How to Bring up Salary During a Job Interview
Discussing salary during a job interview is a tricky situation. You don't want to come off as greedy, but you do want to ensure that you are not wasting your time with a position that won't offer you what you want and need. While bringing up the salary issue is always difficult, there are some things you can do to make the situation more successful for you.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Do not bring up salary, but instead wait for the interviewer to mention the issue first. If he does, it may be as either one of these two questions: What kind of salary are you looking for, or what kind of salary did you get at your last job? Both questions are tricky to answer appropriately, so try to avoid the topic if at all possible.
-
2
Ask the salary question in a way that allows future room for negotiation. If the salary question is raised during an interview, give a range of numbers. This gives the other person some room to accommodate you while making the top management happy too.
-
-
3
Ask for more than you expect. If you expect $15, ask for $20. That way, you can negotiate when the employer offers you 12.
-
4
Leave the salary issue until the end of the job interview. During the interview, concentrate on your strengths, why you are the right person for the job and what you can bring to the company that it cannot find anywhere else. If you play your cards right, by the time you bring up salary, the interviewer will already be open to negotiation.
-
5
Introduce the salary issue by working around it. For example, mention that you expect to make as much as other top professionals in the field, and then quote a number. If you are offered a salary that you feel is too low, you can also answer with something like, "I was expecting something closer to the going rate, near X."
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If at all possible, push the salary issue away. For a top job position, you may be required to have more than one interview. If that's the case, try to push the salary issue until at least the second meeting. That will give you time to impress the interviewer first, asking about money at a more appropriate time.
