(5) How to talk about salary expectations

When you apply for a job, you can be certain that one question will appear sooner or later – the question about salary expectations. The answer to this question is never simple, but there are some tips that can help.

Let us start with a better understanding of why this question is asked. First, recruiters want to know if you fit the budget and/or salary range that is set for the position. Following this, recruiters want to understand how you see yourself as a candidate – if you overestimate or underestimate your qualifications and knowledge. Finally, recruiters want to understand if you might be overqualified for the role – if your salary expectations are too high, your experience might be way over what is asked for the role you are applying for.?

Some companies are sharing information about salary ranges in their job ads. This allows you to figure out if this range is right for you before you apply, saving some time for you as well as the recruiters. However, this is still not a standard on the market, and as much as we would like to see this more often, we usually do not have this information for the majority of job ads.

When we don’t have details about the salary range a company offers for the role, the question about salary expectations can appear at the beginning of the process, during application, or later, during an interview.?

If the question about salary expectations appears during the application, the advice from our end is to be as vague as possible, since you still don’t have a lot of details about the job you are applying for. If this is not a mandatory field, you can skip it and discuss the expectations during the interview. However, if this is a mandatory field, the advice from our end is to say that salary is negotiable, that you are flexible or, if a number must be entered, to give a salary range instead of a single number.?

If the question appears during the interview, there are a few things you should do and a few others you definitely shouldn’t. Let us start with what we would suggest:

• Prepare yourself. You can usually find some data range about salary for the position you are applying for online (glassdoor.com, payscale.com, salary.com, indeed.com.) Make sure, however, that your search includes the correct parameters. For example, pay attention to the seniority of the position, location, industry and similar details. Please note that salary data might differ depending on the city or area the job is located in, so consider this too. Also, check if the data refer to base salary, or salary with additional bonus, since this can make a big difference.?
• Ask for additional details about the job. You might draw some conclusions from the job ad, but these may prove to be off. Make sure you understand all the details and clarify anything where you may have doubts. This might affect the salary expectations, so think about all details during the interview and remain flexible.?
• Take your current salary into account. If the job you are applying for can be considered as a step-up compared to your current job, give yourself a raise before you answer. If this is not the case and this is a lateral move, based on market data try to figure out if your current salary is on the high or low end, and adjust as needed.?
• Make sure you are happy with the figure. If you receive an offer, salary expectations mentioned during the interview should have a big effect on it. You should be happy with the figure and not start working on a new job wishing your salary were higher. If you are moving to a different city or country, try to understand the cost of living (site numbeo.com might help with this).?
• Provide salary range. As mentioned before, our advice is to provide a salary range, not a single number. You can also add what the figure that would make you happy would be, and what the minimum salary you would consider is. You can detail your thought process behind the range you have provided. Remember that you are talking to a person and the more information they have, the easier it will be for them to understand your side of the story.?
• Talk about? your knowledge and experience. When you state the salary range you are happy with, you can also add data about your knowledge and experience and why you are the right fit for the role (especially if the range is at the higher end of the data you found online). You can add that salary is negotiable (only if it really is!) - it is never too early to start salary negotiation.?
• If you are not ready or you don’t have the data, you can ask about the salary range the company has for the job. Also, you can ask if you can provide salary expectations in a day or two, but make sure you send them within the agreed deadline.?

After we have provided some tips on what to do, here are our suggestions about what is not recommended:

• Do not give one round salary expectations amount. As mentioned above, provide a salary range that would make you happy. This will give you and your potential employer more flexibility.
• If market data is low compared to your current salary, or the salary you would be happy with, do not give a range that is way above the market data. This might mean that you are overqualified for the position, so it would be better to find something that would better suit your experience.?
• Be flexible and open for a negotiation. If a recruiter provides a salary range that is too low for you, you can say this in a professional manner. If the salary is negotiable you can mention this (maybe they can provide benefits you did not count on). Even if this salary is too low for you, if you make a good impression the recruiter will remember you and might call you when they have a position with a higher salary.?

Here are some examples of the answers you can provide during the job interview:

1. First of all, let me say that I am open for salary negotiations. There are a lot of things that should be taken into consideration when I think about taking a job and salary is only one of them. However, the salary range that I would be happy with is X – Y. This range is prepared based on market data, having in mind that the experience I have is the right fit for the role.
2. Before I provide some details about my salary expectations, let me first quickly review my experience for the role (here you can very briefly, in a couple of sentences, mention key experiences that make you a great fit for the role). After mentioning this, I would add that the minimum salary I would expect for the role is X, and that I would be happy with Y. My expectations are based on my current salary and market data I found for comparable roles.?
3. I have tried finding some details about the salary that is usually offered for this role, but I was not able to find any data. Since I do not have any experience in this particular job, could you please let me know what is the salary range you can offer for the role, and I will be happy to provide my feedback. I am flexible regarding salary and believe we can negotiate the terms that we would both be happy with.?

After sharing your salary expectations, if everything goes well and you successfully go through all stages of the hiring process, you can expect an offer. Now you are faced with a choice – do you want to take it or not? There are a lot of things to consider here and please note that there are a lot of nuances depending on the country you are based in, so make sure you get familiar with what is mandatory and what is usually offered in your country.

• Salary – if the salary is within the salary range you have provided, this is great. However, if it is below the salary range, there are two options – you can review details below (there might be some bonuses or additional benefits that make up for the difference), or you can go through salary negotiations.?
• Bonuses – a lot of companies offer bonuses to their employees. Most of them are related to the company’s financial success (actual vs budgeted earnings) and/or your success in achieving goals that are set for you. You can ask if bonuses for this role were paid for the last couple of years, in order to understand what to expect. For some roles (usually sales), bonuses depend on individual performance, so make sure you understand what the payout in the past was, what the main challenges are, etc.
• Sign on bonus – some companies offer sign on bonuses for some roles. They are usually offered to persuade people to take an offer from a company, compared to other offers they might have and/or in case relocation is needed.
• Benefits – this is the part of the offer that varies the most. There might be some benefits that are obligatory by law, so make sure you know what they are and do not mistake them for something additional that the company is offering you. However, there are benefits that are provided on top of legal requirements, so pay attention to them. Make sure that you understand all the details and how this would affect you.?
• Company car – depending on job need (for example, sales positions), or depending on the position of the job in the company hierarchy, company car might be a part of the job offer. If a company car is something you are expecting, but is not mentioned in the offer, ask about this and negotiate the details if needed.?
• Vacation days – this is an item that is usually overlooked. If your current company offers 25 vacation days per year, but the offer states 20, you can try to negotiate this.?
• Additional items – transportation costs, training, promotion options etc. Ask about them and if some item is important to you try to negotiate it if this is needed.
• Work flexibility - After the COVID pandemic, more companies provide their employees with the choice of working from home or traveling to the office. Also, you might have fixed or flexible working hours, so make sure to check these details and be sure that this is aligned with your preferences.?
• Virtual stock options - many start-ups offer this option to the new hires in order to persuade them to join the business that is yet to be profitable, and thus join the efforts towards a common goal. If you are really motivated to work in a certain company, and can see yourself there in 5 years’ time, you should consider this as an extra benefit, though it should not replace your basic expectations from the salary.

?When you think about the offer, pay attention to the key points and deal breakers. Our advice is to start the negotiations if this is needed – if you are happy with the details of the offer you can accept it.?

If you would change anything, make sure you explain why you are not satisfied with it and what you would like to get instead. Show that you want to work for the company and that, if the offer is improved, you would accept it. You can also expect this question from the recruiter (would you accept the offer if we manage to resolve all of the issues?). Prove that you would like to work for them and that the recruiter and hiring manager would not “waste their time” by getting approvals for an extended offer.?

Also, remember that you should be flexible – it might happen that salary cannot be changed because they have already offered the maximum for the position (in this case, you can ask if and when salary review might be expected). If they change something else, ask for additional details, try to understand their position and accept the extended offer if this works for you. We advise you to make this a conversation and get as much as you can from it.?

If there is more than one item you are not satisfied with, mention all of them at once. There is a risk that you will look unprofessional if you do not do this. Also, it will be very difficult to get approvals for multiple job offer changes.

During salary negotiations, remember one thing – you already got the offer, the recruiter and hiring managers are satisfied with you as the candidate, so keep this in mind and it will help the process go smoothly.

This article has been co-authored with Milena Stanic