Question:
I have been getting asked by potential employers for my salary requirements. I know from research that he who states the first dollar amount has lost. I have tried to turn the question around by saying, "I know that you have factored in a budget for this position and I would be happy to entertain what that might be" etc. but I can never get an answer from them. They manage to turn it back into my court and I end up have to quote an amount which I don't want to do. I don't want to undercut my worth just as much as the employer wants to get as much as he/she can for as little as possible. What should I say?
First Answer:
You're right to try to turn this kind of question around, as it's easier to
react to a salary figure than it is to lead off by naming one. But there
are some tricks you can use.
There are two times when most employers will ask you about salary: in the
job posting and in the interview.
When replying to want ads that ask for salary requirements or a salary
history, I advise my clients to NOT answer directly. Reason? Answering this
questions will only hurt your chances.
Remember that a typical classified ad can produce hundreds of résumés.
That's a pretty big pile. And a fast way to make that pile smaller is to
weed out applicants who are either too expensive (over-qualified) or too
cheap (under-qualified).
So, in your cover letter, I advise you to just say: "My salary requirements
are negotiable." This shows that you've read the want ad carefully, but are
choosing to dodge the issue. Most HR professionals and hiring managers I've
talked to won't take offense. On the contrary, it gives them one LESS
reason NOT to call you.
What about salary questions in the interview? How do you answer those?
You can say: "Well, I'd like to make as much as your other employees with
my qualifications." (Here you can repeat 2-3 of your most valuable skills
or achievements, just to remind them how qualified you are.) Then add: "And
what is a typical salary for this position?"
Another strategy is to avoid a specific salary ... and name a pay range
instead. Say: "I was thinking of a salary in the $10,000 to $35,000 range,"
(with $10,000 being the lowest amount you'd accept). That way, you can name
a higher figure, if they try to pin you down, yet still be able to retreat
to a point that satisfies you.
Finally, information is power here. If you can back your salary request
with a list of average salaries that you've obtained from the Internet or
from your own phone calls, you'll enjoy greater leverage in your negotiations.
Best of luck to you!
-- Kevin Donlin, Guaranteed Resumes
Second Answer:
Although the range of experience regarding salary is everything from
being questioned on the first phone call to total silence until an offer
is made, the chances are excellent that you will have to address salary
requirements before an offer is made.
The burden is on you to do enough research on what each job is worth
BEFORE you have to answer the question. My suggestion is to graph the
salary information you gather from various sources for similar jobs, and
develop your own estimated range.
Where to look: Want ads, job postings, salary surveys in publications
from Crain's to Fortune to Parade to books such a The American Almanac
of Jobs and Salaries (add 3 years' inflation and adjust for local
economic conditions), and of course the Internet. You can go to a search
engine and type "salary survey" followed by a job title, or check out
CareerMosaic or
http://jobsmart.org, to
name only two.
Other sources: executive recruiters you are working with; peers in
similar roles who can talk about ranges for a profession; professional
associations who do salary surveys of their members; and subscription
postings such as Exec-U-Net, CEO Job Opportunities, and Access.
With all this information, you can figure out the range for the role.
The next step is, where do I fit in this range? Is this job a stretch
for me because I meet the qualifications minimally? Is this job a match,
because I meet every qualification? or is this a job which you can hit
the ground running on and make big contributions sooner, because you
exceed the qualifications? The answer to this question will determine
where you place yourself in the range: or above it, which is a
possibility if you have more education and experience than the employer
is asking for.
After you have done this research and preparation, the answer is easy:
" My research indicates that the range for a position such as this, in
an organization of your size, is between $x and $y (annual salary)."
Leave it at that. After you get an offer, then you can negotiate the
actual figure. Let them fall in love with you first!
-- Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City
