Money: Be Your Own Best Advocate

By Angela Tai

As a recruiter, I often hear people say that money is not the main motivator when they’re weighing their career options. While I agree with the sentiment that there are a myriad of other factors to consider when evaluating a position, it’s imperative that job seekers have well-thought-out answers with regards to compensation. Remember, it’s significantly harder to be revalued-up once you’re in the role. 

Taking a job solely on salary increase is short-sighted from a career fulfillment perspective, but money (for the most of us) is a crucial component of living. Whether we like it or not, it’s a practical tool for survival. Wealth provides us with the freedom to live a comfortable lifestyle. And in the lack thereof, we’re faced with tremendous stress. Simply put, we need it to function in civilization. 

The question of “what are you looking to make?” can be unnerving. I get it, you don’t want to shoot too high and lose out on the opportunity before you even have a chance to prove yourself. On the other hand, if the ask is too low, it’s a matter of time before you second guess yourself for not pushing harder during the negotiation process because you were so focused on landing the position. Thus the adage of “money isn’t my main driver” serves as a neutralizer. It avoids locking yourself into a number you might later regret. 

However, when employers hear that, they might automatically 1) dismiss the empty statement assuming it’s something people say to avoid sounding superficial, 2) capture “flexible” in their notes which will likely be taken into consideration when it’s number crunching time for an offer, and 3) feel the need to get to the “bottom” number so they at least have a baseline understanding.

My advice to interviewees is to speak decisively about compensation. Set a target goal and work from there, but know your lowest threshold. More importantly, do your research so you arm yourself with sufficient knowledge to steer the negotiation conversation. There are salary survey tools like Payscale, Glassdoor and Salary.com that offer real-time data to help assess where you fall within your peer group. Don’t be afraid to make a compelling case. 

To demonstrate what you could say when addressing pay questions, here are a couple of examples: 

First round interview 

I am targeting a $100k base salary range. Of course, there are other important attributes to consider when making a career move than compensation alone. The opportunity sounds like an interesting one so I’d love to continue the discussion. Tell me, does my salary-ask fall within your budget?

Follow-up round interview 

Based on my knowledge of the role, along with my experience, I would like to target a base salary of $100k. It falls in the 98 percentile of my peer group according to Payscale. I think this makes sense because I have a background specifically in SaaS which is one of the main requirements for the position.

The point is, don’t leave it to the hiring managers’ imagination when it comes to determining your own livelihood. Learning how to discuss wages early (and along the way) will save yourself from having to go through several rounds of meetings just to find out that you aren’t aligned with the budget allotted for the opening.  

Finally, companies hire employees with longevity in mind. Income satisfaction is a critical component of talent retention. Succinctly sharing your target salary goals during the interview process will ensure that once you’re in your dream job, you’re not distracted by the nagging feeling that you might not be paid competitively. In return, this increases your productivity at work. It’s mutually beneficial for prospective employers and candidates to come to a happy medium before working together.