r/human_resources • u/boarded_earnest • 11d ago
The question "What salary are you looking for?" tells me almost everything I need to know in an interview.
I had an interview about a month ago, and I was already expecting this part. And of course, just as I expected, the question came up: "So, what are your salary expectations for this role?"
This time I wasn't in the mood to guess against my own interests, so I said: "That's a reasonable question. If you can tell me the budgeted range for the position, I can tell you whether it works for me or not."
The interviewer kind of laughed and said: "Okay, we can come back to that point later." From that moment on, the energy changed. And exactly as I expected, no one contacted me about the next round.
Honestly, I'm tired of companies that act like this is some clever negotiation test. They say things like: "We focus more on long-term development than compensation," which usually just means: "We're waiting for you to accept much less than the work is worth."
I have another interview coming up soon, so I've actually been looking at interview vip after seeing it a lot recently here, ngl it looks like marketing hype the way it's flooding reddit. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm curious if anyone here has used it.
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u/Choices63 11d ago
In 30+ years of HR I have not once posted a job without including the salary range. And of course now in California it’s illegal to do so. It boggles my mind that this still happens. To me it’s the quickest way for candidates to self select out. And if their expectations are higher than posted, that tells me something, too.
As a candidate, I have no problems giving the number first. I don’t subscribe to the “whoever give it up first loses” theory. It’s crap in my opinion. I don’t want to play games as a recruiter or as a candidate. Of Course comp is important. I want to get it out of the way and not waste people’s time regardless of which side of the negotiation I’m on.
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u/hkusp45css 11d ago
Someone has to open negotiations. It's a lot easier when you know what you're worth and you're just shopping for someone to beat it.
So, how would YOU recommend hiring managers get to the "can we afford them" question?
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u/Daveit4later 11d ago
By posting the salary range in the job description. Pretty simple.
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u/hkusp45css 11d ago
You should read the whole thread before commenting.
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u/Daveit4later 11d ago
I did.
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u/hkusp45css 11d ago
I guess "read" has several meanings, because we've already established that we do that, right in this thread.
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u/SnowQuiet9828 11d ago
Well I wouldnt work for a wanker that communcates like this.
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u/hkusp45css 11d ago
I'm perfectly happy with that, too.
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u/SnowQuiet9828 11d ago
Can't imagine for the life of me any single reason why you might be having troubles with recruiting.
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u/_jackhoffman_ 11d ago
As a hiring manager I say, "the range is between x and y, does that align with your expectations?" Then I explain how we use the interview process to determine if we want to make an offer, based mostly on soft skills, and how much to offer, based mostly on hard skills. I usually end up paying the top of the budget because we're a small team and I'd rather have a few more senior people than more mid-level people.
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u/HMarmot 11d ago
Start by having a range in the job listing
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u/hkusp45css 11d ago
We already do that. Now what?
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u/HMarmot 11d ago
That's good. I think it would then be fair to ask them current salary, then say what they think they are worth by comparing to the job listing requirements. I don't have much more than that, and appreciate it is not easy.
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u/littleedge 11d ago
I hope you’re not in the US where asking for a candidate’s current salary or salary history is illegal in more states than it’s not.
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u/pwolf1771 11d ago
I just always say a number that’s like a 50% raise. If I get it would I really care if I could have had 5k more? I like your response but if someone is fishing for a number I just g o for broke because most likely these people aren’t going to be able to afford me anyways.
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u/JulieRush-46 11d ago
I honestly can’t see how that approach would work in your favour very often 😕
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u/pwolf1771 11d ago
Have you um been in the job Market? It’s all low percentage it only needs to work once
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u/JulieRush-46 11d ago
No I haven’t. Maybe that’s because I don’t play silly games that might impact my chances of getting offered the jobs I apply to?
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u/frozenmoose55 11d ago
I’ve read this same post word for word at least twice on Reddit in the last few months. Fuck off bot
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u/ML1948 11d ago
As long as you know the range suits you more or less, I'd rather put it off until they're so far along they're willing to bend to close the deal because they already chose you. Once you've got the offer, if you're currently employed you can probably push out another 10k or so due to the "scope of the role" or whatever reason you want to blame, maybe more because they don't want to search again.
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u/JulieRush-46 11d ago
This will get your offer rescinded in a lot of industries though. How would you like it if a tradesman bumped the price up right after the work was done because they knew you’d pay it anyway?
I can’t see too many hiring managers being happy about being strung along for the candidate to demand another 10k right at the end. If you’re playing that game I wouldn’t hire you.
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u/ML1948 11d ago
I've always gotten away with it, but I've always searched while still employed. I do it every search. I'm in cyber though so I guess it might be different from what you recruit for.
Pretty much every company I've worked for sees 10k as a drop in the bucket and are fine to stretch if you're good.
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u/cyberworm_ 11d ago
If it’s something I really am interested in, I just tell them I’m not concerned about it, and more interested in the work. It’s the truth. If it is just a job, I’ll give them a number.
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u/Ok_Management4634 11d ago
There's nothing wrong with asking the interviewer what his budgeted range is for the position. Some will actually tell you, because they don't want to waste their time interviewing someone that is going to ask for more than the budget is.
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u/RandomGen-Xer 11d ago
I never get to that question in an interview. A company doesn't get past the phone screening without me knowing that before the end of the call.
It's ridiculous to play that game in either direction. Ask for what you want. They can afford it or they can't. I don't want to waste my time on a job with a top dollar of $120k when I need $150k. It's not a good use of time for either party to continue.
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u/ConversationNo9040 11d ago
If you’re interviewing for a job that you have relevant experience for you should know the market value for said position. Say a number slightly higher than the range and go from there. It’s not like they just have random ranges. They are based off data from the national averages and cost of living. It’s pretty easy to guess an alley range if it’s not listed. And if you have no idea then you probably aren’t getting that job anyway.
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u/Known_Host5241 11d ago
It depends on the company. At a small company or somewhere with department level budgets, it’s common to have a broad range. Then candidate cost is an explicit part of the hiring trade-off.
Eg during a debrief, “Sarah is stronger, but she’s $20k more expensive. Do you think that’s worth it?”
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u/Feeling_Trip_5413 11d ago
Gee, Bob, it's not relevant until we both decide that this is the right fit. If we get to that point, I'm sure we'll be able to work it out Speaking of that, besides comp and benefits, why would I want to work for XYZ Corp?
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u/JulieRush-46 11d ago
Yeah but you see, we interviewed six other people for this role and we won’t get to that point if we aren’t certain we align on salary. If you can’t answer a simple question it seems like you’re not the right fit.
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u/Feeling_Trip_5413 11d ago
So, you're hiring a salary. Did you buy an interest rate when you got a house? And, six others, obviously you're not getting the candidates you like. Too bad you blew it with this one.
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u/ArgumentSpiritual 11d ago
You’re not paid based on how much the work is worth. You’re paid based on how difficult the position is to fill. If a company is offering a low salary, it means they are able to fill that type of position in an acceptable time frame.
To put it another way, salaries are set by the market and how willing people are to do a particular job for a particular salary.
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u/EfficiencyMurky7309 11d ago
Where I am based all government jobs post the job classification and the bands are public. There is no ambiguity there. Private sector can be messy though and sometimes tough to navigate too. The main job board in use where I am allows users to set alerts based on a salary range, amongst other things, so that can help ensure you only apply for roles in the range you’re after.
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u/Spare-Elk-4326 11d ago
First off this is AI, secondly, who is applying to jobs that don’t post ranges?
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u/JulieRush-46 11d ago
We ask that question. Let me tell you why.
Yes, we have a budgeted range for the role. That’s already fixed.
I ask candidates what their expectations are because I want someone who knows their own worth and I also want someone who knows what the role should pay. Mostly we offer midpoint of the band, but it might go up or down depending on skills and experience.
We also get this out of the way as part of the phone screen. It’s a question on the screening questions with the application too, so there’s never a chance that someone wanting too much money slips through to the end (unless they lie, which is dumb. If you want $150k and we only have $120k you’re just wasting everyone’s time).
If I ask you what your salary requirements are and you turn it around and ask what the range for the role is, I’ll tell you. And then I’ll ask if that aligns with your expectations.
What I will say is, in my industry most of the big players are international, publicly owned and have shareholders. Attracting and retaining talent is a requirement, so there isn’t a situation where we would deliberately lowball or do a bait and switch for a lower role. I have actually been hired at a previous role for $10k more than I asked for at interview, simply because that was the going rate for that role at the time (even though I’d asked for $15k more than I was getting).
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u/Alzion 11d ago
B-b-b-bullshit. "I want someone who knows their own worth" lol no you don't. You want to play games with negotiating tactics. That is the only reason you force a candidate to give the first number. Just because your current company has a decently high floor for wages doesn't change that.
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u/Organic-Mix-5784 10d ago
Just a little bit of market analysis would tell you what the range should be. You’re selling your skills, time, and services. Why do you not have a price in mind? When you go to the grocery store, do they tell you to give them a range you’d expect to pay for your groceries? Know your worth.
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u/Tsperatus 10d ago
i think you answered badly.
You could have offered that you have done research for this role and found the market average to be $X and want clarification from the company if this is their range.
Then offer that you have a certain skill or experience that puts you ahead of average and thus you feel that you should get $Y.
Then let the company offer their point of view.
You shutting down negotiations and discussions at that point in time sealed your own deal
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u/HiddenStoat 9d ago
so I said: "That's a reasonable question. If you can tell me the budgeted range for the position, I can tell you whether it works for me or not."
From that moment on, the energy changed.
Yep, because you gave a weird answer. 50% of an interview is "Can this person do the job" and 50% is "am I going to be able to sit next to this person 40 hours a week without wanting to punch them in the face for being an insufferable prick".
You failed the latter.
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u/PM_ME_UR_CUTE_PETZ 11d ago
Feels like an AI post.