How to Answer What Are Your Salary Expectations. - Melissa Llarena

How to Answer “What Are Your Salary Expectations”. How to Answer: “What Are Your Salary Expectations?”. Here’s a scenario many of us are familiar with:You applied for a job you want and, after days of anxious waiting, you land an interview to discuss the role and your qualifications. During the discussion, you go over your professional background, why you’re interested in the position and what the job entails. Then, some variation of this question comes up: “What are your salary expectations?”Another common situation is when youre going through a job application, and again, you come across a question about desired salary.Whether its during an interview or on an application, no one wants to answer this question, however its one that must be asked. Firstly, its a quick way for employers to eliminate candidates with overly high expectations. It also lets the employer know what they will need to offer you if they decide you’re the person for the job.Answering this question is tricky. If you say a figure thats too high, your e likely out of the running, but if you give a number thats too low, you have undervalued your work and your potential contribution to the company. So how do you answer this question?On Job ApplicationsApplications are tough because theres no way to skirt the question, and if you leave it blank, some employers may not even consider you. In this case, its always best to write something down. A few tips:Consider how competitive the market is for your skills and let that inform the number you put down. If the market is saturated then you dont have as much to leverage. Do your research to understand how in-demand your skills are and what the typical compensation package looks like.Look at your current salary and typical salary progression for the industry youre in. If youre switching industries, look at the progression within the new industry. You may have to aim lower or higher depending on what youre looking to transition into.Determine your walk away number and put down a salary 10-1 5% higher. That way, you know youll be okay with the lowest salary offered to you.If there is an opportunity to list a range, do so but make sure the lower end of the range is a number youre comfortable with.During InterviewsIn an interview, postpone answering the question by focusing on asking the interviewer for more details about the position and scope of responsibility. You should try to determine which goals youre responsible for, whether youre bringing in revenue, if youre doing something thats never been done before, whether you have direct reports or manage a budget and any other information that may influence compensation. If the interviewer keeps pressing you for a number, here are a few things to consider:Similar to doing market research before writing down a salary expectation on a job application, you want to do your homework for interviews as well. In particular, look up salaries at the company youre interviewing for. Sites like payscale.com, glassdoor.com and careerbl iss.com, to name a few, provide detailed information on salaries for either the exact position youre interviewing for or comparable positions.What is the total compensation package? Try to find this information out before giving your salary expectations. Compensation is more than salary and you may find that you would rather focus on negotiating more vacation days or a flexible work arrangement than your paycheck.Typically in an interview, you can and should provide a range instead of an exact number. But again, dont say any numbers youre not comfortable with because if the employer offers you a salary at the lowest end of your range, you dont have much to negotiate with when it comes to getting a higher salary.Dont be too stubborn or cagey at this phase of the interview process. It may communicate to the interviewer that youre too much of a hassle to be bothered with. Instead be confident but flexible until you reach the stage where an offer has been made. By then you will know wha ts most important to you and what you can leverage to get your ideal compensation package.Learn more about salary negotiation and other interviewing tips by subscribing to my blog. My career coaching has helped job seekers get the job they want with the salary they deserve.If you are a seasoned executive who is interested in learning more about how I can help you become the strongest job candidate and you’d like to gauge whether we are a good fit then simply schedule a 15-minute introductory consultation via this scheduling tool.As a bonus, during that 15-minute session, I will give you a tangible next step to take related to your search. The guidance will be easy to implement within 24 hours after our consultation or your money back guaranteed.