Question about how to approach salary questions - My Scenario

I'm currently a systems engineer for a smaller MSP/ IT consulting firm in the midwest. I applied for a Systems Security Analyst position with a large medical clinic/ hospital group. I got a call from the manager and he set me up for an interview but actually told me he has a Senior Systems Security Analyst position that we would rather interview me for and to go ahead and apply for that before the interview.

The initial phone conversation went well and was very casual which was nice. In fact because it was so casual I didn't feel comfortable bringing up the topic of salary. I usually have no problem at all bringing this up because I'm usually called by someone in HR, recruiting, or an outside recruiter.

So I'm kind of going into the interview without any idea what type of salary is offered for this position but surely it will come up in the interview. What I'm worried about is if they ask me what my expected salary is (which I have one in mind) and that is lower than what the position pays then did I just screw myself out of some money?

Should I bring up the salary question before he has a chance to ask me?

Any advice is appreciated.

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Comments

RHDS2K

unfortunately companies won't want to pay you more then roughly 5% more than what you currently make as other have stated. I do agree you can be straight forward with what you wan't and just be stern to the fact that they won't be hiring you for less than that amount. At the same time, i feel like they will still screw you around byt knowing your current salary if it is low. That's why i'm currently making 35k actively interviewing, and im applying stating i currently make 48k. I know in my head i want my next position to be 50-55k, so by telling them i make 48k i can expect a minimum of 50. The rest will be about negotiation strategy. Luckily i know for a fact that HR at my company will not disclose my salary if they are asked, so i don't have anything to worry about.

colemic

Haven't personally tried it yet, but I have seen on here where someone was asked their current salary, and they responded by saying that they had a confidentiality agreement w/ current employer that precluded them from answering.

RHDS2K

I saw that as well.. I believe they were a 1099 contractor so they used that excuse.

srabiee

colemic wrote: »

Haven't personally tried it yet, but I have seen on here where someone was asked their current salary, and they responded by saying that they had a confidentiality agreement w/ current employer that precluded them from answering.

That's certainly an option if you are currently employed while interviewing. Just tell them you cannot answer that question due to contractual obligations. They more than likely won't press the issue any further at that point.

taternuts666

I found out the salary range after the interview and it's definitely in the ballpark of where I wanted to be. The issue now is that I just got an offer for $3 more an hour for a contract position that needs an answer by tomorrow. I spoke with the manager I interviewed with for the first position and I won't have a decision on that for at least another week..... Decisions, decisions....

Still have 2 more interviews later this week though so even though the contract position is a considerable boost in pay I don't think I can take it since I have a family and can't afford the instability.

discount81

If it is a large company you can generally check glassdoor, and they have people who have entered their salary information in there.

You will have a ball park figure, for a smaller company you may need to ask straight up.

I had an interview yesterday, glassdoor did not have any IT salaries listed but the salary for other technical staff was over what I am looking for so I feel pretty safe they are able to pay me what I would like.

taternuts666

Well things worked out for me. I actually got offered all 4 jobs I interviewed with and ended up with a $25,000 /yr bump in salary (about 52% increase). I took the one that offered the most money and was full-time permanent position. In fact, when salary came up in the interview they said they had no idea what to pay the position and asked for a fair range. I gave them what I thought was fair and that's what they offered.

I've been here a few days now and I like it.