Job Interviews & Salary History
Preparation is the key to skillfully handling interview questions that focus on your salary history.You should know how your past wages compare with others in your profession before going to an interview. Job seekers who have unrealistic salary expectations and misrepresent their previous wages may miss out on job offers.
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First Interviews
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Job seekers should avoid bringing up their salary history themselves during interviews with prospective employers. Employers who haven't extended a job offer may think you're overstepping your bounds by initiating a salary discussion. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared to answer salary questions. For example, ensure you know exactly what you were paid by previous employers, especially if you've had several jobs over the last few years. An interviewer may contact your previous employers to find out what you were paid, so you should provide accurate salary information.
Salary Discussions
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A 2007 CareerBuilder.com article recommends avoiding all discussions related to salary until you receive a job offer. But an interviewer may want information about your salary history to gauge whether you're likely to accept the compensation included with a potential job offer. There's no need to consider a job further if you and a potential employer are far apart on an acceptable salary amount. However, you can avoid locking yourself into a low salary history if you're seeking higher pay by giving the interviewer a higher salary range that you find acceptable.
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Preset Salaries
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Companies usually have preset salary ranges for each job. Salaries are partly based on company budgets and the amounts paid to workers in similar positions in the overall job market. Pay close attention to the job ads of employers who call you for an interview. Some of those ads may list salary ranges for the position you want. Highlight any additional training and experience you have during the interview if your past salaries are lower than the ones appearing in job ads. Your additional qualifications may help you net a higher-paying job.
Considerations
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Research salaries for your profession before you go to an interview. This will help you size up your salary history and keep you from asking for unusually high pay that would hamper your job prospects. Some job sites allow users to search for salary averages based on job titles. Be realistic about your qualifications and salary history to avoid expecting pay that may require more skills or experience that you need to get.
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References
Resources
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