Read What Color Is Your Parachute? Online
Authors: Richard N. Bolles
What Color Is Your Parachute? (26 page)
I remember once talking to a breathless college graduate, who was elated at having just landed her first job. “How much are they going to pay you?” I asked. She looked startled. “I don’t know,” she said, “I never asked. I just assumed they will pay me a fair wage.”
Boy
! did she get a rude awakening when she received her first paycheck. It was so miserably
low
, she couldn’t believe her eyes. And thus did she learn, painfully, what you must learn, too:
Before accepting a job, always ask about salary
. Indeed,
ask and negotiate.
It’s the
negotiate
that throws fear into our hearts. We feel ill-prepared to do this. But, it’s not all that difficult. While whole books can be (and have been) written on this subject, there are basically just six secrets to keep in mind.
“The end of the interviewing process”
is difficult to define. It’s the point at which the employer says, or thinks, “We’ve got to get this person!” That may be at the end of the first (and therefore the last) interview; or
it may be at the end of a whole series of interviews, often with different people within the same company or organization. But assuming things are going favorably for you, whether after the first, or second, or third, or fourth interview, if
you
like them and
they
increasingly like you, a job offer
will
be made. Then, and only then, is it time to deal with the question that is inevitably on any employer’s mind:
how much is this person going to cost me?
And the question that is on
your
mind:
how much does this job pay?
If the employer raises the salary question earlier, in some form like “What kind of salary are you looking for?,” you should have three responses ready at your fingertips.
Response #1: If the employer seems like a kindly man or woman, your best and most tactful reply might be: “Until you’ve decided you definitely want me, and I’ve decided I definitely could help you with your tasks here, I feel any discussion of salary is premature.” That will work, in most cases.
Response #2: There are instances, however, where that doesn’t work. You may be face-to-face with an employer who will not be put off so easily, and demands within the first two minutes that you’re in the interview room to know what salary you are looking for. At this point, you use your second response: “I’ll gladly answer that, but could you first help me understand what this job involves?”
Response #3: That is a good response,
in most cases.
But what if it doesn’t work? The employer with rising voice says, “Come, come, don’t play games with me. I want to know what salary you’re looking for.” You have response #3 prepared for
this
very eventuality. It’s an answer in terms of a
range
. For example, “I’m looking for a salary in the range of $35,000 to $45,000 a year.”
If the employer still won’t let it go until later, then consider what this means. Clearly, you are being interviewed by an employer who has no range in mind. Their beginning figure is their ending figure. No negotiation is possible.
1
This happens, when it happens, because many employers are making salary their major criterion for deciding who to hire, and who not to hire, out of—say—nineteen or even nine hundred possible candidates.
If you run into this situation, and you want that job badly enough, you will have no choice but to give in. Ask what salary they have in mind, and make your decision. (Of course you should always say,
“I need a little time, to think about this.”
)
However, all the foregoing is merely the
worst-case scenario.
Usually, things won’t go this badly. In most interviews, these days, the employer will be willing to save salary negotiation until they’ve finally decided they want you (and you’ve decided you want them). And at that point, the salary will be negotiable.
WHEN TO DISCUSS SALARY
Not until all of the following conditions have been fulfilled
—
Not until they’ve gotten to know you, at your best, so they can see how you stand out above the other applicants.
Not until you’ve gotten to know them, as completely as you can, so you can tell when they’re being firm, or when they’re flexible.
Not until you’ve found out exactly what the job entails.
Not until they’ve had a chance to find out how well you match the job requirements.
Not until you’re in the final interview at that place, for that job.
Not until you’ve decided, “I’d really like to work here.”
Not until they’ve said, “We want you.”
Not until they’ve said, “We’ve
got
to have you.”
—
should you get into salary discussion with any employer.
If you’d prefer this to be put in the form of a diagram, here it is:
2
Why is it to your advantage to delay salary discussion? Because, if you really
shine
during the hiring-interview, they may—at the end—offer you a higher salary than they originally had in mind when the interview started—and this is particularly the case when the interview has gone so well, that they’re now
determined
to obtain your services.
