By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter
Typically, how you answer this question depends on many factors.
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Someone asked me how I should answer the question, “What is your desired salary?” I always answer questions, but I have to dodge my answer because it’s really up to you. Some people are capable of being more aggressive than others. Some people are better off than others. So, here’s how my answer begins: “It depends.”
It depends if you’ve been unemployed for six months and have no prospects, let’s not mess around. This is when you need to be compliant and say, “My last salary was this and that, and I’m looking for a raise, but I also want to say that I’m interested in an opportunity. If you pick the right person for you, and from what I’ve heard so far, this seems like a good opportunity to me. I just want you to make your strongest offer.”
Or, you could say, “My base is $100,000. I’m looking for $105 to $110.” You can leave it at that. Bland answer. . . But it’s not ideal because companies are negotiating every step of the way, and most candidates don’t realize they’re negotiating. When an offer comes out, job seekers think they are negotiating. However, every issue regarding compensation is a negotiation.
So, to me, the right answer is (you have to pause, put a smile on your face, and say, “It’s too early to talk about this right now. Can you give me a sense of the salary range for this position?” Now, they might hem and haw, at which point you say, “Look, here’s the problem. I should tell you, but you won’t tell me.”
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So realize that you have more influence over those who are doing the work. They are indeed interviewing other people, but so what? You have to make sure this is a job that interests you. Your goal is to get as much money and the best job possible. This is response #1.
Let me take this a step further. And then you can say, “I hope you understand that there are other companies that are interested in me. Now, I know you’re talking about a $110 to $120 salary. I just want to encourage you that if you decide that the right person is for you and this does seem like a great opportunity for me, I want to encourage you to make your strongest offer because, frankly, I’m talking to other companies and they seem to like my background as well.”
So, what you do is dangle in front of them the fear that they’re competing against. Now, on their side, they’re not ready to be afraid, but on your side, you’re not ready to comply until they commit to a certain number. So when they come up with, “You know, you said in your initial conversation that you would be okay with $110,000 to $120,000,” you can respond with, “That’s not the case. What I said is, my understanding is, the salary for this position is $110,000 to $120,000. I also said other companies are interested in a higher number, but it seems like a good job, so…” And then you would pay to reply to what you said at the time.
Again, remember, all they do is try to limit you, put you into a box, and hit the ground running before you know anything about the job.
Now, understand, once you learn about the job, you’re probably going to say, “I’m not going to spend $120 to do this; I need at least $130 to do this!”
So, until you know better, why limit yourself to one number? Again, what you want to talk about is, “This seems like an interesting opportunity to me, and other companies are talking to me more about it. So, if you think I’m the right fit for you, and I also agree that this is a great opportunity for me, I want to encourage you to make your strongest offer possible.”
Again, it’s not fundamentally different from the first thing, but you don’t allow yourself to be locked into the specific position that they’re trying to get you into because, at the end of the day, let’s say they make an offer at $120,000 and you also have an offer at $125,000 or $127,500 or $140,000, other companies value me higher. I’d love to join, but my goal is to get an offer equal to what I’ve received elsewhere. “
So you’re actually able to negotiate from a position of power.
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About Big Game Hunter Jeff Altman
People hire “Big Game Hunter” Jeff Altman to provide no-nonsense job coaching and career advice around the world because he excels at job hunting And get ahead in your career more easily.
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