What are your salary expectations?

In addition to my career coaching role, I also work as a Talent Advisor for a Fortune 100 company. In this role, I complete 10-12 phone interviews per week. The calls last approximately 30 minutes and it's more so a verification session with a few follow-up questions to learn more about the candidate’s background. The flow of the conversation is usually smooth until we get to the question around compensation. "What are your salary expectations for this role?" I hear responses such as, "Whatever you think I'm worth." or "Whatever the market value for the role is."

I cringe when I hear these responses. In many cases, I decline the person for next steps because they gave me such a hassle on this basic question when they could've just done their research or given a range that met their expectations. The question from someone else's point of view may be. "If I give a range and it's too low, wouldn't I be selling myself short?" My response is, "DO YOUR RESEARCH!" Glassdoor.com is a good place to start to look up salary ranges based on employers and job titles.

The next time you have a phone interview, and this question is asked be prepared to discuss and give a salary range. For example, $80-92k is a $12k range and realistic. Giving a broad range of $80-125k is still not answering the question. Do your research on the role. If you know someone at the company, get their opinion on how much the pay range would be. Whatever you do, don't count yourself out of an opportunity because you didn't prepare.

Have a phone interview coming up? Have a job opportunity of a lifetime and want to prep as much as possible? Been out of the workforce for some time and need to brush up on your skills? If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, download part 3 of the eBook series: Job Seekers Guide to Career Success. You will learn tips on how to stand out and make a first impression with a recruiter and hiring manager. The tips shared are from a recruiter to assist you in prepping for your next phone interview.

(Part 3: Phone Interview Prep Guide)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jamelah Henry specializes in producing "All-Star" employees for the workplace. She is a product of a job training program from early in her career. She used the skillsets that she learned and was immediately recognized by top employers. After a few short years in the workforce, she was promoted to a management position. She spent the last 18 years of her career working as a manager, trainer, recruiter, and entrepreneur specializing in hiring, training, coaching and developing both existing and new hire employees to bring their best to the workplace.

She is an SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Certified Professional, earned a B.S. in Human Resource Management from Wilmington University and a member of the Delta Epsilon Rho Honor Society. She is also a current member of the National Resume Writers Association (NRWA) and working towards a certification as a National Resume Writer. In her spare time, she likes giving back to her community supporting causes such as Poverty Alleviation, Economic Empowerment, Civil Rights & Social Action.