How to answer the question ‘What’s Your Salary Requirement?’

You may find yourself trapped whenever asked the

question about compensation. It is supposed to be a

general warning not to answer the question since it is the

biggest scam question a company do for their own benefit.

Giving too high amount may lead you to not land on the

job, but too low then you just labeled yourself. And if ever

you take the job, make sure to make up for this salary

setback the next time you’re negotiating your salary.

Almost all job applications require to state the

desired salary of the applicant. This is for their own

benefit because they now gain the total control.

Kip Kipley, director of human resources for

WorldatWork, an association for HR professionals

said human-resources executives believe that

requesting salary information in advance helps them

find the best candidates for openings.

This is the reason why hiring managers and HR reps

want to name your price so do not fall for it and

instead there is a way around the dreaded salary

requirement question.

Westhill Consulting Career and Employment,

Australia provides you the following tips in

answering the said question.

Understand Your True Value

Get a better understanding of how much you should be

making based on your expertise and skills by doing a

research beforehand.

“It's a strength of a candidate to have a solid market

understanding of their salary value,” says Megan

Zengerle, VP of People Operations at Creative Live. “This

can be achieved by understanding what other companies

are offering or paying for the role and I always encourage

candidates to talk to their peers to ascertain this

information.”

Don’t Leave the Salary Requirement Blank

Don’t skip the salary requirement if you are applying

online.

Generally, “no response will work against the job seeker.

It appears the job seeker is ignoring what the employer

asks,” says Larry Goldsmith, CWDP, job search and career

strategist.

The worst thing that could happen is your resume

will be filtered out by recruiters who need to narrow

down their stack of candidates and the best would

be the rest of your application will be intriguing

enough anyway, but here is a warning! Do not risk

it.

If they Ask You, Divert!

After knowing your number, they will use this to

their benefit and chances are they’ll press you for it.

Postpone the discussion until after the employer has

shown solid interest in you.

“Stall by saying it depends on factors that we

haven't discussed yet, like benefits and many

intangibles,” says Rich Grant, president of the Maine

College Career Consortium. “Then, ask, what is the

range you expect to bring someone in with?”

Offer a Broad Range If You Absolutely

Have to Answer

To avoid being lowballed, just offer a broad range

when push comes to shove.

“When asked the question, a candidate should

specify his or her own range - and that range should

be such that its low end should be close to the high

end of the employer's range, i.e. the candidate's

range 'hooks' over the high end of the employer's

range,” Rick Dacri, executive recruiter and author of

Uncomplicating Management.

“Research can usually identify the employer's range,

especially if the candidate asks the interviewer

where they consider their salaries fit relative to their

industry standard.”

Again, the Key is to be Vague

“Tell the company that you have no specific salary

requirements, but that your pay has been in the X to

Y range in the past few years, Mark Jaffe, a

Minneapolis-based executive recruiter suggests.

Give yourself a spread of about $20,000 to

$30,000,”the Wall Street Journal reports.

"Say that you consider yourself flexible and are open

to anything that's reasonable, but in recent years,

your salary has ranged from $100,000 to $120,000,"

Jaffe says.