The Salary Question
You may be asked at any time (or at no time) in the interview process about your salary expectations. For example, in your initial phone screen with a recruiter you might be asked what you’re looking for in terms of compensation. Or you may get a call from the CEO after a full round of interviews to ask what kind of compensation you’re expecting. Both of these situations are totally normal — every company has a different style and process for interviewing and evaluating candidates, and a different time when they’ll bring compensation into the discussion. Be prepared and do your research ahead of time, so you’re ready to have this discussion whenever it comes up.
How to Answer the Salary Question
In most cases, you’ll be asked about compensation over the phone or in person. Below are two possible ways to respond when you’re asked for your salary expectations:
“Based on my past experiences and what I know this position in [insert your city] earns on average, I’m looking in the (similar) range of $X - $Y. So that I have an idea of your budget and expectations, is this in line with the range you are considering for this role?”
“I understand the market rate for this position in [insert your city] is $X - $Y and I’m comfortable with that range. How does that align with the compensation you have in mind for this role?”
Note: In these two suggestions we concluded them with an ask for confirmation from the employer that the range you gave is within the employer’s budget. Consider those questions optional depending on your situation. There is a wealth of salary data for your profession in major cities, but in non-major cities and more rural areas, there may be less data. It can be helpful to get a sense of what the market rate is in your area by asking employers what they have budgeted for a role. Your Career Coach can help you with this question too, of course!
If you are asked for your salary expectations over email, in most cases it is best practice to kindly ask the employer if they have a few minutes to speak on the phone about compensation. We advise this because it is difficult to convey tone over email, and if you offer a range over email that is not in line with what the employer has budgeted, the conversation may end prematurely. If and when this happens, ask your Career Coach to have a quick call to help you prepare. It is best practice not to start what could become a negotiation conversation over email. We will talk more about this in the “Managing a Job Offer” lesson.
Based on the work that we’ve been doing in New York for the past four years in software engineering/web development, the broad range of salaries for junior-level software engineers/developers that we’ve commonly seen is $60-90K. For junior designers, salaries from previous Designation design cohorts averaged between $60-72K. Data science salaries will range as well. Smaller companies, startups, and non-profits typically pay on the lower end. Larger companies and specific industries (i.e., financial services) pay on the higher end. It's important to recognize that salary ranges can vary significantly in either direction, based on the specific job market (i.e. cost of living, local economy, labor market trends, etc). Do your own due diligence and research across various soureces, and based on what you know about the job you’re interviewing for, choose a range that’s within $10K.
It’s generally a better idea to give a number or range rather than only responding with “What do you have in mind?” or “I’m looking for market rate.” Employers, especially those working in human resources or recruitment, want to know your expectations so that they can determine if the salary you want is within the budget that is allotted for the role.
Payscale is a resource you can use to find out what salary you might be able to expect in your area. You can refine your results by location. Salary.com and Glassdoor are two other resources that you can also reference to gather salary data.
What if the Salary Question Doesn’t Come Up
If the question doesn’t come up, don’t overthink why. It doesn’t mean the company isn’t interested in you - every company has a different process.
If the salary question doesn’t come up, it is not appropriate for you to bring it up in the beginning or middle of your interview process. You are the person looking for a job and you don’t want the company thinking that the only thing driving you is money.
However if the company has made it clear that they have the intention of offering you a job and compensation hasn’t been discussed, it is appropriate for you to bring it up to set the employer’s expectations.
Don’t bring up this conversation by saying, "I'm looking for a salary of at least $X.” or “You haven’t brought up compensation yet and I want to talk about it. I”m looking for $X.”
Instead show that you’ve done the research and ask for confirmation. For example, you can say “Based on my research, I’ve seen that average salaries for a company of your size and a role like this are between $X and $Y - does that align with what you've budgeted for this role?"
Next Steps
Talking about salary can be a personal or sensitive topic for some people. Make sure you’re prepared. If you’re not sure what your expectations should be, your Career Coach can help you with this. First, do your search on salaries in your area and bring those findings to your meeting with your Career Coach so that you can have a productive conversation.
Although it’s highly personal, it’s important to be able to discuss compensation directly and graciously. As with the rest of the interview process, you are demonstrating what it is like to work with you, and this is representative of how you communicate and interact with others. The more you practice talking about this topic, the more comfortable you become since this trips up a lot of people.
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