03-03-2021 1:45pm

Answering this question is a no win for the interviewee. Best to avoid giving a figure, my go too is..

I'm not overly concerned at this stage of the process, if in the event I am the successful candidate you will make me an offer, of it is acceptable I will agree, if not I will let you know what I would expect.

Short simple and polite is key

Interested Observer · 03-03-2021 2:11pm

1percent wrote: »

Answering this question is a no win for the interviewee. Best to avoid giving a figure, my go too is..

I'm not overly concerned at this stage of the process, if in the event I am the successful candidate you will make me an offer, of it is acceptable I will agree, if not I will let you know what I would expect.

Short simple and polite is key

Personally, I like to know up front what salary range we're talking because there's no point in going on with the process if the upper range is too low. I had a recruiter contact me on LinkedIn recently who was open about the salary bracket, it was less than what I make now, I am not in position to take a paycut, we all move on. I would tend to agree it's a bit of a no-win to answer it, I often just respond by asking the recruiter what the salary range is for the role. I don't know if that is optimal but personally I prefer to have an idea up front. Referring back to the OP I also don't think there's much point in saying you expect 100k p/a if you know it's miles out of line for the role.

dragx · 03-03-2021 2:15pm

I've always worked in places where I was automatically on a standard salary scale so it's never been an issue.

If I was asked, I'd probably just say that I would expect remuneration in line with my qualifications and experience. I'd never give a figure though.

I am me123 · 03-03-2021 3:42pm

1percent wrote: »

Answering this question is a no win for the interviewee. Best to avoid giving a figure, my go too is..

I'm not overly concerned at this stage of the process, if in the event I am the successful candidate you will make me an offer, of it is acceptable I will agree, if not I will let you know what I would expect.

Short simple and polite is key

I usually go for this approach but I was once further pushed to answer the question after answering like the above. Eventually I said minimum wage perhaps higher, but of course this can be discussed if I am.offered a role. '&#55357;&#56904;
Was this a bad answer? Especially as I was pushed to answer.

GhostyMcGhost · 03-03-2021 3:46pm

This question haunts me as it backfired on me in an interview once

I replied that it’s not about the salary, was interested in the role (agency already gave me the figure)

The manager offered me the job via the agency but salary was a good bit less than what I was told first

My response to that in future is to justify how I would be worth the stated salary (assuming you get one beforehand that is)

bennyineire · 03-03-2021 3:47pm

Before going to an interview I always ask up front what is the salary range is for the role. I have always got an answer back.

I don't think this has ever affected my success in landing the role, in my last 6 interviews I was offered 5 roles and I always knew what the salary range was before the interview.

I have turned down a few interviews after the salary range has been disclosed when the range was far below than I expected.

03-03-2021 11:07pm

I'd give a figure.

I think it's very much dependent on your value as a candidate for the position, the market value for the position, and the company in question. Make sure you're completely confident about what you're asking for - by all means go a little higher and try to push it up, but if you ask for an amount you know is too much for the role, or that you know isn't your value based on experience/performance etc., it's going to be very difficult to convince them that they need to meet your expectations.

Particularly in my own case as a woman, it's very important to be clear. You hear so many horror stories about being shot down during salary negotiations, or not being entertained in trying to negotiate at all (this has happened to me, where I was completely dismissed by a recruiter who wouldn't relay my expectations to the prospective employer). I'd much rather be clear about what I want and make sure that if we disagree about what I'm worth, we at least have that conversation so I can say my piece.

Cienciano · 04-03-2021 3:05pm

I am me123 wrote: »

Interview question:
"What are your salary expectations?"
What is generally the desired answer here?
Should you:
[Aim as high as possible even if it sounds unrealistic

[State that this is something that could be discussed at a later stage if a role is offered.

Thoughts?

Depends on the company. Big company might have a set salary for that position. I've worked in places that don't advertise the salary, but it was a set salary, so not open to negotiation. Salary is €38-€40k, if you put down €60k you wouldn't even be called for the interview. If you said €30k, you'd get €38.

TimeToShine · 04-03-2021 10:45pm

Always say market rate, never ever give a figure until you are through to the offer stage. Your goal is to turn the answer to the question "Am I hired?" from a "No-but" to a "Yes-if", and getting to the offer stage is the only way to do so. By then the company has spent thousands of hours reading CVs, interviewing you and discussing the role amongst themselves. You are an asset and their sunk costs are mounting by the day, if you reject their offer now they'll have to start over, and that is the last thing they want.

Tweeter · 04-03-2021 10:54pm

If you've been referred for interview via an agency, it's an easy one to answer. Anytime I've been asked this question, I always answered similar to the following,

I'm not comfortable talking about money so I'll leave that up to the agency to deal with.

This was very often met by good answer, we'll be in touch, so it seemed more than a respectable answer as far as the interviewers were concerned, plus it gives the agency something to do other than just collect the money for forwarding on your CV

Diziet · 05-03-2021 4:36pm

I generally ask for the expected range, or say 'I am currently on x including benefits and I would be expecting a meaningful increase in order to move'. No point in wasting everyone's time is the package is way below expectations.

Interested Observer · 05-03-2021 6:35pm

Diziet wrote: »

I generally ask for the expected range, or say 'I am currently on x including benefits and I would be expecting a meaningful increase in order to move'. No point in wasting everyone's time is the package is way below expectations.

Make sure you add 5k onto what you're actually on if you go with this.

Sheep Shagger · 05-03-2021 6:38pm

Interested Observer wrote: »

Make sure you add 5k onto what you're actually on if you go with this.

I would say go for 10% of current salary - unless you really hate your current job or you are jobless its not worth moving for less than 10% IMO.

Interested Observer · 05-03-2021 6:43pm

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

I would say go for 10% of current salary - unless you really hate your current job or you are jobless its not worth moving for less than 10% IMO.

Yeah pretty reasonable. I don't think I'd bother moving for less than that, you're giving up any goodwill you've accumulated in terms of moving towards promotions or pay increments or whatever.

road_high · 05-03-2021 6:44pm

Diziet wrote: »

I generally ask for the expected range, or say 'I am currently on x including benefits and I would be expecting a meaningful increase in order to move'. No point in wasting everyone's time is the package is way below expectations.

That’s exactly what I’ve done. Been upfront on what I’ve been on now and we can talk meaningfully upwards from there.
Sometimes it stopped the conversation there and then as salary/benefits (like car for example) was lower or not comparable so no point talking any further

Expected salary

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