Negotiating Your Salary During the Interview Process
As you progress to the final stages of your interview, the time will eventually come to negotiate your salary and benefits package. Preparation for this discussion is just as important as preparing for the other interview stages.
Researching Salaries
You should start by researching what people with similar skills and experience are paid in the industry for the position you have applied for. Valuable resources include the Michael Page Salary Centre, other job advertisements, professional associations and university career centres.
It also makes sense to calculate three other figures, which will represent your successive lines in the sand for when you start to negotiate:
- How much you actually need to maintain your lifestyle
- How much you want
- How much you would be satisfied with
Having clear objectives will help in deciding between an offer you can accept and one you simply have to turn down for financial reasons.
Be Realistic About Salary Expectations
It’s best not to raise your salary expectations too early as this may be taken into account as part of the initial screening and could affect your chances of even getting past the first hurdle. However you may be asked by an employer or a recruitment consultant during the early stages so it’s important that you are prepared with an answer.
In the current market the employer is likely to have several candidates on the short list so being unrealistic or too demanding during salary negotiations could actually cost you the position. If you are going through a recruitment consultant they will often be able to provide guidance on the salary range the client is willing to pay.
When given a salary range by a consultant, it’s tempting to presume that you will automatically fall into the top end of the range. However it’s important to understand that the employer usually has some very specific requirements in terms of skills and experience that they might be looking for before they are willing to go to the top end of their salary range.
Honesty is the Best Policy
Some employers will ask outright what your current salary is. It can be tempting to inflate the figure, but that is also risky since details can be clarified easily enough during a reference check.
A common answer is also to outline your salary expectations (As opposed to your current salary), but as previously mentioned it’s critical that your expectations are realistic, are within the range the employer is willing to pay and can be supported by reference to market rates, relevant experience and specific skills.
Finally, remember that you will often be negotiating for more than just a base salary. An employer may offer many non monetary benefits which you should factor in when assessing the total package being offered.
This can include everything from performance-related bonuses, staff discounts and overtime to health insurance, stock options and allowances for housing, travel and mobile phones. Certain companies may also offer things like flexible working hours, health club memberships, training and career development, all of which add an extra dimension.
