How to Handle Salary and Benefits Questions at an Interview

Salary questions can be sticky during a job interview.

Ideally, you would go into a job interview with an idea of how much the position pays, meaning that there would be no need to talk about salary and benefits until the company comes to you with a firm job offer. However, in some instances a business prefers to negotiate monetary issues during the interview process. To feel confident, you should have your answers mapped out before your interview.

Instructions

1. Be direct. While it's obvious that salary and benefits questions are designed to find out how much it would cost to hire you, they frequently serve another purpose. Such sensitive questions can serve as a good indicator of how well you handle high pressure situations. If you are asked about your salary and benefit expectations during the course of an interview, look the interviewer straight in the eye and give her an honest, direct answer.

2. Have research to back up your answers. For example, you might say, "According to the latest reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, civil engineers in our area make $65,000 to $75,000 a year. Because I am five years into my career, I expect to be mid-range on that scale."

3. Make sure you can live with the low end of your stated pay range. If you are just beginning your career you can expect to be on the lower end of the salary range, unless you're in a high-demand field. Once you've thrown those numbers out there it's hard to back-peddle and say that you need more.

4. Prepare a case for why you should be paid more. If you're moving to an area with high cost-of-living you can make a case that the lower end of the salary range would not be appropriate for you. You might say something like, "I know that the national average for this position is between $40,000 to $50,000. Due to the higher cost of living here, though, I would need to be near the top of the national averages to justify the move."

5. Be subtle as you introduce the subject of benefits. If the issue of salary has been raised in the course of your interview, you can subtly find out more about corporate benefits. You might let your interviewer know that you've heard good things about employee satisfaction and ask him if he thinks it has anything to do with their benefits package. Give the interviewer an opportunity to share more at that point.

References

• CBS Money Watch: Interview Tips: How to Answer the Salary Question, Farnoosh Torabi, June 2010
• Career-Advice; Six Steps to Handling Money Questions; Therese Droste
• Castleton State College: Interview Questions