How do I answer "What's your salary expectations?"
Hi Justine, thanks for taking questions and answering them. I just wanted to ask, what can I say when HR asks me about my salary expectations? I’m coming from a startup ad agency and want a career change to a multinational one. At every HR interview, I get asked what are my salary expectations and I blank out. I end up saying what my current (really low) salary is and the offers I get back are in that range as well huhuhu. I’m running out of places to interview at. Please send help. :(
[translated into English as question was originally in Taglish]
When it comes to salary expectations questions, you want to answer it as realistically as possible, meaning you’re going to have to do your research before you even send out your resume. Doing that research helps you avoid situations where you’ll be lowballed (aka you’re being offered much less than what you’re actually worth). Or worse, pressured into accepting a low offer because you don’t know any better.
I’m going to approach this question though from the 4 most likely scenarios, and not just the job hopping scenario. And for each one, I’ll also share how best you can answer the question.
If you’re applying for internships,
you probably won’t encounter “What are your salary expectations?” because the allowance is already set in advance. All that’s left is for you to accept or reject the offer.
[I personally have rejected internships because my parents saw the allowance they were offering and they said no. If they were going to subsidize me going into the CBD everyday for 2 months, they wanted one that was as close to minimum wage as possible, so that it had ROI. So I ended up not getting a lot of “fun” internships that way.]
Do negotiate the other parts of your work though, like how often you have to come to the office, especially if you’re doing it during the sem. Best to find somewhere that can accommodate your situation.
Related: What was your internship hours and how’d you balance it with acads?
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If you’re applying to be a management trainee
or to any kind of formal entry-level program (usually it’ll be a class-type where a group starts at the same time and undergoes training together), then there most likely won’t be a salary negotiation. Everyone starts with the same initial salary, but could end the program at different levels depending on individual performance. Even if you won't encounter a salary negotiation, some MT programs MAY ask you what you're expecting, especially if you already have job experience
Definition: Management Trainee Program (noun)
Here in the Philippines, you’ll see management trainee programs across FMCG, banking, and B2B companies. They usually have roles in sales, finance, supply chain, and some would also expand to include marketing, HR, and IT.
For a set amount of time (12 months to 3 years), you’ll be trained in different parts of the company before settling into your permanent role.
If you’re entering a MT program, it’s best not to negotiate! But still come into your offer interview, knowing the salary range for the position plus a clear idea of what your salary will be like when you’re finished with the program.
Usually these programs keep your salary fixed throughout the whole trainee period, and at the end is when you’ll get the salary bump. (Especially useful if a lot of people take your MT program and jump ship to a competitor, which is common in the banking industry.) But some new programs don’t offer an increase at the end. Make sure that you check what you’re getting into before you sign the contract. (And check if there’s a bond as well.)
In this situation, your answer should be something like,
If you have no idea what the average is, “I expect the industry-standard pay for entry-level candidates.”
If you know how much this company’s last year’s management trainees were paid, “I expect to be paid in the range of (last year’s number + - 5k, for example 25k, so 20-30k).”
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If you’re applying for your first job, and you have little to no relevant experience for the roles you’re interested in,
your salary expectations answer will be based on the research you’ve done for average entry pay in that field or company.
Entry-level salaries vary by job type and industry, so narrowing your research by field. or even by company, helps you a ton. You’ll be better prepared in answering the salary expectations question, with that research in hand. Another thing to note is that entry-level salaries are most often not open to negotiation, so the expectation question is most likely a check on how realistic you are / how much research have you done for this role.
You don’t want to be one of the recruiter’s entitled young people stories, where you were asking for a Php200k salary while interviewing for a Php20k role, and your justification was “that’s what I think I deserve”. Always root your asking price in reality, so that you won’t feel huge disappointment when you get your offers.
[In case you have in-demand skills and experience, then feel free to set a higher-than-normal expected starting salary.]
Related: What do I need to research before going into an interview?
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If you’re leaving your job,
then your salary expectation answer should be based on the following criteria:
How much are you making (including benefits and allowances)
How much are your peers making (and I don’t mean, just people in your company who are also at your level, but also people in your competitor companies at your level)
How much are people making at your ideal role in both a smaller and bigger company
Calculating is important here. How you’ll get that number, I’ll leave up to you because everyone has a different way of getting that number. Whenever I ask my students how would they calculate their expected salary, I get some pretty interesting equations back. And some numbers that are just plucked from thin air. (Which I promptly shoot down. We don’t do that here, everything should be based on logic or research.)
After they present their equations, I give them my salary equations to use instead. Right now I’m building a calculator to help them figure out that number using percentage algebra, but my math and Excel skills in this area haven’t been used in a while so it’s slow going.
My main advice is that you’ve got to have the number already in your head before you even get a first interview, because you could be asked this at any time.
Before you start job hunting, and most especially when you’re job hopping, the first piece of research you need to do is about salary. That way you can piece together a realistic salary expectations number.
In this situation, your answer should be something like,
“I know the average salary for this entry-level position is in the Php25-35k range. Given my past experience at Previous Company, I think I’d be a great fit for this role and am expecting a salary within that range.”
But in a nicer delivery. Depends on how you talk and who you’re talking to. So please, do not just recite exactly what I wrote.
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Knowing what’s the minimum salary you’re willing to accept is a critical part of the preparation process. Do your research. Be confident and straightforward. But also remember that flexibility helps you make a great impression on the interviewer and the company.
To end, here’s a handy chart that summarizes everything I wrote!
I made an excel table! If you know a prettier way to do this, please let me know. I am not good at prettifying things.
Good luck to all those heading out for interviews, and if you follow any of my advice, tell me how it goes~
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Hi! I’m Justine.
I’m the founder and writer of all things in The Bumpy Career and welcome to Interviews, a slot where I share things I’ve learned over the course of going on dozens of interviews, and helping hundreds of people prepare for theirs, so that you guys don’t have to trial and error this stuff like I did. If you’ve got any questions, feel free to drop them here.
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