Addressing Salary in the Interview Process
Relatively early in the recruiting and hiring process an interviewer is going to ask you about salary. (As an aside, you should NOT be the one to bring this issue up first. I have written blogs about this on my web site, but the major reason is that you want to make sure that the interviewer knows that your interest is in the job first, not the money.) The reason that this question comes up relatively early is outlined a bit in the article below, as is how to answer.
Employers want to know if they can afford you before committing too much time and energy. They may also use your salary to judge you (low salary could indicate low worth in their mind). They may also alter their potential offer to you if your salary is lower than they had in mind. The answer to this question is a bit of a mine field; consider it carefully before answering. This article gives some good tips about how to address and/or answer the question.
But remember, as I have said many times: get the job offer first, then negotiate. If you talk salary too much before you get an offer, you may not get the offer.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-answer-one-trickiest-job-172700651.html
Jeff, great article as usual! The MA law does change the paradigm I’ve used in the industry so it will be interesting to see how this impacts things. There are three determinants of an offer from an employer’s point of view. 1.) Parity within the organization 2.) Market forces (supply and demand of any given skill set at any given time) 3.) An applicant’s prior or current compensation and recent compensation history. Part of the challenge is with companies that pay less than median in the market. If you know you have a solid remuneration package as a hiring company, then parity and market forces aren’t usually as big a concern. My 2 cents? Answer the question asked with the following type of dialogue. “Ms. Employer, thank you for asking. I presently earn $X (state compensation package). I’m sure you’d agree that compensation comes in many forms and I would like to consider an offer, holistically. This includes the remuneration, quality of life, skill set growth and/or (other determinants important to you?) If you agree that I am your candidate of choice, I’d ask you to make me your best offer based on (cite the 3 factors that employer’s consider in the paragraph above). Does that sound reasonable?”
Good information about salary negotiation. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jeff! how has the recent law changed this interaction for Massachusetts folks?