Salary Requirements

Salary RequirementsSalary RequirementsResearch the going rate for your target job now so youre prepared to answer salary requirement questions during the interview.Q When asked about my salary requirements, I never know what to say. If I say a low figure, they have no reason to offer more money. If I give a figure thats too high, they may disregard me as a candidate. Whats the right response? Deb H.A The first rule of salary negotiation is to avoid discussing numbers until the company has extended an offer. This is when you have the most power to negotiate. But as any job seeker will tell you, this is no simple feat. Recruiters typically try to pull this information out of you as early as the initial phone screen, if they didnt already request your salary requirements as part of the application process.Here are a couple phrases you can use (courtesy of Jack Chapman, author of the book How to Make $1000 a Minute ) to deflect questions about your salary requirementsIm sure we can come to a good salary agreement if Im the right rolle for the job, so lets first agree on whetherbei I am.I have some idea of the market, but for a moment lets start with your sortiment. What do you have budgeted for the position?You can try to deflect the questions upfront once, maybe twice, but if the recruiter is insistent, youll need to be prepared with some figures.First things first, do your research. Use Ladders Job Market Guide and Companies pages to discover the going rate for your targeted job with respect to your relevant years of experience and educational background, as well as the industry and geographic location of the jobs youre targeting.You can start by looking up how your current role compares to the market rate, and then also change some of the variables to match those of the companies youre applying to. If the roles you are targeting are in different industries or locations, or the size of the company is very different, this could have an impact on what salary you c an expect to make.Once youve done the research, come up with three numbersWhats the ideal dollar amount you want (and still have the recruiter take you seriously)?What dollar amount (given the going rate) is reasonable and would still make you happy?What is the lowest dollar amount youd accept?These three numbers make up the compensation range that is in alignment with the going rate for your targeted role, and that would make you happy. If youre forced to state your salary requirements upfront, use the researched number you found to be the fair market value (the same goes for an online application that demands a numeric response).Remember, your value to a prospective employer does not go down just because times are tough. Good employees are even more important to the success of an organization in a challenging economic environment. You just need to be able to explain why youre worth what youre asking for based on your research of the market and the value you can bring to the table. Again, the most important thing you can do is delay the compensation conversation as long as humanly possible so you have time to build a rapport with your interviewers monetize what you can do, and how you can personally affect the bottom line at the company and move them from what Chapman describes as the budget state of mind (How much is this person going to cost us?) to the judge it mindset (We need this person Shed be such a great asset to the company how can we get her to join us?).Click on the following link to access Ladders Salary QA Series with Jack Chapman.