Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with salary and interview

How Can I, Early in the Process, Make Sure a Potential Employer and I Aren't Way Too Far Apart in the Potential Salary for a Position?

WCityMike — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:45:53 -0800

Does formal, or politely euphemistic, language exist by which, early on in the job-hunt process, you can make sure you and a potential employer aren't considering salary ranges that are half a planet apart? Like many Americans, I am unemployed and job-hunting. The career I last worked in has an extremely wide range of salaries, spanning a large chunk of the range of five-figure numbers.

Some job listings do provide the salary range the employer is looking to pay, but finding that information is a real hit-or-miss affair. For those listings that do not, how can I ascertain a job's salary range, pre-interview and early in the process?

I do understand employers oft make salary offers based on an applicant's experience.

However, the problem I find with solely relying on that is that either:

(a) Despite that variability, an employer can still be working with a salary ceiling in their mind which is still impractically low (either impractically just for me or, more often, impractically for anyone), or

(b) Many employers don't factor an applicant's experience into the salary they're willing to pay for the position, yet still don't make that number public to the applicant until the very end of the process, after a lot of time and effort has already been invested in the process by both applicant and employer. This can be a source of ... frustration, to understate it.

"So what kind of salary were you looking for?" What's a good answer to such a question?

krautland — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:50:26 -0800

"So what kind of salary were you looking for?" What's a good answer to such a question? I hate this moment in interviews when a potential employer asks how much I want. the range of what I could ask for in my industry is wide and the trade-rag statistics don't really help me either. so I usually go with what I think is fair. sometimes that's right-on but sometimes it's too much and sometimes it's too low.

this question is about to come up again. I'm tempted to go low because I quite like the opportunity but the potential job brings serious responsibilities with it and I don't want to suggest that I'm less experienced than I actually am. the written information I do have on the position does not state what kind of salary they are looking to pay at all.

so how should I handle this question? is there a nice way to deflect the question back to the interviewer, to suggest they should make an offer?

I asked about salary too soon. How do I recover?

whatideserve — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:09:35 -0800

Help me recover from my faux pas! I am applying for a new job (within the agency I currently work for) and I asked about the salary before the interview, which the supervisor did not like. How can I handle this so I don't completely blow my chance at this job? I applied for an internal position at my agency and I have an interview next week. I e-mailed the supervisor of that position to clarify the salary because I'd been told two different things. The salary is a make or break issue for me. She e-mailed me back with the information and a note stating that, for future reference, I should not ask about salary before the interview. (I read this question and it appears people are mixed about when to ask salary questions.) Should I explain that the salary was make or break for me and I did not want to waste her time if I wasn't going to be able to take the position? Or do I just say "Thank you for the information. I won't make that mistake again"?

You hang up first. No you hang up first. No you hang up first...

boots — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:02:12 -0800

At what point in the job interview process is it appropriate to inquire what the salary might look like? I've been doing the job interview thing for far too long now, and I'm getting pretty damn good at it, if I do say so myself. However, there's one point that I'm still unsure about. I was led to understand (from where, I don't rightly recall) that one waited until after a job was offered before even mentioning salary, benefits, etc., let alone negotiating them. My parents think this is absurd. They think that I should inquire what the salary range might look like during first interviews, because "you're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you." That part I understand, but for some reason salary seems like the exception to that rule.

So, who's right? Do I ask about potential salary before they offer me a job (or bring it up on their own) or do I bide my time and wait until they've made an offer to negotiate like hell?

NYC if it makes a difference.

How much money does a technology coordinator make?

bonheur — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 07:11:04 -0800

What kind of salary can I expect as a computer lab technology coordinator at a fancy private school in the Boston area? I am interested in this job as a technology coordinator for a school. The position would involve managing and maintaining about eighty computers and one server, supervising the computer lab while classes use it, and collaborating with teachers to develop curriculum to make use of all the new, fancy technology. I have two years of teaching experience and one year of low-level tech support experience. I would be part of the IT department at the school, and have two supervisors in that department. The salary scale for the position is stated as $30,000-$80,000, depending on qualifications. I need help figuring out what kind of initial offer to expect, or what salary to ask for. Help?

Make them hire me!

stormygrey — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 07:01:48 -0800

Help me ace an interview for a job I am not really qualified for. I have an interview for a job tomorrow. I have a problem in that every job interview I go to says that I am way overqualifed for what they are paying, so I have decided to apply for jobs that I am a little underqualifed for.

Points because a patron in the bar I work for clued me in to the opening and has been advocating for me and points because apparently my would be boss was just finishing her masters in my program when I just started and she remembers me.

HOWEVER, in all honesty, I am not the most qualified for this position. I have NO doubt that I would do wonderfully in this position seeing as I have the natural skills for it, but my experience is lacking.

I have my masters in Nonprofit Organizations, but I have been working more in advocacy and education and this is more fundraising/special events. I have to do some of that in this job, after all setting up workshops and receptions is very much logistically like setting up special events, but how do I really sound like I can do it?

How do I not look like a kid? At 27, I still look and carry myself pretty young even in a suit.

What about salary? I make 31k in my current position, my direct supervisor in this postion makes around 68k, should I ask for low 40's for what would be a senior manager position?