"What kind of salary are you looking for?"

[imported_Tomato]

How the heck do you answer that interview question?

I think I missed it up by telling them my current salary. They know how little I'm making, which puts them in the position of bargaining power. *sigh*

 

[notfred]

$40,000/year

I'd probably answer it something like that.

 

[MrChad]

"I'm flexible"

Let them throw out the first offer.

 

[Armitage]

Best to try and defer this question in an initial interview, but be prepared with a rough estimate of what the position should pay for someone with your experience.
You get that by talking to other people in the field, sometimes published salary surveys, etc. Then add a few percent for some negotiating room.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: MrChad
"I'm flexible"

Let them throw out the first offer.

i agree with you

you dont want to lose the job cuz you ask for too much but you dont want to get underpaid so let them throw in the ball park figure

 

[Ketteringo]

Huge

 

Originally posted by: MrChad
"I'm flexible"

Let them throw out the first offer.

That's a classic answer.

 

[thebestMAX]

I always used to say:

"I know you have a specific range set for this position and based on my background, skills and experience I feel like I should be in the upper 1/3 of that range" Then SHUT UP and let them respond.

Only works if you do have the background, skills and experience obviously.

Like everything else in life this is a sales situation.

Leave it open ended.

PS: Unlike the other advise you will get here, my answer is tried, tested and proven.

 

[Ameesh]

always try and get them to make the first offer and go from there. if your current salary is lower then what you want then defintely dont give it to them outright, you can evade the question by saying something like:

" I am looking to make $XX thousand dollars which i feel is comesurate with the duties i will be performing."

make sur XX is not something totally out of line.

 

[Graphicd00d]

Tell them what you want but then tell them it's negotiable.

 

[RichieZ]

"Competitive wage"

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: ergeorge
Best to try and defer this question in an initial interview, but be prepared with a rough estimate of what the position should pay for someone with your experience.
You get that by talking to other people in the field, sometimes published salary surveys, etc. Then add a few percent for some negotiating room.

Note that coming in exceptionally low can sometimes be as bad as coming in to high ... as signal that you maybe don't have experience in the field or confidence in your qualifications. One guy I helped interview asked for about half of what the position paid ... that confirmed our suspicions that he really didn't understand the position or have relavent experience.

 

[BooGiMaN]

the best answer for this question is that you are looking to be compensated according to the fair market value for the position your applying for and the skills and experience you possess.

Basically you want to be compensated according to what the rest of the people in your position are making.

 

[marquee]

Originally posted by: shady06

Originally posted by: MrChad
"I'm flexible"

Let them throw out the first offer.

i agree with you

you dont want to lose the job cuz you ask for too much but you dont want to get underpaid so let them throw in the ball park figure

i disagree. you should always have an idea what you're worth. and it's fine to ask for too muchor too little, as long as it's a reasonable. in most cases they already know what they want to offer you, so what you say might not matter too much, but an answer like 'i'm flexible' is sort of like dodging the question.

 

[ElFenix]

enough to buy tubs of iced down cristal like fity cent

 

[yllus]

I took a bunch of great advice from threads here and consolidated it into one page: Interviews: Answering the salary requirements question.


Q: I'm a new graduate attending my first set of interviews. What do I do when asked for my salary requirements?

A: There's a couple of things to consider when formulating an answer to this unavoidable job interview or application question.

Preplanning. As with anything else important in life, do your research. Find out what the industry norm is for the position. Sites like the Monster Salary Center ( http://salary.monster.com/ ). Contact your university career centre and/or alumni office for any salary surveys they may have conducted. Cross-reference everything with personal research that you conduct via friends, or friends of friends, who are in your sector.

First nugget of wisdom. It's hard to win at the salary game if you make the first offer unless you guess people's ages and weights for a living - picking the perfect number out of a hat on your first draw is next to impossible. While in some cases it may be unavoidable, shy away from hard numbers. Stick to the position that salary is mere compensation and thusly negotiable, as opposed to the opportunity to work with Company X.

If asked early on, you may want to reverse it on your interviewer(s) and ask, "What would a person with my background and qualifications typically earn in this position with your company?" If asked late in the interview, offer, "I am ready to consider your very best offer." Being asked mid-interview or in an offhand manner is a toughie. Stay with your 'negotiable' position, but the key to making this type of answer stick is to be polite, firm and hopefully final. "I expect a salary in line with my skills and abilities, but what is most important is the opportunity to work for you and your company. I am confident that your offer will be competitive."

Question - when *is* it time to negotiate? Answer - When you have a formal offer in hand. In most cases, the position and opportunity are important over all else. Brass tacks like compensation can wait. In your favour, this helps lock you into the position before salary is finalized.

Second nugget. If you can't get away from giving up a number, know that giving a salary range (eg. $60K - $65K) is next to asking for the minimum of the range you specified (eg. $60K from our previous example.) If in your eyes you'll be staying at your present level or moving up, give yourself a modest raise. After all, you're not getting any younger - not to mention you'll now have a tiny bit of space to maneuver should they choose to try and bargain you down.

Remember. Take into account things outside of simple monetary compensation. What benefits does the company offer? Options in company stock? On-job or paid-for training?

It's not in your interest to list pay levels from your previous places of employment. We'll go as far as to say being asked for such is far from being in good taste - but that's immaterial.

 

[XZeroII]

I would do research ahead of time and ask for a bit less than average. I would then follow it up by saying that you are asking for less than you feel you should get, but you expect a raise once you prove yourself to them.

 

[Yossarian]

yes you did mess up by telling them your current salary. I interviewed last month, they asked the same thing and I said I would prefer they put the first number on the table. They did, and I laughed at them

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
I would do research ahead of time and ask for a bit less than average. I would then follow it up by saying that you are asking for less than you feel you should get, but you expect a raise once you prove yourself to them.

i completly disagree. never ask for less then what you want or you will be perpetually making less then you should for the rest of your life. why should she wait 1 year or more to get the raise that she knows she should have had in the first place a long time ago.

i have a hard time believeing that many of you have ever negotiated for your salary before. :/

 

[ThaGrandCow]

10,000,000 dollars. But I'm flexible. You give me a number and we'll try to work it out somewhere in the middle.

 

[beatle]

If you're looking at a job that could pay 40-45k, say "somewhere in the low to mid 40s" If you're willing to take the job for 40k, don't just say 40k. I made the mistake of saying "at least XXX." I was only able to squeeze another $250/yr out of him after that. It also didn't help that I was basically unemployed at the time. Having a job with decent pay (even if you hate it) is great leverage.

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
I would do research ahead of time and ask for a bit less than average. I would then follow it up by saying that you are asking for less than you feel you should get, but you expect a raise once you prove yourself to them.

I disagree here ... in many large companies at least, once you are employed, raises are on a set schedule wrt time, and either come in a set amount, or come from a pool for your group ... ie. you compete with your coworkers for an available pool of raise money. Often they aren't much better then inflation. Out of cycle raises to bring you up to average can be difficult to get and may require alot of effort from your boss. Get what you want to begin with.

 

[imported_Tomato]

Okay, I think I messed it up by being 100% honest about my current salary, then.

The interviewer told me that the other person who applied for the same position (with 4 years more experience than me) makes $50k/year, which he thought was "too low" according to his experience level, etc.

I know I'm completely competent and capable of doing the job and doing the job well (marketing position, with heavy emphasis on graphic design/presentation), and I learn very quickly - now I'm wondering whether or not they'll take the risk and welcome me on board.

I was speaking with someone who told me if an offer is presented, DO NOT SAY YES right away... tell them thank you, and that you will return their call. Return the call the next day with either an acceptance or a counteroffer.

New question... what's the best technique to use/best things to say when counteroffering?

 

[poopaskoopa]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
I would do research ahead of time and ask for a bit less than average. I would then follow it up by saying that you are asking for less than you feel you should get, but you expect a raise once you prove yourself to them.

You will likely set yourself back financially for the duration of your employment there.

 

[Saulbadguy]

ah...you guys don't know how to haggle. it breaks my jewish heart