Salary Negotiation

by Stephanie Legatos, Be Well Partners

Many people who are in career transition – from recent grads to midlife career changers – know that the “salary question” will face them at some point during their job search. And, it seems, almost no one feels comfortable talking about money, or really knows how to respond in a way that doesn’t betray their discomfort. At any stage in the interviewing process, you may be asked to discuss salary. This can range anywhere from a request to disclose your salary history, to a question about your current or most recent salary, and/or a question about your expected salary. Experts agree on one thing: It’s always best to avoid any discussion of salary until you have an offer. That’s the best time to negotiate – it’s only then that you are in a position of power.

You might be thinking, “OK – in an ideal world it would work this way.” Sometimes it does. And, in order to be ready, you need to be prepared to talk about salary at any point in the interview process – from a request to list salary expectations in your cover letter, to a telephone screening interview, to salary information requested on a job application, all the way to the job offer stage.

To be successful, it’s essential for you to know three things:

• your ideal salary
• your survival salary – your bottom line, i.e., what you need to make ends meet or to maintain a lifestyle that is important to you
• the range that the position commands in the marketplace for the industry, size of the organization and geographic area.

There are many sources of salary information on the Internet. The three on-line resources that I’ve found the most useful are listed at the end of this article. There are many others. Professional associations can also be valuable resources as they often conduct salary surveys. To find professional associations for the occupation in which you are interested, visit www.ipl.org/div/aon. And, as is true throughout the job search process, networking plays a key role: the more information that you can gather directly from people who are in similar positions, the more informed you’ll be.

Are you wondering, “What’s the best way to answer a question about my expected salary?” There are several approaches you can take, depending on your level of comfort and confidence. Listed below are a few examples of how you can respond to the salary question. These responses not only require a bit of confidence – they also depend on your ability to take control of the interview by re-directing the conversation. In other words, after you’ve made one of these statements you need to re-focus the interview. You can ask a question about an aspect of the job that you want to learn more about or bring the conversation back to an earlier topic that the interviewer talked about.

• I would like to know more about some aspects of the position, and then I’ll be in a better position to discuss salary.
• I’m sure we can come to an agreement if I’m the right person for the job.
• I’d like to focus on what I can bring to your company I can appreciate your interest in discussing salary, and I’m happy to do that when I have a clearer understanding of the position.
• I’d like to return to that when I have a better picture of your needs and how I can contribute my skills and knowledge.
• Given what I know so far about this position, I’m sure any offer you extend will be competitive.
• Given the requirements of the position, as I understand them so far, I’m sure any offer you extend will be a fair one.
• Salary is only one factor. I’m looking for the right fit of functions, opportunity and compensation.

If you are pushed to give a concrete answer, or if you do not feel confident enough to use any of the above responses, consider one of the following responses. Make sure that you’ve done your research first and that you know the range for the position.

Based on my research, I’ve found that the range for this type of position is between $28,000 - $35,000.

• My most recent salary was in the low-to-mid $30’s.
• My current salary and benefits package is in the range of $50-60,000.

Responses #2 and #3 are fine if you want to match your current salary (and/or salary & compensation) range. If you are looking for an increase in salary, you might consider one of the following alternatives:

• My current salary and benefits package is in the range of $30,000 - $35,000. However, based on your description of the key responsibilities of this position, I would expect a salary range of $37,000-$45,000.
• My current salary as a case manager is in the range of $28,000 - $35,000. However, based on the added supervisory and financial aspects of this position, I would be looking at a salary in the mid-to-high $40’s.

Web resources that contain salary information include: jobstar.org/tools/salary/index.cfm, salaryexpert.com, and salary.com. Many of the major job boards (e.g., careerbuilder.com, monster.com) contain articles on salary negotiation.

Stephanie Legatos is a career counselor & coach and a Certified Professional Resume Writer. She works with people in career transition via phone and in-person appointments. She can be contacted at 978-356-2939 or at slegatos@yahoo.com.