Transcript

Lisa Virtue [00:00:00]:

It's okay. So you're going up for an interview, and one of the first questions the recruiter or the hiring manager asks you is, so tell me about your salary expectations or what are you looking for? As far as the salary range goes, this stops a lot of people in their tracks and they freeze up, don't know what to say, fumble around it, or give a number that they later regret. They don't want to undercut themselves and say something too low. But they also don't want to take themselves out of the running and say something too high. Have you been there? Can you relate? If you can relate, listen up. Here's the strategy of how to answer this question. Tell me about your salary expectations hello. My name is Lisa Virtue.

Lisa Virtue [00:00:48]:

I'm your international career coach and job search strategist, here to help you optimize your job search, find and land your ideal role and do so with confidence. Visit hercurstudio.com for lots of free resources and goodies. Let's dive into how to answer the question. What are your salary expectations? At the beginning of the interview process? When you're asked this question, what they're trying to do is assess, are you a candidate that is going to be reasonable with their expectations so that they know if they can afford you, and then they know if they can move on with the interview process. At the same time, if the job posting did not have a salary range and you don't know what their budgeted range is, it can be very frustrating because you want the same information. What is their budgeted range? What is their salary expectation for this role? Is it worthwhile for you to continue? Will their budget be able to match your expectation and all your needs? So here's how you do this, how you answer this question. First of all, the strategy I employ and recommend is always to try and get them to give you a number first. Now, sometimes recruiters and hiring managers are trying to get you to give a number first, but more often not.

Lisa Virtue [00:01:54]:

They'll be really open with you if you just ask. So here's how this conversation goes. When they ask you what your salary expectations are, the way to respond is to not give a number immediately, but to try to coax the number out of them. Here's an example. You know, since I haven't gone through the full interview process yet, I'm not quite sure what the expectations of the role are and the scope and scale of it. So it's hard for me to tell you what I would expect as far as the base salary goes. If you're able to tell me what the budgeted range is for this position, I'll let you know. If that's within the range that I'm seeking, then you'll know if it's worthwhile to continue in the interview.

Lisa Virtue [00:02:29]:

And a lot of times they'll actually just give you the range or they'll tell you what the minimum salary, starting salary is if they say, I'm not able to give you that information yet because it depends upon experience and who the final candidate will be, what they'll bring to the table, and then they say, but if you could give me a number, then I'll know if it's worthwhile to move on, if we could match your expectations. If they do this and they continue to press and try to get you to give a number, then you should be ready to give a range. Don't keep pressing. If they don't give you the budgeted range, it is frustrating when they don't. All right, now, if they tell you that they can't give you a number, you're going to give them that range that you've prepared for based on market rates and based on what you need, you're going to go slightly higher than what your bare minimum is. So make sure you understand what your bare minimum that you would accept would be and tell them that overall compensation is actually most important to you. Here's how to respond. And give them a number.

Lisa Virtue [00:03:27]:

Well, I would really like to understand the role more, and overall compensation is most important to me. Also, the fit is really important to me. The cultural fit is really important to me. So I am flexible, but I'm entertaining roles between, let's make up a number right now. Let's say it's between 100 and year, something like that. Okay. That's how you answer the question. A range can look like something in the upswing of 20,000 per year or 50,000 depending on where you're at and where this role lands in the market rates.

Lisa Virtue [00:04:01]:

For instance, if you're under one hundred K per year, and that's what the market rate and going rate is for the position that you're interviewing for, for which you should have researched, you should know approximately what the salary ranges are in the market for the role you're going for. By the way, check out materials@hercurstudio.com, about resources and where to find salary ranges. So if it's under one hundred K per year, something to the tune of, let's say, for instance, seventy K to ninety K that could make sense to give a range that's $20,000 swing. So 40 to 60, 60 to 80, 70 to 90. If the market salary range is between 100 and 150,000 per year, you could do a $20 to $30,000 range. And then if you're over 150 a year, you can go up to a 50K range. Also, when you're in that range, you should talk about how stock equity, things like that, can be important to you. Overall compensation, which includes bonuses and commission, and let them know that you're flexible.

Lisa Virtue [00:05:02]:

Even things like a sign on bonus could come on the table later. But remember, you're not negotiating yet. You're just giving them a sense of what your expectations are to make sure that you're both aligned for when it does come time to put an offer on the table. So don't approach it like a negotiation. Okay. For the next scenario, if they give you a budgeted range and is not within your expectations, here's my best advice. I always tell my clients the best thing to do is get interviews. Especially in this current job market, it can be few and far between with how many interviews you get.

Lisa Virtue [00:05:37]:

Now, if you're packed with interviews, you've got offers coming in, you don't want to waste your time, and the salary range is well below your expectations. Of course. Tell them, thank you kindly, I'm going to move on. It looks like you won't be able to match my expectations at this time. And you can also offer up. I'm actually entertaining roles that are between XYZ in the range that I'm interviewing for, and then everyone can move on. And they have market research and data on what competitive salaries are and what their candidates are looking for. However, most of my clients, and I'm assuming most of you listeners in the job market right now don't have that luxury to have a lot of interviews.

Lisa Virtue [00:06:16]:

So getting interviews, practicing interviews, even if it's a role that you will eventually decline, can be a really good thing for you as a job seeker. So I do encourage you to react in a neutral way. If their salary range comes in below your expectations, not to be shocked, not saying, whoa, that's well below my expectations, you're crazy. But just responding in a manner that is polite and say, okay, thank you for that transparency. I'd love to talk about next steps and get back to the interview process. Now you have an expectation. If they give you a range that is acceptable, even if it's a little low, and they say, how does that sound? Definitely say yes, that's within my range and expectation, or it sounds like we can work something out. You're close to the range.

Lisa Virtue [00:07:01]:

I'm seeking something to that effect. Be agreeable and then you're going to move on with the interview. Sometimes things change in the job search, in the recruitment process. For instance, if someone comes in that is more senior than what they are originally planning on recruiting for, and the hiring manager changes their mind of who they want to hire, they might pull from a different budget in order to get that candidate and give them even a different title. So things can be flexible for some organizations. This is why I say continue with the process. In doing the interview, you're going to get that warm up to other interviews for your future. You're going to get practice.

Lisa Virtue [00:07:39]:

It'll build your confidence and also maybe something else will work out. A lot of organizations that have very clear, fair practices will tell you the budgeted Range up front. And what's even better is when they post it on the job posting. There's a lot of states that are pushing for regulations on this and you'll see it in postings where it know, in the state of Colorado, for instance, or New York, this is the expected range. However, also seeing that there's a lot of very big swings with those ranges because it could encompass lots of different levels in the organization. The regulation is not really being regulated at the moment. It's hard for legislation to figure out how they will regulate these laws. It's not as black and white as we were hoping, but it is a lot better than it used to be.

Lisa Virtue [00:08:24]:

So hopefully we'll continue to see legislation be on the job seeker side and the employee side when there's a lot more transparency. And I believe, especially for women, that pay, transparency is key to equity. Be comfortable talking about money. That is what I want for you. So start practicing. Say it out loud. Get a partner, get a coach, talk about it. And if you'd like to join our community on her career studio, the network on LinkedIn, there's a private group.

Lisa Virtue [00:08:51]:

Please reach out to get the invitation. You can search the group on LinkedIn and I'll drop the link below as well. Just click through and request to join in there. As the career coach that supports this network, I'd be happy to talk to you about specific questions you have around salary and these type of questions and anything unique to what you're going through. All right, that's what I got for you today. How to answer what are your salary expectations? You got this. You can do it. Go and practice, and that next ideal job is just right around the corner for.