08: What is your Salary Expectation ?

TRAPS: May also be phrases as, “What salary are you worth?”…or, “How much are you making now?” This is your most important negotiation. Handle it wrong and you can blow the job offer or go to work at far less than you might have gotten.

BEST ANSWER: For maximum salary negotiating power, remember these five guidelines:

1. Never bring up salary. Let the interviewer do it first. Good salespeople sell their products thoroughly before talking price. So should you. Make the interviewer want you first, and your bargaining position will be much stronger.

2. If your interviewer raises the salary question too early, before you’ve had a chance to create desire for your qualifications, postpone the question, saying something like, “Money is important to me, but is not my main concern. Opportunity and growth are far more important. What I’d rather do, if you don’t mind, is explore if I’m right for the position, and then talk about money. Would that be okay?”

3. The #1 rule of any negotiation is: the side with more information wins. After you’ve done a thorough job of selling the interviewer and it’s time to talk salary, the secret is to get the employer talking about what he’s willing to pay before you reveal what you’re willing to accept. So, when asked about salary, respond by asking, “I’m sure the company has already established a salary range for this position. Could you tell me what that is?” Or, “I want an income commensurate with my ability and qualifications. I trust you’ll be fair with me. What does the position pay?” Or, more simply, “What does this position pay?”

4. Know beforehand what you’d accept. To know what’s reasonable, research the job market and this position for any relevant salary information. Remember that most executives look for a 20-25%$ pay boost when they switch jobs. If you’re grossly underpaid, you may want more.

5. Never lie about what you currently make, but feel free to include the estimated cost of all your fringes, which could well tack on 25-50% more to your present “cash-only” salary.

Many a times peoples and friends around us suggest saying something as “I’m sure whatever I am offered will be a fair price”. No doubt it’s a safe answer but I would recommend answering this question with a range.Hence when asked about salary, you can say:

“I’m sure the company has already established a salary range for this position. Can you tell me what that is?”

“I want an income commensurate with my ability and qualifications. I trust you’ll be fair with me. What does this position pay?”

If you have some idea regarding the pay for the position, then just state something a little higher with a small range included as-

“Based on the information I have about the position, a salary in the range 15000 – 18000 would reflect the experience and expertise that I would bring to the role.”Or

“I know the average pay for this position is roughly around 15000. But because I have two years of experience, I would like something around 15000 – 18000.”

If the salary range is already stated in the job description, then you can answer that you are willing to consider any offer stated in the job description as:

“The job description says that the salary will be around 15000 – 18000. I think it’s a fair range.”

If you want to play safe, you can answer as:

“I would expect to be paid competitively and commensurate with the level of skill, experience and responsibility that this particular job requires”