Salary Expectations: How to Answer This Interview Question

Introduction

Hello! It’s Kristine here with the Express to Impress podcast. Each week, I share stories and tips to help you communicate clearly and confidently in your job search, interviews, and the workplace so you can achieve your career goals. During critical points in your career journey, you will advocate for yourself professionally, like in an interview. 

Job interviews are stress-invoking situations for most people, and their performance often doesn’t reflect their abilities. But you can feel prepared and confident by learning about the interview process and practicing before an interview. In past episodes, you learned how to answer the interview question, “Why Should We Hire You?” You also learned how to answer “Can You Tell Me About Yourself?” and How to Ask for Feedback in an Interview. Today, you will find out how to answer a question that often comes up in the early and later stages of the interview process: “What are your salary expectations?”

If you like my podcast, don’t forget to subscribe to get new episodes. You can subscribe anywhere you download podcasts like Apple, Pandora, or my website at express-to-impress.com. 

Now, let’s begin!

What Makes a Successful Interview?

Many people tell me they don’t know what they should say when they are asked interview questions. You’ll give better answers if you are well informed and remember the employers’ perspective. So, let’s quickly revisit your three goals in every job interview.

1. First, you need to communicate the value you offer. What do you bring to the table that other candidates don’t? Why are you capable of performing the job? What can you do for the company to make things better? The content of your answers, combined with your poise, delivery style, and communication skills, inform the interviewer of the value you offer.
2. Second, you have to convince the interviewer you are a good fit. Your interviewer has to be convinced you would fit well into the culture and share its values.
3. Third, you must come across as likable. Your interviewer has to feel good around you. They have to believe that they would get along with you, enjoy your company, and be productive alongside you.

Now that you know your goals for an interview, let’s take a closer look at why employers ask about your salary expectations.

The Hiring Manager’s Perspective on Salary Expectations

Here are some of the reasons hiring managers ask about salary expectations.

• They want to make sure your salary expectations align with the amount they have budgeted for the job. This is why employers often ask this question upfront. They want to know if they can afford you before investing a lot of time interviewing you. 
• The hiring manager is also testing you to see if you know and will ask for what you’re worth. Employers want candidates who are self-aware, confident, well-informed about their earning potential, and value their work. If you give an amount that is too low, they may think you’re unqualified, lack confidence, or are unprepared and unaware of your earning potential. 

So, you should be ready to share your salary expectations in an initial phone screening with a recruiter. Alternatively, you could be asked about your salary expectations later in the interview process or even at the end, when you’re negotiating an offer. 

There are a few different ways a recruiter or employer could ask about your salary expectations. You may have to fill out a form and enter a number, be presented with a salary range offered by an employer and asked to respond, or asked directly about your salary expectations. 

In this episode, I will focus on how you can discuss your salary expectations at the beginning of the job interview process, such as in a telephone screening interview.

Story

Today I won’t be sharing an exciting story about salary expectations. Instead, I will share some honest reflections about this interview question. 

While hiring managers have good reasons for asking this question upfront, it’s tricky to answer it at the beginning of the job interview process. Consider that a salary is not a stand-alone thing; it is one component of an overall benefits package. In the U.S., employer-sponsored healthcare, retirement contributions, vacation and sick days, and more benefits vary and are often negotiable. Job seekers weigh all the benefits a company offers, including salary, when deciding if they will accept a job offer. 

So when a company asks a job seeker’s salary expectations without giving the details of the overall benefits package, the only appropriate answer seems to be, “it depends.” But of course, that answer won’t fly in an interview. 

Plus, employers are often willing to pay more as they get to know candidates. They may even offer more than they originally budgeted for the position! If many candidates ask for more than the company had budgeted, the employer may allocate a larger budget for the role.

Yet, if you give a range that is higher than the company’s range, they will eliminate you, and the company will never find out if you would have been worth paying a higher salary. So this question poses a real problem. 

You have to convince the employer to ask you this question later in the recruitment process or provide a well-informed range that doesn’t get you eliminated from the candidate pool. By the time you are a top candidate, employers will be far more willing to give you the salary you want and deserve. 

Okay, let’s dive into some tips for talking about your salary expectations in an interview.

Tips

Research the Salary Range For Your Role

Before answering any questions about your salary expectations, you must undertake a small research project. Your goal is to find an appropriate salary range for you in the role you want. I’ll walk you through how to do this.

• Visit Salary.com for a customized salary estimate and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website for mean salary figures for hundreds of job titles. Salary.com uses employer-reported data, which some employers find more credible than self-reported salary data. 
• Check out other handy tools such as Glassdoor’s Know Your Worth tool, PayScale’s Salary Survey tool, and Comparably’s Salary tool. You will be prompted to input info about your job, years of experience, and location. Keep in mind that you should not use these tools on their own as their figures are based on self-reported salary data.
• Match your job description to a benchmark job that has a pay scale available. Since the duties associated with a job title can vary widely, it’s important to find a job description similar to the one you are considering. The match rate of the job responsibilities and required skills should be 70% or higher. 
• Ask people in similar roles in your professional network to share their salary information. Or, ask them to provide a salary range estimate for the job that interests you. They know your work experience and skills and are more familiar with salaries for that position. This tip may seem surprising but don’t worry. There has been a lot of progress regarding pay transparency, and many states have passed laws that prohibit penalizing workers for discussing salaries in the workplace.
• Consider the company size, location, and industry. Larger companies typically pay more than smaller companies. And if the job is in a big city with a high cost of living, you can expect a higher salary, too.
• Consider your value, which includes how many of the required and desired skills you have that appear on the job description, along with any special training you’ve received, your unique skills, and assets that would be valuable to the employer. 
• Identify a narrow salary estimate range, spanning merely $5,000-$10,000, and include negotiation options. Further, if you have a specific number in mind, it should be at the lower end of the range.

Sharing Your Salary Expectations in an Interview

See if the Company Provides a Salary Range

Now that you know an acceptable salary range, check the job description to see if the company provides a salary range for the position. If a salary range is provided, does it match or overlap with the salary range you identified?

Some companies include the position’s salary range on the job description, either willingly or because it’s required. For example, Pennsylvania state agencies must include the position’s pay scale and range in the job listing.

Employers in states or municipalities with salary history bans are more likely to provide a salary range for positions. (A salary history ban prohibits employers from asking candidates about their current or past salaries or benefits.)

States with salary history bans include Hawaii, Illinois, California, Massachusetts, and many more. Do some online research or visit the link included to the Paycor website to determine if employers in your municipality or state are allowed to ask about your current or previous pay. 

If the employer does not provide a salary range, asking for one is an excellent place to start when answering this question. 

Strategy 1: Ask for the Salary Range for the Position

Ask politely for the salary range. Here are some options:

To give me a point of reference, could you give me a pay range for this job?

Would you be able to give me an idea of the pay range for this job.

I’d feel more comfortable if you could give me an idea of the salary range.

Would you mind telling me the budget for the position?

Could you give me an idea of the current salary for this position?

Californian employers must provide a pay range if asked. In Cincinnati, OH, employers are required to provide a pay scale for a position if the applicant has received an employment offer. Laws are changing in favor of job seekers, so do your best to stay informed about your rights as a job seeker in a particular city and state.

The employer may decline to provide you with a pay range, and it may be perfectly legal for them to respond in that way. If that’s the case, it’s time to consider another strategy.

Strategy 2: Defer the Question for a Later Time

Another strategy is to answer the question like a politician answers questions-evade, avoid, or defer your answer! Just be sure to reassure the interviewer that you are reasonable and won’t give them a headache about salary down the line. Here are some options:

If I believe this is the right job for me and you also agree, I’m sure we can come to an agreement on salary.

As I get a better idea of what the position entails and you see how I can contribute, I think I’ll be able to provide a more realistic salary range. Could we revisit this discussion?

From everything I’ve learned about your company through my research, it appears COMPANY NAME is a great place to work, and I’d love to join the team. I believe that you are going to provide a competitive rate, so I can’t see any issues coming up if we were to move forward.

Strategy 3: Provide a Salary Range

Since sharing a salary range prematurely can potentially hurt your chances of advancing in the recruitment process, I suggest you share a range only if you have already tried strategy one or two. 

Here are some ways to provide a salary range confidently:

I am seeking a position that pays $60-$70K annually, but I am open to negotiate salary depending on the benefits and other opportunities.

I’m looking for a salary in the range of $85-$90K with a competitive benefits package.

I would be happy to accept a salary in the range you provided, keeping benefits offered in mind.

I’m negotiable with my salary within the range of $45-$55K annually.

I’m flexible with regards to salary within the range of $80-$90K.

And keep in mind that when you give your salary expectations, you should be ready to justify how you came up with that range. 

Alright, now you are prepared to talk confidently about your salary expectations early in the interview process! 

Mock Interview Practice

Every day, I get to help talented people prepare for job interviews. They have spent years honing their skills to be great at what they do. Yet, interviews are another story. Most people have little interview training and practice. So it should be no wonder that many people initially perform poorly in interviews. 

Interviews do not have to be a painful experience. Through learning about the interview process and preparing for it, anyone can improve their interviewing skills and get a job. 

Earlier this month, one of my clients provided a review, saying, “I am currently struggling to find jobs and feel upset. I got powerful encouragement, useful interview methods, and precious suggestions from Kristine. Many many thanks!!! Recommend!!” I’m so glad he has found our coaching sessions useful, and I’m committed to helping him perform well in interviews. 

If you have an interview coming up–either a job interview, medical residency or fellowship interview, or academic interview–I would love to work with you. After working together, you will arrive at interviews poised, confident, and prepared. You’ll knock their socks off and get a job offer, too. 

There are two ways you can work with me. You can book a mock interview with me on my website at express-to-impress.com. Or, you can purchase my online course “How to Succeed in a Job Interview” with the personal Interview Coaching plan. 

As a listener of the Express to Impress podcast, you can receive 15% off my services and courses with the discount code podcast 15.

Tune in Next Week

Alright, I invite you to tune in next time to improve your English skills. You’ll learn definitions of phrases and idioms from this episode. 

Thank you so much for listening to the Express to Impress podcast. If you liked this episode, please remember to share it with a friend! See you next time. Bye!

 

Music By Lucas Knutter