How to Deal with the Salary Question

One of the sticky parts of interviewing is when the prospective employer starts to ask questions about compensation during an interview.  I always tell people to avoid talking or asking about salary until there's a deal on the table.  However, sometimes the interviewer asks about salary at which point you take that first swipe at ducking it with - "Salary is clearly an important factor and the key for me is fit."  NOW THE TURNAROUND, meaning tack a question onto that response that will redirect the conversation.  In that you go in having done research on the company, field, product, etc., ask a question that relates to the company, field, position, product or service, anything that's meaty and will move the conversation away from salary. 

That being said, you may have an interviewer who comes back to the salary question and won't let go until you give in and answer.  There are several approaches to this depending on your level, package and what you're looking for.

See if you can possibly turn this around so the interviewer provides you with some information, like the salary range or rank for the job for which you're interviewing.  It's then easy to confirm that the range works for you without divulging your exact salary.  If the range isn't a match, comment on the fact that salary is but one part of a compensation package and it's the total offer that will make the difference in the end and jump to a TURN IT AROUND question.

You can talk in terms of total compensation versus base salary.

While many suggest giving a range, whether your range is $50,000 to $55,000 or ten times that amount, give a range and the prospective employer is probably going to head for the lower end of that range.  One of the safer approaches is to speak in terms of low, mid or high.  I'm targeting a package in the mid 50s.  In addition to your bonus package, I am looking for a salary in the low 90s.


Before any of these conversations take place, in fact before you go on any interview, make a list of what you'd like to have versus what you need to have.  For some, it might be worth taking a slightly lower salary for a position closer to home.  For others, the salary and bonus are the driving factor.  Ask yourself the question - How much do I need to earn to maintain my quality of life?  What do I need to have?  What do I want to have?

Research salaries before you interview.  You can go to sites like salary.com to get some information.  Talk to people in the field.  If you have a relationship with a recruiter or someone in HR, ask them about the salaries they're seeing for a particular position or in a specific field.  Remember there are  other things to factor in to your negotiation besides salary.  Vacation (often not real negotiable but I've seen some real creative ways to get more time off), company car, flex time, tele-commuting and bonus are just a few of the things you can play around with when crafting a compensation package.

Another thing to remember is that you can't get what you don't ask for.  Be reasonable and put your requests out there.  You never know what an employer will agree to once they've decided you're the ideal candidate for their opening.