Salary Expectations....

mountainofdebt

or Pricing yourself out of a job v selling yourself short.


I went to an interview yesterday where I was asked my current salary and my salary expectation and I wonder if I've sold myself short.

Do companies use this expectation to make an offer (ie are they likely to offer more or just what the successful candidate was after) and what was the best way of answering this question in the first place?

MissSarah1972

mountainofdebt wrote: »

or Pricing yourself out of a job v selling yourself short.


I went to an interview yesterday where I was asked my current salary and my salary expectation and I wonder if I've sold myself short.

Do companies use this expectation to make an offer (ie are they likely to offer more or just what the successful candidate was after) and what was the best way of answering this question in the first place?

You are in a job already? All my friends lied about salary in order to get a higher one in the next job. You could say anything as they can't check.

As far as what are you after salary wise maybe you could have found out what they were paying before hand? Or, weigh up the job, is it the same as you are doing now? A higher level? bigger company? All of this should tell you what they should be paying.

If I never knew the salary but was asked I would seriously say 'at this stage I'd rather not talk salary'. They may push for an answer where you could have asked for their salary range as all jobs have one, no matter what they say like 'its negotiable'

getmore4less

Try to be woolly it will depend a bit if you have gone in blind and have no idea of what may be on offer or there is allready a guide from the advert (upto, range OTE...).

I am expecting a competative package that reflect the skills/experience I am bringing to the company. You will have a range in mind and if you don't feel I can command the upper level what opportunities support will be given for me to achieve that in the(short/medium/long) term.

if not allready covered you can open up the career/grade further opportunities

some companies will over sell, try asking direct question like how many people were promoted in the last 12 months.

remember the interview of for you to find out what sort of company it is, no good getting a good starting salary if they will just freeze it for 5 years while the others catch up or too low and they still freeze it.

It helps to know the market rate range for jobs. some companies will typicaly be at the top of the range and others at the bottom.

Good companies that are good to work for are often fare->good payers.

cazziebo

What getmoreforless said.

Companies will pay as little as necessary to get the candidate they want.

Try not to commit yourself to a salary at interview. Your strongest negotiating position is when you have an offer- that's when to discuss salary.

When there is no way out of answering the question then be sure to give the overall package figure. Base salary might be £20k, but add any commission, bonus, perks, pension and holiday entitlement if it's more generous than the norm. Also, bear in mind there is a risk to changing jobs. You'll lose protected employment rights, redundancy entitlement etc. It is quite acceptable to expect the new employer to recognise that.

I would be wary of lying outright about previous salary. New employers can check - simply by asking previous employer. This would be fraud and could lead to instant dismissal.

mountainofdebt

thanks guys

It was kind of a retrospective question as I had an interview thursday where I was asked my salary (answered honestly) and gave my salary expectations (knowing the advertised salary range)......I just wondered as the interviewer made the comment that she thought my current salary was low (tell me about it, lol)

Anyway here's fingers crossed!

persa

mountainofdebt wrote: »

thanks guys

It was kind of a retrospective question as I had an interview thursday where I was asked my salary (answered honestly) and gave my salary expectations (knowing the advertised salary range)......I just wondered as the interviewer made the comment that she thought my current salary was low (tell me about it, lol)

Anyway here's fingers crossed!

IMHO, my previous employer did not pay me market rates for the work I did, or give me the appropriate job title.

However, the whole point of an interview is you get to talk about the kind of work you actually carry out, the responsibilities you have etc, so if you're underpaid for what you deliver, I think that does come out and the interviewer will not assume your previous salary is a good benchmark.

In my case, I was expected to officially take on the kind of duties I had been performing previously for no recognition and was offered a salary that actually reflected that. Just because one employer has not treated you well, does not mean the next one has to treat you badly too.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you - hope you get the job and a nice big pay rise for that matter !

paddyrg

Don't try gaming too much, the economy is tight, jobs are precious, rates are low. As long as the job is appealing, apply, and be honest about rates.

One thing I have found is that for IT, almost the same job can pay £17k salary or £1700/week depending a lot on the experience required, and the grip the company have on reality. If you're applying for a job advertised at £18k and ask for £36k, you're wasting everyone's time. Use the advertised rates as s guide but be frank about what you want - maybe somewhere just below the middle of the range offered ;-)

FATBALLZ

The best way of responding is by having done your research first and knowing what the market rate for your skills is, and answer what your previous salary was honestly and say the salary you want - ie market rate.