Handling salary questions can be challenging! Pitch yourself too high and you may rule yourself out of the running on the grounds that you’re too expensive. Pitch yourself too low and there’s a danger you may be paid below the market rate. So here are some tips on how to handle those tricky questions.

Always try to get the interviewer to make an offer first. The further through the interview process you go, the more invested in you the organisation is. They’ve probably already spent significant time and resource on getting you to this point. It’s in their interests to make a successful hire. The point at which you receive an offer is your point of maximum power and the best time to negotiate. Therefore, trying to deflect salary questions until then is a good strategy.

If pressed, ask the interviewer to tell you the established range for the position and then give an indication whether this fits within your range. You can also give a range in terms of the total remuneration package. If asked, respond with a total remuneration package range. Remember to express your willingness to be flexible.

Some things you could say

To deflect questions about salary until later in the recruitment process:

My main focus at this point is on understanding more about the scope of the role and the potential contribution I could make.

Or

I’m hoping to find a challenging role where I can use my experience. I’d like to wait until we’re further into our discussions to talk about salary.

If you’re applying for a role in a different sector where salary is likely to be much higher or lower than what you’re currently being paid:

Although I considered my salary at ABC appropriate for the role I was doing, I’m aware that remuneration in other sectors (you could name) is structured differently. I’d therefore request that my current/last salary isn’t used as the determinant for future positions.

Or

Although I’ve done some initial research, you’re much more au fait with how this industry’s positions are evaluated. Would you be willing to share the salary range of this position with me?