How to answer "the Salary" question!

THE most feared question you are going to get in a job interview or initial phone screen is the "what are your salary expectations?" question. The answer is critical because of how it impacts your the next steps in the process. It can:

• Rule you out as a candidate because of high expectations that are out of the position range. Even if it doesn't rule you out there will be a black cloud hanging over you throughout the interview process.
• Anchor any future compensation discussion at a number much lower than the range the employer was willing to offer you for the position.

First, it's helpful to understand going into this process is that there are a number of variables that will impact your final total compensation package. Some are absolute and others can be negotiated. Let me explain.

The static or absolute variables include:

• Payroll records. Many organizations participate in large employment databases that house your employment history and payroll data. If you were making $35k and you indicate that your salary requirements are $65k it may raise some eyebrows but.....
• Positions have ranges attached to them. Depending on available data to the employer, they may be tight or very wide. Compensation teams are looking at huge payroll databases that are market specific, these include services like payscale.com or salary.com

You may find flexibility with:

There are some areas that employers may have flexibility and some times it can be significant in terms of total dollars or benefit. It's important to remember that all of this is treated as income and taxable.

• Bonus compensation. This could include sign-on, retention, or performance based opportunities to earn potentially higher compensation.
• Flexible benefit packages. These could include; travel, relocation, make-up, clothing, automobile, education-tuition, health care, etc.
• Cost of living adjustments. Many large national or international organizations will have temporary adjustments to base salary to compensate employees moving into expensive markets such as NYC, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.

The answer to the salary requirement question is .......

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