The “what is your salary requirement” question is always a tricky and awkward one to answer. The best way is to avoid answering it tactfully for as long as possible. I recommend the following strategies in address the salary requirement question.
- Try your best to not provide any numbers – because you want to avoid either being too high or underselling yourself. Most recruiter friends always tell me “don’t be the first to draw blood”
- Re-focus the discussion on how the company reward above average performers, whether this company is the best fit, etc…This signals to the company that you believe you will be a top performer and that you can more about this role than just compensation
- Re-direct the question back to find out what the salary range is for this position? Therefore, making them show their cards first. This is always a great way to deflect this question as well as find out if what they had in mind fits within what you expected. If it does, you can respond vaguely and say “let’s focus on whether I am a good fit first and then hopefully we can talk about the right compensation based on my experience and skillsets”
- Tell them you are excited about the company – this subtly negotiates on your behalf, and if the company likes you and they don’t know your salary requirement, they may make you a salary offer on the higher end to make sure they can secure a positive response from you.
Here are some examples of salary requirement answers that have worked for me or my clients. ...