Save Salary Discussions Until Negotiating an Offer

It is appropriate to defer salary requirements until the job is fully defined and you have described your relevant skills and experiences. However, some discussion of salary is tough to avoid because recruiters and employers need to know if your requirements are in the ballpark for the position. You should develop interviewing skills that respect the employer’s need without putting you at a disadvantage.



Here are several recommend techniques:

1. Focus on the position each time the subject of salary arises. For example, “My impression from both our discussions and my knowledge of the industry is that this position is in line with my compensation requirements, but perhaps this is a good time to confirm that; has a salary range been set?” or “You know this job well; what is it worth in this company?”

2. Prepare several techniques for handling questions about your current or previous salary. You might stress that your present or previous job circumstances were determinant — a booming market on Wall Street, an under funded start-up — so your past salary may not be relevant to the position under discussion. Your response should emphasize that you want to fit into this organization’s culture and compensation structure.

3. You must have an answer ready if your well-prepared responses don’t enable you to parry the salary question. You might talk about salary in the future: “I would judge that this job, if done in an exemplary manner, would pay in the range of $________two or three years from now. That would be acceptable from my standpoint.” Or if you have solid data, “My research indicates that this probably pays about $________(name the high end of the salary range you’ve determined by your market research.) Given the nature of the job and its prospects, that seems reasonable to me.”

4. If you have demonstrated capabilities relevant to the job, you might respond to a question about salary by joking, “Is this a job offer?” The question of price arises only when the buyer is interested. By confirming that you are considered right for the job, you further strengthen your negotiating position.