Current Events > Giving salary expectations during a job application

(+) Yeah! (+)

What do I do? So far I've been taking the salary I 'expect' (based on my qualifications and the job in question) and adding 5 to 10% on top. Is that good? Bad? It's not a compulsory question on the applications I've sent so far so I don't think it matters too much, but still <_<

take the salary you want as the low end, multiply it by 10 and that's your high end

$80 000 - $800 000

Minimum tactic is to ask for 4-5 bucks (or whatever percentage points you're dealing with if you're fairly high up the food chain) more than what you're expecting. You might just get it without any fight. And if you don't do this, you might not get that extra money for a good while down the line.

Ask around about typical industry rates for what you're doing if possible. But only from people you actually trust a bit not to be idiots. Fact is, some people are either delusional or out of touch.

If possible do it in a conversation with the actual negotiating. In writing, I'd take more of a hardline stance, just get into the nitty gritty over the phone/in person after you've already landed the job.

masticatingman posted...

If possible do it in a conversation with the actual negotiating. In writing, I'd take more of a hardline stance, just get into the nitty gritty over the phone/in person after you've already landed the job

That's the plan either way, but it'd be nice to know what (if anything) to write in the online form

Up

it always annoys me when they ask that.

like dude, just make an offer and then i'll evaluate if its good or not, i dunno...

bedtime

I never enter a number I just type in N/A or market value. Never talk numbers on paper always on the phone. And when they ask me what I want I usually flip the question and ask for the range.

Cleo_II posted...

I never enter a number I just type in N/A or market value. Never talk numbers on paper always on the phone. And when they ask me what I want I usually flip the question and ask for the range.

... that's genius

teep_ posted...

... that's genius

Yup. Honestly I can tell you recruiters probably dont even read it. We just look at your resume and decide within 10 seconds if we want to talk to you.

thank you

ZevLoveDOOM posted...

it always annoys me when they ask that.

like dude, just make an offer and then i'll evaluate if its good or not, i dunno...

Yeah, its really stupid and just another way companies get one over on their employees. If you ask higher than their scale, they dont follow up. If you ask lower, they are happy to lock you into a lower salary. Its a scummy tactic that turns me off the company.

Cleo_II posted...

I never enter a number I just type in N/A or market value. Never talk numbers on paper always on the phone. And when they ask me what I want I usually flip the question and ask for the range.

Not a bad idea.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Im in California so they are required by law to provide the range when I ask for it.

I generally say that I need additional time to think about it and that it depends on the scope of the role and responsibilities. Then I ask if they can provide the range.

I definitely push it a little beyond what I think I can reasonably get. You have to expect them to counter lower every time.

Never low ball yourself. Go a little higher than you think they'll offer and negotiate down. I unknowingly low balled myself once in an interview and they basically said "oh yeah that's way less than everyone makes here so we can do that", and I refused the job after lol everyone messed up in that interview.

I feel like I screwed myself out of a job by not low-balling. It was for a position that offered $18-21 an hour, and at that time I was making $23 an hour. I wouldve taken the pay cut because I hated my job at that point so I said I would need closer to the $21 an hour.

I kind of feel like thats what caused me to not get the job. I dont know for sure but it seemed like everything was going great until then.

Saw a job application form for an obviously-minimum-wage job that asked this. Just to be cheeky, I wrote 1 cent higher than the minimum wage.

Smashingpmkns posted...

Never low ball yourself. Go a little higher than you think they'll offer and negotiate down. I unknowingly low balled myself once in an interview and they basically said "oh yeah that's way less than everyone makes here so we can do that", and I refused the job after lol everyone messed up in that interview.

Yep. Decide on what you actually want. Then add $5-10k on top of it. Chances are they will negotiate and give you what you are really wanting but you might just get that extra $5-10k.

My husband went from $120k to $160k with his last job offer recently. He really wanted $150k but I pushed him to ask for $160k. He was uncomfortable negotiating but I was basically doing hand signs while on his call with the recruiter. They came back and offered it.

rexcrk posted...

I feel like I screwed myself out of a job by not low-balling. It was for a position that offered $18-21 an hour, and at that time I was making $23 an hour. I wouldve taken the pay cut because I hated my job at that point so I said I would need closer to the $21 an hour.

I kind of feel like thats what caused me to not get the job. I dont know for sure but it seemed like everything was going great until then.

It depends. Ive made offers for less than my candidate wanted. I at least give them the option to decide. Ive had more than a few say yes. I hate those kind of offers though. I always go to bat for my candidates but sometimes theres just not much I can do.

related:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/2/7/AAaQveAAC95j.jpg

teep_ posted...

What do I do? So far I've been taking the salary I 'expect' (based on my qualifications and the job in question) and adding 5 to 10% on top. Is that good? Bad? It's not a compulsory question on the applications I've sent so far so I don't think it matters too much, but still <_<

What industry and position are you applying for, and what's your years of experience?

Do some research in the company on Glassdoor and they might have some salaries posted for your position by other people. Might.

Also check salary.com. You can check the range of the how much your position makes in your city.

Give your range. At the low end have it like 5-10k higher than you got in your last job. Higher can just be like 10-20% more than your last job or more. It really depends what kind of job this is. With white collar skilled jobs, there's definitely more room to negotiate.. especially if you already have years experience in the industry, you have more leverage to not get low balled.

Really you just have to know what you are worth. Sound confident and you can get more if you have the skills for the job. When you give an offer and they come back to you. if it's at the lower end of the range, pause and counter offer or tell them you will get back to them in a few hrs. Then say you would like to be on the higher end because you have the skills necessary and you want to at least match the salary on salary.com, etc.

The_Yahtz09 posted...

Yeah, its really stupid and just another way companies get one over on their employees. If you ask higher than their scale, they dont follow up. If you ask lower, they are happy to lock you into a lower salary. Its a scummy tactic that turns me off the company.

Not a bad idea.

No they will often follow up. They will say if it's within range or not. Usually if it is, they will be like, "I'll get back to you" or accept your counter offer fast.

when prompted on an application i said "negotiable"

when further pressed i discussed my research on salary ranges matching my qualifications and experience

teep_ posted...

related:

back in the day when looking for my first job after college i developed a cover letter generator or something; accepted certain strucutre/organization parameters and company/role-specific inputs and voila, a cover letter automatically tailored to every company i applied to

definitely helped increase the throughput with respect to job applications

I don't even do cover letters anymore. It's so fucking outdated. Why do we need to write a fucking essay in paragraphs for what we have listed on our resume anyway? You'll be fine without one. I mean you don't need it for a white collar job at least, but I question who really even cares nowadays.

It's as pointless as writing thank you notes nowadays (which I still do).

How much do you want to make?

I don't know....how about all that and more go fuck yourself?

Why are you asking me fucking rhetorical questions?

Arcanine2009 posted...

What industry and position are you applying for, and what's your years of experience?

Chemical industry, researcher, first job out of college (albeit with university/industrial research experience under my belt)
TheMikh posted...

back in the day when looking for my first job after college i developed a cover letter generator or something; accepted certain strucutre/organization parameters and company/role-specific inputs and voila, a cover letter automatically tailored to every company i applied to

definitely helped increase the throughput with respect to job applications

Yeah, I have a template that I fill out with respect to the role I'm applying for

No need to do cover letters. We dont read them. Most applicants dont. The only time I recommend them are for internships or new grad jobs, or other very competitive entry level kinds of positions where you want to stand out somehow.

Cleo_II posted...

new grad jobs

oh look, it's me

teep_ posted...

oh look, it's me

Oh. Well, carry on.

Another tip for you then, try and connect with any hiring managers on LinkedIn directly and send them a note that you applied.

Go the glass oor and see what people make in your area for that job, and add to it. They do this so they can pay people less. So do under shot yourself. They don't want to pay your value . So when you under shot things, they are like WE got him .

Arcanine2009 posted...

No they will often follow up. They will say if it's within range or not. Usually if it is, they will be like, "I'll get back to you" or accept your counter offer fast.

That wasn't my experience, but it was several years ago now. I found out after the fact from a buddy who went to work there that my expectations were 20K over the high end of their range. Of course, there could have been a number of reasons they decided to drop me. In general when I was applying for jobs companies were terrible at following up with any kind of news at all. I even had to pester some for good news (making it to the next round).

I will say though, that as much as I appreciate all the advice in this topic, it's entirely possible that certain things that apply in the US don't apply here. We still have pictures in our rsums lol.

I should have considered that before making the topic <_< my bad

teep_ posted...

I will say though, that as much as I appreciate all the advice in this topic, it's entirely possible that certain things that apply in the US don't apply here. We still have pictures in our rsums lol.

I should have considered that before making the topic <_< my bad

Yeah I always think its funny when I see resumes with pictures but I know thats the norm in a lot of places. People are still active on LinkedIn in the UK though so I think that applies still along with typical negotiating tactics. Always ask for a little more than what you really want.