What to Say When you are asked about salary requirements
Employers want to know what you earn now or what you’ve earned in the past for one reason: so they can hire you for the lowest possible salary. If you answer truthfully, you could be looking at a minimal increase from your last job. But if you lie, you could cost yourself the opportunity.
Here are a few honest ways to tackle the question:
1. Tell the truth.
Be honest about what you make, but also say how much money you’d require to accept the new position. If your salary request is light years away from your current earnings, explain why you’re underpaid in your current job—maybe your company has financial problems, for example—and why you deserve more in your next position. Gaining experience or education during the last year likely means you deserve a raise.
2. Explain what you’d like to make.
Rather than giving your current or former salary amount, make eye contact with the employer and tell her what you’re worth, and how certain on-the-job perks like bonuses, health benefits, and vacation could make a compensation package more appealing to you. This allows you to be truthful, but without answering the question. And sometimes simply saying out loud what you deserve is a good reminder of what you’re worth.
3. Don’t say exactly what you’d like to make, but offer a salary range.
Without offering your current salary, provide a salary range of what you’d like to make. Use a wide range, for example, between $50,000 and $70,000. Say you’ll have more concrete salary expectations when you have a better understanding of what the job entails. This is a stall tactic; the longer you put off this question, the better your negotiating position…
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