Navigate the landmines of the ‘What are your salary requirements?’ interview question
What NOT to do:
There is a trend toward transparency and some companies post a salary range on the job description. If you are a recruiter or hiring manager who does this, thank you! Candidates, if those numbers don’t work for you, don’t apply.
Don’t try to avoid answering the question. For the hiring team this question is a key qualification for you to move forward in the interview process. If you are too expensive they don’t want to waste your time or theirs. If you refuse to give any information, they may weed you out because they don’t want to take the risk that you are outside their budget.
Don’t tell them your current salary unless you love your rate and want to keep it flat. What you make today is irrelevant. What matters is what the job is worth.
What TO DO:
Do your research ahead of time. Go on Glassdoor, check LinkedIn salaries, or Salary.com. Keep in mind the job title for the role may not be standard. For example if Account Nija is equivalent to Customer Success Manager, use the standard term. There are several parameters; seniority, location, company size, etc. so you can make the search wider or narrower to help support your target range.
Your search may show $60k to $100k, but if you can’t work for less than $70k, just say $70k to $100k. If you believe you belong at the top of the range, remind them why. “My research shows Customer Success Managers in this area make $90k to $110k. Since this role is supporting key accounts, I assume you are paying closer to the top end of that range?”
Avoid the temptation to low ball the range to make yourself more appealing. If they aren’t willing to pay what the job is worth, you don’t want to work there.
Salary isn’t the only factor in a compensation package. After you give your base salary range, acknowledge there may be other factors like hiring bonuses, annual bonuses, variable comp, equity, benefits, PTO, etc. and you would be open to negotiating a total comp package that makes sense for both parties if this is a good match.
Practice ahead of time with a friend if talking about money makes you uncomfortable. Avoiding talking to your recruiter about your salary requirements is a little like going to the doctor and not telling him your illness symptoms. They can only help you, if you help them to do their job.
