Interviews’ Challenging Question: “What Are Your Salary Expectations?”

Interviews’ Challenging Question: “What Are Your Salary Expectations?“
We observe that candidates at all levels are hesitant to answer the question “What are your salary expectations?” during the interview. One of the questions we frequently receive within the scope of our interview consultancy service is “How should we answer if they ask about our salary expectations?” Firstly, there is no single answer to this question, however, we emphasize that candidates should always provide clear and accurate information throughout the process.

While clearly expressing your current salary and your expectations for a job change exerts a positive effect on the flow, it also gives recruitment professionals the opportunity to provide the candidate with feedback from the very beginning about how compatible the candidate is with the salary criteria for this role or whether they can expect flexibility. Everyone hates to hear “Sorry, your current salary expectation exceeds our package” that may arise after taking the time to complete the first few stages of interviews. If the salary is outside the company’s range with no possible flexibility, the candidate should have the right to continue or not continue the process with this information provided from the very beginning. Therefore, salary is an important detail that should be examined at the beginning of the process, which candidates and recruitment professionals should not leave to the end. Considering the wage only as a base salary may also create a misperception. Therefore, we recommend that the benefits (premium, vehicle, company share, profit share, etc.) with a high impact on total earnings should be evaluated within the package and the final verdict should be made within this framework.