When asked for your salary expectations?

Welly_59

When asked by a potential employer the question of what you expect for salary what do you give as an answer?
I was asked that question earlier and my response was 'i would expect to be upwards of xxxxx'

Bad answer? Good answer? Which way do you play it?

ITSpectre

The best rule of thumb I use is ask what the position normally pays.

NetworkNewb

When I asked how much I expect for salary I usually tell them how much I expect for my salary...



I feel like you should have a good idea of how much your worth, how much you need to do X job, and have a decent understanding of the job before you'd even be asked that question. (unless your talking about one of those online forms some companies ask to fill out when you apply)

joelsfood

"I would have to know more about the details of the jobs, wfh vs office expectations, and how much travel, but I would need at expect X (or I would expect something in the range of X-Y) for this position"

powerfool

Yeah, avoid throwing out a number as long as you possibly can. I mean, how can you honestly even answer it without knowing more about the position and the benefits? Companies like to be vague about the benefits, generally, and say things like, "we offer medical, dental, vision, life...". That doesn't answer how much it costs and what does it cover that might be drastically different. So, don't answer it until they can provide you with a cost for the premium and host much deductibles are. Also, if there is retirement matching and training. If you want these things and they don't offer them, that is fine, you just need more money. And some of it isn't fungible. For instance, if you're already maxing out your 401k, then you can't contribute more if they don't match... but matching contributions from your employer don't count towards your contribution maximum.

I have made the mistake of providing a range that is based on what the benefits are like. So, you have one of two scenarios, they hone in on the low number... and their benefits are of the variety that they would require the top end of your range, or they are ready to go much higher and just give you the top end when you left money on the table.

The best solution is to get them to throw out numbers first. Next best, delay and get a better sense of things. Worst case, come up with your range... make your top number the bottom, and add a little, within reason.

Welly_59

That's more or less the figure I give

fabostrong

You can also Google the average salary for whatever position. Then based on your experience or what you think you're worth, add or subtract however much

jelevated

Whatever you do just don't low ball yourself. If you've only ever made $30k but your new job is worth $80k, ask for it. They know how much they will pay for the position and if you are below market , they get a bargain and the savings won't be passed onto you.

Now don't throw out any pie in the sky "1 million dollars" type of deals cos ya gotta be realistic, but really its a lot worse to undershoot than to aim for the moon.

Salary surveys are a good starting point that doesn't always tell the whole story. Ever read those threads on here about guys who are miffed because a new person comes in, same/similar role, same job code, same cube, new guy walks in with $10,$20,$30 thousand more than you're making? Thats what it took to get them over there, you can be the same way.

Panther

Depends too isn't it. If you're in financial need, regardless if the employer knows it or not, you need to price yourself so you can get a job.

Welly_59

For sure. Thankfully I'm not in that situation though. Right now I can afford to be picky

awitt11

I had 2 interviews this week and overshot salary for both of them. Its easier to come down when they start talking about paying for certs, classes, and other benefits, than it is to try working up. The other thing I specifically asked about was ability to move upwards. Some companies have a set number of seats for T1, T2, etc. while others set conditions for each role (like CCNA required) but don't have seat limits.

volfkhat

There's "salary" expectations,
and there's "compensation" expectations.

Salary is just one component of your Compensation.

For instance,
you can be low on the salary, but still negotiate
x weeks vacation,
x weeks sick-time,
x dollars training/tuition-reimbursement.
x days Remote/tele-commute.
100% health premium (paid by your employer)...

get the picture?



but to answer your question,
I'll usually say something like "35-40 per hour".

First, putting it in "per hour" makes them do math (which can catch them off-guard).
Second, give them a range; so you can give yourself some wiggle.

my 2 cents...

Welly_59

Just goes to show how different the IT job market, or job market in general, is in the UK compared to USA.

Here, UK, there is no chance of negotiating holidays, sick allowance, health premium.

Also the majority, in fact i would say nearly all, jobs above help desk level are salaried.

Ive never heard of an hourly paid network engineer

ITSec14

Depends. Ask for copy of health benefit sheet for coverage/pricing, what 401k match is (and how quickly you will be 100% vested), if you have PTO or vacation/sick time (3 weeks PTO is NOT the same as 3 weeks vacation), if eligible for bonuses, tuition reimbursement, etc.

Your total compensation package should be the driver. A company can offer you $100k salary per year, but if you're paying $600+ a month for benefits, have minimal PTO and they offer little or no 401k matching, then it doesn't seem so great.

Companies will do everything possible to get you to take the bare minimum. I usually try to keep it simple. If you are taking a higher level position your take home pay should be 20-30% more. If it's a lateral move, then maybe between 10-15%.

olaHalo

I tell them upfront what I want. Nothing else matters if the numbers don't line up.

pinkydapimp

Let them give the number first. I usually wait until i have an offer on the table then negotiate. As stated above, how do you know how much you need until you know everything about the role. Once you say a number, that is it and you will be held to it. But what if you later find out the hours are awful, work/life balance is bad, there is a horrible commute, benefits are really bad, wouldnt you want more? On the flip side, maybe i find out its the perfect role and i would take less to be there. There are just too many things to consider to give them a number without having gone through the entire interview process and knowing everything about the role. So if asked, tell them that.

Not to mention, once you have an offer, you have better postion to negotiate because they likely arent going to want to go back to the drawing board.

Lastly, even if you have a number that you want, you still shouldnt say it first. Because maybe their number is more. If you say yours first, you are leaving money on the table.

Learning to negotiate can be the difference in hundreds of thousands of dollars over your career. I would suggest investing in some books on the subject or watch a few youtubes on it. It can really make a huge impact on your career.

NOC-Ninja

1. Glassdoor the salary of the position on that company.
2. asked for a range if you can.
3. tell them what you are expecting.

if you dont have much cert and experience then i wouldnt even ask for the range or demand for a salary until they say they want you.
im too old for the salary range game. personally, i asked them whats the pay and what i expect. i dont show up nor entertain anymore interviews that dont tell me the salary.