When + How To Ask About Salary At An Interview

That dreaded interview moment has arrived.

It’s time to ask about salary, but how do you actually do it?

Even when you know questions around salary expectations are coming your way, it’s stressful and a million new questions run through your head. Do I throw out a crazy high number? Will that turn them off and never call me back so it’s better to “play it safe?” What even is a good salary to ask for?!

The list of questions and that internal dialogue goes on and on.

But the reality is that no matter how much you love a company or are excited about the job, salary is an important factor when considering whether to accept or decline a new job offer.

Recruiters will always ask about salary—usually towards the beginning of the process. They are looking to hire within a set budget. If you are not aligned with the salary they have budgeted for, they won’t want to continue the interview process.

Being fairly compensated is important to support your livelihood and reward your hard work, but that’s not all. Fair compensation also affects your overall success, enthusiasm, and engagement at a job.

Consider it like this: Would you put in 110% effort if you knew you were being paid below market rate or way less than your coworkers? It’s unlikely.

How to Ask About Salary in the Interview

Given all of this, understanding the subtle differences of when and how to negotiate salary — during an interview or after getting the job offer — is incredibly important.

If you’ve ever felt stumped about the timing, we also understand that challenge. For example, if you bring up salary too early it can make you look like all you care about is money vs. what matters to the company. 

Or if you share your desired salary without doing salary research, you can risk undervaluing your skillset or sharing a salary number that’s so high you remove yourself from consideration for the hiring team. 

So how do you talk money with a potential employer? How do you get the timing right and what do you say exactly?!

The answer is preparation, context, and professionalism. Let’s dive deeper into all of this! 

Before You Negotiate Salary In An Interview

Preparation is key before any salary negotiation conversation. We recommend the following:

• Do your research. Conduct thorough research via online tools and talk to real people to determine the market value for the role you’re interviewing for. You can use your current salary or pick a higher salary number that just “sounds good” but we don’t recommend that. Do real research on what a fair starting salary would be and get clear on your salary requirements.
• Don’t talk about money right away. Good timing is critical when negotiating so hold off to talk about it till later in the interview process. More on this later!
• Do consider the entire compensation package, not just the salary number. Beyond your salary are your benefits and perks. Don’t forget the value of these and that you can negotiate them as well.
• Do let the employer give the first number or salary range. You don’t want to be evasive if asked, but it’s generally best to try to get the employer to give a number first. More on this later!
• Don’t lie. A deceptive job applicant quickly becomes a rejected job applicant. End of story.
• Don’t forget to negotiate. Here’s a secret—employers expect you to negotiate! Regardless of the job market conditions, negotiating in good faith is always acceptable.

Ready to get into more specific details? Following are more detailed tips on when and how to negotiate salary during an interview.

When Can I Discuss Salary in an Interview Process?

The right time is after you’ve sold the interviewer on why you’re a great fit for the job. Focus first on selling yourself as the solution and wait for the right opportunity to ask about compensation and benefits.

As we mentioned, the recruiter will probably ask you about salary expectations in your phone interview so you will want to be prepared, however, if they don’t bring up salary right away, we recommend you also don’t bring it up during your first interview, either. 

Instead, use these opportunities to showcase your fit for the role and company. Talk about your relevant accomplishments, skills, and why you’re interested in this specific role.  

Additionally, look for signs that the interviewer is interested in hiring you and would be open to discussing salary.

Examples of these signs include questions like:

• When can you start?
• Is there anything about this role or company that isn’t a fit for you?
• Can you provide references?

When the interviewer starts asking questions that’s a good sign that they are getting ready to make you an offer and, therefore, gives you the leverage to push the interviewer for more information about salary and benefits. 

Here are a few specific scenarios and our advice on when to discuss salary for each of them.

When Dealing With a Recruiter

When you’re speaking to a recruiter be prepared to have salary come up in the first phone interview. This is because they want to make sure you and the employer are within a close salary range.

This makes it hard to completely dodge answering the question. However, you don’t want to waste your time interviewing for a job where the salary might be way less than you’ll ever accept. We recommend coming up with a non-answer answer so you can put off answering this question for as long as possible.

Here’s what you can say:

“I am very interested in this job, and I’m sure we can agree on a salary once we have both determined that there is a good fit here.”

If they ask about salary again before any official job offer, try this:

“I’m really excited about this role and feel confident I can bring value to the team. Because I know salary is just one part of the entire compensation package, I’d like to hold off on answering this till I know more about what’s included in the full offer. If you’d like to share your budgeted salary range to ensure we’re not far apart right now, I can definitely let you know about that.”

When Dealing With a Hiring Manager

Hiring managers are also going to ask this question pretty early on in the interview process to ensure you two are not too far apart on salary as well.

Almost all companies identify a salary range for each role, and usually, the hiring manager has some leeway to go to the top of the range (or even slightly above) if they find the perfect candidate.

Even when dealing with a hiring manager, we recommend trying to get them to name the salary number or salary range first.

If they ask you about salary in the interview stage, you can say something like the following:

“I’m really interested in the role and once I’d learned more specifics about the job, I can share the range I’d expect for this role. However, it would be helpful to hear what range you have budgeted to make sure we’re not too far apart right now.”

When Dealing With an Internal Promotion

If you’re dealing with an internal promotion then the salary conversation shifts from negotiating a starting salary to asking for a raise.

Because your company has more access to salary tools, compensation databases, and even the salary ranges of all their employees, we’re going to again recommend that you get them to name a number first.

You will want to wait to discuss salary till your employer brings you a new offer. This should include your new job title, an outline of the new job description, and the new salary and benefits package.

Try something like this:

“I’m really excited to discuss this promotion and the new job responsibilities. To help me really consider this role, I’d like to hold off sharing my salary expectations till the new job description and salary are shared with me in a new offer.”

When You’re Not Actively Job Searching

It’s a great feeling when a recruiter reaches out to you about a job opportunity! And you might be tempted to ask about salary right away because you figure you have nothing to lose. You also benefit from having some leverage, since they reached out to you.

You’re not totally wrong, however, professionalism needs to rise above in this situation. This means taking the time to learn about the role in an initial phone interview. If a recruiter doesn’t mention the salary range during a phone interview, you can ask about it.

Here’s a great way to do that:

“Thanks for sharing more about the role and company. I’m definitely interested and to ensure I’m being sensitive to your budgets, can you share the salary range for this role?”

How to Initiate the Salary Discussion in an Interview 

Our general rule is to get the employer to name their salary or salary range first. Remember that they have access to way more salary data than you do—even with the great salary research you do.

But how do you actually get the employer to start talking about salary to eventually share a specific number or salary range?

Here are some examples of how you can diplomatically ask an awkward interview question about salary and other benefits.

When You Want to Be Direct

“In full transparency, I’m focusing my job search on roles with an annual salary within the range of $85,000, which my market research has shown is starting rate for employees with my years of experience, skill set, and education. Is this position in that range?”

When You Want to Ease Into Salary Discussion

“How does the compensation for this position compare with the current market rate for similar roles?” OR “I’m really excited about this opportunity and I’m sure we can collaboratively find a salary that matches the value I bring to the organization and your budget. Can you give me an idea of what you’ve already budgeted for this position?”

When You Want to Learn More About Work + Life Balance

“Can you tell me a bit about the internal culture in your organization?” OR “If I were to be offered the job, what would my average day / average week look like?”

When You Want to Know More About Compensation Structures Used

“Thank you for sharing a bit more about the budget for this role. Would you be open to sharing how the team/management came to that number?”

When You Want to Ensure That You’re Being Adequately Compensated

“Thanks so much for taking the time to extend an offer to me. I’m thrilled and have a few more questions. Can you tell me where the proposed salary falls within the range of other employees with a similar title and pay level?”

“Can you share the approved salary range for this role and level and where my current offer falls within that range?”

When You Want to Know More About Benefits and Perks

“Can you tell me more about how the company benefits influence company culture? I’m interested in knowing more about what _____ (company name) does to support employees during parental leave, times of bereavement, etc. Do you encourage everyone to take their max vacation time to avoid burnout?” 

10 Dos and Donts of Salary Negotiations 

• DO Create a Salary Range and Your Desired Salary 
• DON’T Conduct a Job Search Based Entirely On Salary 
• DO Have Your Salary Range Ready Before Your First Interview
• DON’T Wait Until You’ve Completed Many Rounds Before Asking
• DO Conduct Thorough Salary Research 
• DON’T Ignore the Details Associated With Salary (ie. experience, industry, geo) 
• DO Know the Salary That Matches Your Experience and Can Afford Your Lifestyle
• DON’T Use Your Expenses as “The Reason” for Your Desired Salary Range 
• DO Recognize the Benefits of Benefits (ie be prepared to negotiate your benefits package) 
• DON’T Shy Away from Money Questions, Whenever They Come Up