“What are you salary expectations”

[Bob Jones]

I hate this question. How does everyone address it if it comes up in an interview?
 

My go to is something like “based upon my background, experience, and market rates, I am aiming for a range of X-Y.” The range I offer is usually 10-15K and I try to stay below bay st lock step rates, unless it’s a really big company/firm that could realistically swing that. 

Edited July 24, 2023 by Bob Jones

[Jaggers]

The funny thing is that they don't really care about the answer. They are going to offer the range, and they won't likely offer you much either above or below the range, no matter what you say.

That's for big companies, in house. Small companies and firms won't be so married to a range.

[Aureliuse]

Here is the other approach, aka "I gotta eat and heat my home during the winters too" approach. (or you can combine the two - talk about expenses and your experience).

For example: high rent cost in Toronto, mortgage rates just went up, dependents, wife/husband on mat leave, student debt payments, vehicle lease, marketing costs etc. 

It's hard to argue against realistic expenses (assuming they are reasonable) of employees/students.

If the employer can't offer what you need to survive, then clearly the job is not for you. Always have a "floor" figure.

[Cool_name]

“What are you offering” 

or

“The scale is X, that is what I expect”.

 

I wouldn’t try to justify salary based on expenses, unless it is done in jest.

[t3ctonics]

My approach to this has depended on where I am in the recruitment process. Different recruiters and employers have very different approaches.

For example, I've had a couple of calls for interviews in which the recruiter asked for salary expectations before even scheduling the interview. It kind of makes sense to filter out total mismatches. In that situation I've said something along the lines of "I would have to learn more about the position and the workplace, and other parts of the compensation package could make a big difference, but in general I think a range of $X-$Y would be appropriate based on my experience and the market." When a posting was really vague I gave a $50k range once, because the level of responsibility wasn't clear. The recruiter then gave me a firm salary range that overlapped my range a bit, and asked if it would be worth going ahead with an interview. I asked about other parts of the compensation package, which seemed good, and we scheduled the interview. 

Others keep that information more close to the chest, I guess because they can use information asymmetry for an advantage in negotiating. The employers I've personally dealt with that took this approach were fairly large companies that I knew through the grapevine paid pretty competitively, so I wasn't too concerned. In those cases they asked at the end of the first interview. I had a pretty good idea of the level of responsibility and the nature of the duties, so I just said "based on my experience, market rates, and current compensation, I'd need at least $X for it to make sense financially." For one I know I just gave a minimum, and for another I gave a $15k range.

I always kept the numbers below applicable local big firm lockstep rates while I was in the lockstep range of experience. Now I'd base it more on a comparison with people I know locally at different companies. Fortunately I have enough friends doing in-house work that are willing to talk compensation that I have a decent idea of the market here.

 

[Cool_name]

2 hours ago, t3ctonics said:

My approach to this has depended on where I am in the recruitment process. Different recruiters and employers have very different approaches.

For example, I've had a couple of calls for interviews in which the recruiter asked for salary expectations before even scheduling the interview. It kind of makes sense to filter out total mismatches. In that situation I've said something along the lines of "I would have to learn more about the position and the workplace, and other parts of the compensation package could make a big difference, but in general I think a range of $X-$Y would be appropriate based on my experience and the market."

I’ve had the same early request for early salary expectations before. To me it feels like a slimy tactic to find a schmuck who under quotes or values themselves.

The convo was through LinkedIn and went something like this: 

Recruiter: hey I represent a major firm looking to hire, are you interested? 
 

cool name: yes, I am interested, who is the firm?

 

R: firm x (a good firm, but nothing special, does a lot of insurance defence). If interested send me your salary expectation and resume

C:(thinking lol, you reached out to me you clown, not the other way) What salary range and signing bonus is the firm offering? 
 

Perhaps unsurprisingly the recruiter did not respond. Moved firms the next month or so when a recruiter who didn’t play games reached out.

[Dinsdale]

For Bay Street firms that are not quite first tier, if they are asking it is probably because they would ideally like to pay less than the so-called "lockstep" rate to a lateral hire.  Those salaries can get awfully expensive awfully fast to Sister-wannabes and mid-tier players who are trying to portray themselves as first tier but who do not quite have the financial resources to do so.

[Apple]

Just shoot it to them straight. Figure out your market value, tell them what your salary is + bonus earned and then tell them if they give your something reasonable in light of what you've said you'll be happy with it (unless you won't be). 

[Bob Jones]

23 hours ago, Dinsdale said:

For Bay Street firms that are not quite first tier, if they are asking it is probably because they would ideally like to pay less than the so-called "lockstep" rate to a lateral hire.  Those salaries can get awfully expensive awfully fast to Sister-wannabes and mid-tier players who are trying to portray themselves as first tier but who do not quite have the financial resources to do so.

Agreed. I’m surprised to learn just how many firms are not on that scale on Bay, even though you would think they are based upon how large they are. 
 

Lately, I have been saying if the lock step for my background and year of call is X, in recognizing your firm has a lower target and is a bit smaller, I’m targeting X-20 (as an example) plus bonus.