Whenever your HR guy asks you a question, he expects an answer. As you might have guessed, I am a blunt person and there is one particular question that almost ALWAYS gets to be readdressed.
“What are your salary requirements?”
All kinds of interview guides tell you how to answer this question without actually answering it and I am here to tell you that those guides are wrong. End of story. You answer the question because I know you aren’t willing to work for minimum wage. There is some minimum level you will absolutely not work for. If I have posted a salary range for this position, then it shows your level of education about the position. If I have not posted a salary range, you should probably know the pay you would be looking at in the industry you are looking. If you don’t give a salary range and the interviewer doesn’t grill you, you probably lost the job and you should be prepared for that if you’re that stubborn of an ass.
People might raz me for giving advice that totally screws the applicant out of a bargaining position. That is pure nonsense. Salary negotiation has to start somewhere and that gives you a chance to set the starting point. If you are nervous about your negotiation prowess, why not add on 20%-25% to the bottom of your range? 20% isn’t going to kill your job chances, especially if the salary range is unknown. So instead of giving a range of 80–100k, you give a range of 100–125k. Be prepared for the recruiter to go below what your salary requirements are and be prepared to negotiate. What’s the worse that could happen in that scenario? They offer you a position in your original salary range? You get scoffed at by a cheap skate company? Please!
It just seems like a no brainer but almost everyone tries to get out of this question. This interviewer won’t let you so you better give me a number, especially after I have made it clear the responsibilities of the position.
Lance Haun - Writer and Consultant on Work Tech 