How to Answer Salary Expectation Questions
You’re in the 3rd and final interview in the interviewing process and all of the sudden; the interviewer drops the dreaded “what are your salary expectations?” What do you do? What do you tell them? Below we share how to answer salary expectation questions:
Be honest, but be realistic
In the current market, the normal increase from job to job is 5% to 8%. If you’re making a level change, such as going from assistant manager to manager, that percentage will change based on your level of experience. Make sure not to knock yourself out of the running for an ideal position because you price yourself out of the salary range for the position. Offers are also dependent on how well you interview for a position.
Do research
Research questions such as:
- What’s going on in the current job market?
- What am I currently making including benefits, job perks, and more?
- What are others making with my same job experience?
- What type of position am I applying for? Do I have all of the requirements or will I need additional training?
Understand your attributes and talents for the job position
What you can offer to a company goes a long way when it comes to salary. Is what you can provide, your talents and attributes very specific? Are you the best in your field and have the statistics to prove it? Both of those questions can have a large impact on the offer amount.
Talk to your recruiter
An experienced recruiter should be able to give you a very precise salary range for a position, even without speaking to the company about their expected salary range. They can also help you take into account how long you have been in or out of the workforce, your experience, and what is happening in the current job market.
Look at the entire picture of benefits
What else will the business offer? If you are working with a recruiter, this is a great question for them. An experienced recruiter will be able to compare the benefits to market averages to judge how good the offer is.
Be humble
Remember, you are still in the interview process. Many companies can discontinue the process if they feel that you are asking for an unreasonable amount of money. Be humble and state that you are always open to any reasonable offer when it comes to salary because you like to look at the whole picture when it comes to making a career change.
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