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The big question, “what is your desired salary?” Get the inside of how to think about it, how to talk about it and how to get your desired salary that makes the difference for your overall targeted compensation package.
e“Desired Salary?” How to Answer it and Get it. Your desired salary, you don’t get the salary you deserve, you get what you negotiate. Clients ask us this question all the time, “what do I say when a recruiter asks me what is your desired salary?”. How you answer this question can easily make or break the difference of 10-40% of your overall desired compensation package. Negotiation starts well before you get an offer and the most important step comes in the screening call. In this article I’ll tell you why the “desired salary” question is so important, how to answer it, and what you need to do to maximize your earnings. Why your “Desired Salary” Answer Really Matters Your answer is the difference between an offer that barely meets your current compensation and a 40% raise or more. It’ll dictate your success in the interview process, the initial offer, and the reactions to any counter offers. For young professionals, the right situation and answer will often double their salary and improve their overall desired compensation package. The long term impact is even more staggering. Adjusted for inflation-based raises, the lifetime value of a $20k raise over 25 years is over $770,000. If you learn and implement this successfully, the lifetime value is well beyond $1M for most professionals. Want to see what a meaningful raise would do for your career earnings? Check out our Career Earnings Calculator. Why Recruiters Ask about Target Compensation vs. Desired Salary Recruiters don’t ask about your target compensation so they can low-ball you, but that’ll happen if you answer the question poorly. Ultimately, they just want to make sure the company is capable of making an offer that would satisfy you. Most people think salary negotiation happens after an offer is extended. While the actual negotiation does happen at that point, salary negotiation really starts in the screening call. Questions about your salary vary from company to company. In some states and cities, it’s illegal for a company to ask about your salary history. Look up a running list of those places to know if this is relevant to your job search. Ultimately, the question comes in a few different forms: • What is your current compensation? • What is your target compensation? • What is your desired compensation? But it all boils down to the same thing: is your compensation goal aligned with what the company can offer? You need to answer this question for a recruiter without low balling yourself or asking for more than they budgeted. Desired Compensation vs. Desired Salary – There The Difference.These are two questions that are very close but have a slight difference. Your desired compensation takes into account of your base salary and the value of any financial benefits the company provides you with. This this includes non-cash compensation, for example benefits, vacation, stock-options, health insurance, stipend, 401k, ect. Where as your desired salary is simply, your employer is paying you before taxes and this does not include non-cash compensation.
Your Answer A recruiter will be pleased if they can confirm that their budget for the role and your target compensation are aligned. This is the main reason they ask. Giving a number that’s below their range or at the bottom of it will result in the recruiter seeing you as lower in value. If you get an offer, it’ll be lower than what’s possible. Even worse, you won’t have room to negotiate. If you ask for $100k and they offer $105k, asking for more will be off-putting and may make the company question your value. Giving a number that’s too high will typically terminate the interview process. You might get lucky and the recruiter will tell you that’s above their budget, giving you the chance to course correct. More often, they just won’t offer an invitation to the next round. The right answer? Don’t give them a number right away. The Golden Rule of answering this question is to not answer till the timing is right, if at all. Instead, you want to inquire about what they have budgeted for the role. Most recruiters will just tell you. Remember, they just need to check the box. It’s important to ask about this in a way that doesn’t raise any red flags. It doesn’t work to answer with “actually, could you tell me what’s budgeted for the role?” If your answer comes across as odd or inauthentic, this will raise a red flag for the recruiter. You might get the information you want, but it will jeopardize your chances of advancing and getting an offer. You need to make the recruiter feels like the best way for them to get their answer is to answer your question first. Templates only work so well because it’s all about the execution. Your tone, speech speed, and inflection all communicate the intention behind the words. That said, here are some words that work: “You know, I don’t really have a specific number in mind. I’m more focused on the overall fit of the role and company culture. Just to make sure we’re in the right ballpark though, what’s budgeted for the role?” Most recruiters will just give you a range! If the range is above or aligned with your target, you can check the box by saying: • “Great, that range is aligned with what I’m targeting,” or • “Okay good, that’s in the ballpark of what I expected” will check the box for the recruiter.” If the range is below what you’re targeting, consider whether it’s worth continuing the process. I recommend saying, “hmmm, I’m really interested in this role but that’s lower than other opportunities I’m exploring. Is there any flexibility in that range?” If there isn’t, the role may not be a fit for you. What if they push back? Sometimes a recruiter won’t answer your question about their budgeted range. It’s uncommon, but it happens. They might say “the range is flexible based on experience” or “it’s company policy not to share that kind of information.” You want to keep the conversation from getting awkward without committing to a specific target salary. In this case, I recommend deflecting to research you’ve conducted. Here are two examples: 1. “Oh, well I did some research and it seems like the market average for this kind of role is around $100k. Is that in the ballpark?”2. “I did a little research on Glassdoor, and I know the information isn’t always accurate, but it suggests the range is $90k-$110k. Is that accurate, or close enough?” These responses are valuable because they preserve your negotiation power for the future, check the recruiter’s box, and ensure this role can pay you what you want. Maximizing your pay given a company’s budget range is one thing, but you also need to conduct market research to be prepared for these conversations. What’s your actual value? Whether you just want to understand how much you could be getting paid or you want to have the information available in case a recruiter pushes back on giving a range, it pays to know your market value. No one site is perfect for giving you this information. There’s no “right” answer out there and the less common your role, the weaker the information will be. That said, here are some of my favorites: For roles at Tech Companies: when it comes to compensation at tech companies, the information from Built In is most reliable. They aggregate salary information based on specific communities, like BuiltInSF. Their communities include Boston, NYC, Seattle, Austin, Chicago, LA, and Colorado. For the most customization: whether you’re evaluating the salary of your current role, a job offer, or just exploring, the customization that PayScale provides is unmatched. They’re the most comprehensive evaluation out there. For roles at specific companies: if you’re researching compensation at a specific company, Glassdoor is still your best option. While LinkedIn Salary is getting there, the interface isn’t adequate for more detailed searches. What if they don’t bring up salary or compensation? Now what….. When you get to the end of a screening call and the recruiter hasn’t brought up compensation, there’s a risk that it never comes up till an offer is made. If you’ve done your research and you know the offer is going to be plenty high enough, it’s not worth asking about. But if you’re not confident in a company-specific salary range, it’s worthwhile to ask about. Otherwise, you may spend hours preparing for interview, conducting them, and writing thank you notes only to get an offer that doesn’t even match your current compensation. If that matters to you, it’s not worth the risk of not knowing. For the more timid, you could say something like: “When is an appropriate time to check that we’re in the same ballpark for compensation?” However, a recruiter will likely ask you about your targeted desired compensation instead of offering a range. When you are the one to bring up compensation in conversation, it’s not as easy to say that “you aren’t focused on compensation”. Instead, I recommend being direct: “While I don’t have a specific target salary in mind, I want to make sure we’re at least in the ballpark. Can you give me an idea of what’s budgeted for the role?” Your tone should be one of wanting to make sure you and the recruiter are on the same page. Experienced recruiters won’t think twice about this question because they understand you’re ultimately doing them a favor. Salary Negotiation is a Dance, not a Battle The entire salary negotiation process, from screening calls to offer negotiations, is about collaboration. You aren’t at odds with a company, battling to eek out every cent. If you approach it this way, it’s unlikely a company will want to hire you. Most companies want to pay you a fair wage. What you say and how you say it will dictate what they perceive is fair for you, including any discussion unrelated to compensation. Help your recruiter “check the box” on compensation while learning the salary range and you’ll be in a strong position to negotiate. Are you prepared to handle the “what’s your target compensation” question with confidence and poise?