When you are doing interview preparation, it is important to be ready to answer this question: “What are your salary expectations?”
Your answer will sound something like this. “I expect my base salary to be $X or more and to also receive a bonus (or sales commission) that brings my total compensation to at least $Y. And since this is a Director level job, I also expect a stock grant to align my interests to long-term value creation.”
Here is the issue. If you don’t get the $X and $Y right, you may get taken off the qualified candidate list. You can as easily overprice yourself as underprice yourself. And are you sure that the employer provides stock to the Director level?
Be sure to do your research so you know what total compensation package is reasonable.
1. What is the JOB worth? Be sure to look at the pay data based on work location, industry, and size of company. Is the company targeting the 50th percentile or something higher/lower?
2. What are YOU worth as you perform this job? Have you done work like this before, and you have many examples of Exceeds Expectations performance? Or is this a higher-level job than you’ve performed in the past and you have a lot to learn?
3. What can the company AFFORD? Is the company meeting its revenue targets and able to pay at the top end of a competitive pay range? Or has the company recently laid off employees and is very expense conscious?
Employers consider many factors when developing a new hire offer. What you won’t know as the potential new hire is the internal equity considerations the employer is thinking about.
Candidates who plan their pay negotiation strategy are not just focused on their needs. They focus on understanding and researching the employer’s needs too. And then they move forward and communicate with confidence.
Smart employers don’t underpay, and they don’t overpay employees.
Smart candidates know how to tell their value story, align their pay expectations to the external market, and consider the employer’s budget and internal equity boundaries.
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