Million Dollar Interview Question: How Much Are You Looking To Earn?

Compensation is a negotiation. And as a result, your negotiating skills need to be in top notch to be able to get you an impressive compensation that can keep you productive and motivated at that new position you are being considered for in XYZ company.

Before sending out your resume to any organization, it is extremely crucial that you are able to address the question “How Much Are You Looking to Earn?”

As a candidate looking to change jobs sometime in the future, you need to start thinking about how to negotiate good salary compensation for any role you may be considering to apply into. And except you are being poached from your present company into another company already offering you quadruple of what you currently earn, being unprepared for salary questions can cost you thousands to millions of Naira and cause you to concede power in the “salary rhythm".

And understand that if you are not well prepared to answer the famous question “How much are you looking to earn”, you will lose the salary negotiation battle even before you resume on the first day. You may even lose the job opportunity should you over quote or over-value yourself. And the worst that may happen is that you may lose a future negotiating power with the same company.

To enable you prepare and execute a salary negotiation, follow these steps:

i.                     Research competitive salary information for your position, industry and region.

ii.                   Calculate the total value of your last compensation package, including base, bonus, commission and any other extras. Be prepared to be specific and exhaustive.

iii.                  If you’re asked for salary history, counter ask with what the company is prepared to offer.

iv.                 Don’t lie or inflate. Expect that the company can and will check every number. They usually have a strong and wide network pool.

v.                   Have a compelling speech ready explaining why you’re worth what you’re asking based on your research of the market, not your previous salary. 

 However, how do you avoid negotiating yourself and your compensation benefits to the company's exit door?

UNDERSTAND WHEN & WHO TO DISCLOSE YOUR REMUNERATION PACKAGE - As a general rule on this side of the continent, it is expected and not considered strange to share your current company’s compensation with a head hunter, as they need to know that you are a very close fit with the hiring company’s specifications as they don’t want to be in the position of recommending a candidate whose salary expectations are either too high or too low to be viable. Rest assured that all they want to know is whether you’re “in the ballpark” of who they want to recruit. With direct employers looking to recruit you into their organisation, the story may however be quite different. It’s neither considered necessary nor advantageous for you to reveal salary information before you have a job offer in hand. After all, your current salary does not really have any effect on the value you can deliver in the position you are being considered for. And when you reveal how much you currently earn, you automatically give the prospective employer negotiation power. However, being able to negotiate might only be applicable to only mid-level or highly experienced candidates who have a lot to offer the organization in question. For entry applicants, you may not have enough playing ground to negotiate that high up just yet.

Now, how do you deflect remuneration questions like a smart professional? Simply by reading several books, conducting online research from relevant articles or go ahead to engage the services of a career or life coach who will help you learn and practice how to provide appropriate responses during these periods.  

BE PREPARED FOR THE QUESTION- It’s inevitable that you would come across this question. It's like the time of day. Just like morning shows up everyday, this question is on the lips of every recruiter/employer. No organization wants to overpay a prospective candidate hence the famous question “how much are you looking to earn”. You may consider practicing a variety of responses until you can say them naturally, impassively and non-defensively. However, communicate to your interviewers that the primary purpose of the interview is to determine whether you are the right person for the job and once you have both mutually conceded the strength of your candidacy, you can now move towards discussing remuneration. Give the accepted assumption that the employer will pay an appropriate salary, and simply ensure to sell yourself in a compelling way and once you have succeeded in giving the wow factor, you can then begin to negotiate.

Below are some suggestions on how to go about this: When a recruiter asks you, “How much are you looking to earn?” consider the likely responses below:

You- “I’d like us both to determine whether I am the appropriate fit for this position. Once we can ascertain I am a good fit, I believe we should be able to come to a mutually agreeable situation.”

 You- “I am quite certain an organisation such as yours offer very competitive remuneration so I am quite certain remuneration should not be an issue at all so long as I am qualified and fit to hold this position.

You – “As a qualified and experienced --------, I am quite interested in a remuneration package that will keep me motivated and productive. I am very certain your company pays competitive salaries to retain talented people. So I am certain my remuneration expectations wouldn't be an issue”.

However, if the recruiter or organization’s contact insists on getting this information out of you, consider responding as below:

You- “As I reiterated earlier, I am quite certain compensation should not be a problem once the suitability is confirmed. If I may ask, what is the compensation benefit you have budgeted for this position I am being considered for? I can let you know whether it falls within my remuneration expected range”.

If the recruiter/organisation comes back with a figure, you can respond as suggested below:

You- “That certainly falls within my expected range. However, let’s keep talking to see if I’m the right person for this job.”

If the interviewer presses further or asks, “So, how much would it take to bring you on board?” Consider responding like below:

You- “I am very excited about this position and quite eager to tackle the challenges we have discussed so far. I assume I will be paid a salary that will keep me motivated and productive. What figure did you have in mind for this position?”

However, considering Nigerian recruiters always want to get a figure from you and you may begin to feel pressured to mention a figure, It is perfectly normal to surrender to this pressure to answer the recruiter’s or employer’s questions. You certainly don’t want to create an antagonistic atmosphere in the interviews so most times, you may need to give out some responses.

If you feel compelled to share your salary expectations, I’d advise you mention a wide salary range instead of quoting a specific figure. Also be sure to tie your remuneration expectations to proven facts, and not what you think you deserve because of the institution you graduated from or the company you are being poached from.

CONDUCT YOUR RESEARCH- Before you attend any interview, ALWAYS conduct your research either online or through appropriate network  to determine the current salary type and the perks that come with the position you are looking to fill. That way, you will be able to mention matter of fact that “My research shows that salaries in the N9M per annum to 12M per annum are very appropriate for this position. I anticipate a competitive salary in that range.”

Summarily, remuneration negotiation preparation is an important early step in a successful job search and also play a major role in ensuring you clinch the job. There are no rigid rules on how you can negotiate. If you are a good fit and have a lot to offer and bring to the new company’s table, you can use your negotiating power so that you get the appropriate perks that come with the position you are being recruited for BEFORE you sign the employment letter. 

With a little practice and after some time, you’ll be able to respond naturally, appropriately, and non-defensively when the question, “how much are you looking to earn” comes up, and you’ll put yourself in an advantageous position to field appropriate offers.

How To Get That Promotion You Know You Deserve

You had always been a diligent and proactive student throughout your college days. So it wasn't really a surprise to anyone when you got a job with a top technology company even before the ink on your college certificate dried off. You had always been voted as the most likely to succeed early anyway. And as an extremely bright individual, your folks and friends went ahead to vote you as the most likely to get promoted within a year during your new-job celebration party.

It was a foregone conclusion anyway so you just smiled and in your mind, probably said “No doubt about that”.

First year passed, nothing. You however got a new wireless mouse (exactly the white color you requested 5 months back from the Admin team) for your white laptop.

Second year passed, same status quo. The Admin team was kind enough to change your seat which had been giving you back ache for some months and the tech team also upgraded your operating system to Windows 8. (Everyone was a bit nice during your second year so maybe your promotion time is close?)

Third year passed, same job title, same office corner but nothing else. You were however commended for the good work so far by the company’s CEO who didn't look like he knew your name and he wasn't even looking at you while shaking your hands, along with other 146 colleagues on your work floor. 

But that was all for year three, just the handshake.

Now, it’s almost four years and you still have just one offer letter, the same job title, the same seat that was graciously changed in year 2 but is now beginning to make that creaking noise you hear in horror movies before something bad happens to the actor, same stapler and laptop, and the same office seat corner you were led to some years back when you just joined. 

Depression starts to kick in and your work productivity is gradually space-competing with your office shoes for the first to get to the ground every morning.

You have worked for years and if you may say so, your promotion was way over due. (which I agree to as well. I mean, 4 years and you couldn't even get a new laptop and new mouse! Who is your Admin personnel please?) You have produced your best (or so you think) and felt like it was time for you to earn what you rightly deserve. 

Here's what you need to do...

ASK/APPLY FOR THAT PROMOTION- I have been opportune to watch many employees get passed for a promotion for one reason only- they refused to ask or apply. Many employees who may have spent some time with an organization are under the misplaced conception that their organisation should know those workers, like themselves that are due for promotion. I mean, they are special and hardworking, right! So they cap it all with “if it’s meant for me, it will come to me”. Sorry to burst your bubbles Princess Aurora, but your organisation does not owe you a promotion. Just as you believe you are deserving of a promotion, there are several other employees as well who could even give more compelling reasons why it should be them and not you. And the organisation cannot reach out to everyone or promote so many employees at once. The only way they can give everyone a fair opportunity is to make a higher position available for interested internal employees to apply(You'd be surprised that not everyone is ambitious enough to want to climb the corporate ladder so many will not apply). And the only way you can be considered for a promotion as such is when you apply. Success does not walk up to anyone, you have to walk towards success.

Many people have been forced to report to someone who was once a junior colleague because they failed to apply for an open position in their company and failed to blow their own trumpets hoping against all hope that their line manager, (who probably manages 43 other team members as well and who are also as impressive) will read their minds and make them that promotional offer they didn't apply for. 

Statistics however revealed that women are guiltier of this than men as men tend to become restless after some few months in the same position and ask their line managers what they need to do to climb higher. Women on the other hand tend to wait hoping their bosses, probably wearing a warrior cape will put in a word during the monthly management meeting with a visual presentation on “why Marilyn Martha is the only one that deserves this promotion and not Susan Chef, not Bola Cole, not Bukky Philips and not Simi Peters. 

WHAT TO DO- If you want to be considered for a promotion, you need to ask and apply especially when a higher position you qualify for is available, simple as that! And when you meet with your HR or Line manager to discuss why you deserve a promotion such as this, the easiest way to be bounced off the list is to come in from the emotional angle.  Avoid soapy and emotional stories about the day you came into the office when it was raining heavily with a torn shirt and a bruised knee or that you were usually the only employee that applauds when the CEO recounts one of his usual boring stories and the last to leave all your company's boring end of the year events. This is the time to polish your negotiating and persuasive skills such that when you mention all you have achieved while compulsorily using statistics and percentile figures to list your accomplishments, your listeners will have no choice than to concur with your compelling speech. Logic and clear reasoning is key when negotiating or persuading as this is the only language the average CEO and top management understands. You have to be objective and be able to give reasons that can be backed with existing statistics on why you deserve that promotion. Avoid emotions and sentiments as this has proven never to work (except you genuinely fell flat at the front door of the CEO's office and you are badly bruised and covered in scrapes and bruises that hurts like crazy!). 

And be prepared to answer all questions based on what stands you out from your other colleagues who also have impressive work profiles. You may also choose to add an existing problem that the position you are gunning for is required to solve and provide a very subtle solution that you can work on when you are considered for this promotion.  Understand that the greatest impediment to your career mobility is yourself.

GET YOUR INTERNAL NETWORKING GROOVE ON- Yes, everyone who knows you would agree you are quite disciplined and can work alone. In fact, during your interview, you were the only candidate that mentioned candidly you work best when you are left alone. And besides you don't like your seat colleagues- Bob in Marketing, Sharon in Finance, Jide at the Engineering team, Yetunde at the Front Desk, Akin the CEO's Chief of Staff, Kate is just too lousy when she eats, Mark types too loud. Everyone is just out to make you upset. You are just not cut out for office drama so you would like to be alone if we all please! Hence when you are in the office, you are known for putting on your huge Dr Dre Beats headphones, turning it to the highest volume and known to work in that state till work closes. This makes you produce impressive work content and everyone knows. Awesome right? 

Absolutely, but only if you are a cashier or an IT associate and intend to remain in that position until your 3 months old baby leaves for college and your first son has been remarried for the third time. If you however want to move to top management in due time, you would need to lose the headphones and the Robinson Crusoe attitude.

Every successful entrepreneur understands that the key to remaining at the top of the ladder or climbing rapidly is the ability to turn on the smooth charm often, build a huge network of supporters and develop mutually beneficial relationships with key people at strategic times. 

As an employee aiming to grow within an organisation, you would need to network within your department and team as well as throughout your company.  Consider it a form of future motive knowing you would be running a promotion campaign soon. And since animals and computers are still unable to vote or able to put in a good word for you with your bosses, you would need to start playing a harmless office politics called NETWORKING.

As a result, keeping to yourself and putting on your headphones between 8am-5pm everyday so Kathy across you would not chat about last night’s episode of Friends might not be favorable for you in the long run, not to mention the benefit of good office networking for a 360 degree feedback. Remember, people remember clearly negative experiences with other people first no matter the number of good experiences they may have had with such person.

WHAT TO DO- Create some time every day to get to know your colleagues, bosses. Consider joining group gatherings once a while such as team bonding. When you are with colleagues, engage freely in carefree discussions that’d reveal the playful side to you without dishing out embarrassing or dry jokes. (You really don't want to be that colleague that everyone suddenly has something to urgently attend to when you mention you recently heard this new joke you want to share...) 

Be that employee that everyone loves to be around. Don’t be an island. Offer to assist one or two colleagues in your department once a while as well as in other departments. Consider putting in extra times with one or two bosses who are influential in convincing management on key decisions. Simply put, be the screwdriver in everyone's vehicle dashboard and the stapler everyone needs very often. The idea is to leave a positive professional impression of yourself in the minds of many of your colleagues and bosses such that if you are not even present, you have a set of devoted supporters vouching and routing for you. 

And understand that most often than not, management team do not take solitary decisions where promotion is concerned. Usually, they tend to ask some set of other employees at your level and slightly above you if they think James from Finance or Yvonne from Marketing deserves a promotion yet.

I’m sure you’d want them to extol so many virtues that is almost unbelievable to the ears but cannot just be proven to be untrue. 

Think I've omitted any tip that can make one a successful consideration for promotion? Do share in the comment box below.

In my next post, I’d be sharing tips on what you need to do before actually requesting for that promotion. 

-Teju' Fola'-Alade

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