How to Answer "What Are Your Salary Expectations?" During the Job Interview

So I'm going to keep this tip quick. But I thought of something I wanted to share with you guys because I get this question a lot. So a lot of people ask me…

how do I handle the situation in job interviews when they ask me to basically say what type of salary I'm looking for?

I always advise, don't give what your salary expectations are. You want to leave the ball in their court to propose their first offer. If you say something that's lower than what they're willing to give you, they're not going to go that high. Once you say that lowball offer, they're going to stick to that.

So instead, you want to keep that card in your pocket the whole time, even through them giving you an offer. Because, as an engineering manager and director, I know there is always more wiggle room in the number they give you. The first number they give you is always the worst offer for them. They always have a range that they're willing to work with you on. 

The reason I'm sharing all this is you want to avoid telling them what your number expectations are until the last minute, until they've given you an offer and you're prepared to give a counteroffer. 

In the interview, how do you handle this without looking like a jerk? It's real simple. If they ask you what are your salary expectations for the position, you could simply just say, Well, I'm actually not comfortable sharing that. Or, I'd rather not answer that right now at this time. You could say that and keep it short and sweet. 

But a really good answer that It goes a long way, because a lot of people won't like you just giving a short nonanswer like that. You could say this, you could say, well, honestly, I'd be more comfortable not answering that right now because once we start throwing numbers around, it really changes the whole dynamic of the interview and it sets a whole different tone for the rest of the interview. I'd like to keep this discussion more focused on the qualifications for the job and is this a right fit for both of us, for the company and for me and for your team. If that's okay with you guys, I like to just stay focused on that. Then we can talk about numbers later on. How does that work for you? 

So by doing that, you're asking them permission to stay focused on figuring out, is this the right fit? 

Other points that you can build into that rebuttal are saying things like, Well, you know, I don't really have a specific number in mind because I like to look at the total compensation package as a collective unit. What I mean by that is you're saying you want to look at what the benefits are, what the health insurance is, what their 401k contributions are. You want to look at all these things combined with salary instead of just giving them a flat number for your salary.

I hope these tips are helpful. I was an engineering manager and a director of engineering for years. I've hired more people than I can count. I've reviewed way more resumes than that. I think this is a big mistake that a lot of people make in interviews. They tell what their number is in mind at the very beginning, and then it basically, you lose a lot of leverage in that process.

These are some good tips for you to figure out how to avoid that and you know, keep that number tight to the vest. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions about this in the comments.

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