Desperate, but want to negotiateI have an interview tomorrow in my chosen field with a dream company. My previous position was "eliminated", so I really need this job as quickly as possible. I have been in this situation before in that I wanted a job very badly, so felt uncomfortable negotiating because I didn't want the offer to go away. I have been asked to fill out an application prior to my interview and it requests my salary requirements. I would like to find out what the salary range of the position is prior to providing this information, so I'm not under-selling my skills. Is that accceptable to do prior to an interview? I don't want to end up in another situation where I accepted a job just because I needed it so badly, but on't want to jeopordize things before I even interview. Can you please give offer some advice? Thanks. Lets proceed on the basis that you won't be able to find out what the salary range for is for this job. Let's also proceed on the basis that it's never a good idea to try and negotiate more salary just for the sake of negotiating. What YOU need to know is the salary range within which you need to be to at least make ends meet, pay all the bills, and AT LEAST maintain your present standard of living. Take out your checkbook and figure out what it costs you per month, over the last few months to do all those things. In other words, come up with a monthly average income stream you require and below which you cannot go and still survive financially. Take that monthly average times 12 and you should have a fair idea of the annual income you require to stay solvent financially. Call that annualized amount $X. Add about $10K to that "can't go below" amount to come up with the top end of your anticipated salary range. Call that amount $Y. Since you're not working at the moment, I'd recommend that you tell the prospective employer that your anticipated salary range is negotiable within that $X to $Y range. By offering the range I've suggested you won't be underselling yourself in terms of the income range YOU need to keep your financial ship afloat. If the prospective employer's range is lower than $X, it really won't matter because you wouldn't have been able to survive on less than $X anyway, unless you're wiling to cut back on discretionary expenses. If your range is less than the budgeted range it still won't matter because you'll still be earning an initial salary that meets YOUR needs - and if you leave money on the table, so what? The idea here is to land a job that meets your income needs. If you try to push this employer to reveal their budgeted range for this position, you could be putting your chances of being offered this job at risk. The critical factor is the salary range YOU need. If you're made a salary offer that's within or greater than your anticipated salary range - take the job! Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert | |
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