BLOG: How NOT to Answer the Salary Question – Leon Adato Skip to content Before you read a single line more, I will give the usual but still important caveats – this blog is my opinion, based on my experiences. Take it with a big ol’ grain of salt. Then again, you’re welcome to leave your thoughts in the comments below. OK, with that out of the way, let me set the stage. A friend who I’ve been helping find a new job recently asked me, “When an employer asks what’s your desired salary, what’s the best approach?” I could have sworn I’d covered this point before now. I’ve certainly talked at length about job hunting. I came close to today’s topic when I blogged about salary negotiations . But, for as many times as I’ve discussed this verbally, it’s never made it to the printed page. So here we go: There will come a point in a job interview where someone is going to ask about the salary. if you are smart, that person won’t be you. if it’s a good interview, the other party won’t ask until close to the end of the process if it’s like 90% of the interviews I’ve ever had, it will be far, FAR too early. Which is why I’m writing this blog. Because along with not ASKING the question, you should put off answering this question for as long as possible. Now I recognize that absolutes – especially in the context of job interviews – are a function of privilege. Someone without the societal leverage that gender, age, ancestry confers; as well as those of visibility, connections, certifications/degrees, or accolades within the industry will have less freedom to make demands (or refuse them). So I’m going to work hard in the space below to offer both explanations and options. Explanations for why a particular strategy or choice is better overall; and options for how a person with less privilege might still be able to execute that strategy. RULE #1: If they haven’t offered you the job, it’s not time to talk about salary. Talking about salary early in the process is distracting and unhelpful. While there might (MIGHT!) be some validity in the old excuse that “If we aren’t in the same ballpark, we’re wasting each other’s time”, the truth is that a job is far more than a dollar amount. And that goes for BOTH sides of the hiring desk. For the candidate, salary is important, but probably not more important than other aspects like the location, other benefits, or, I dunno, THE ACTUAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES. I mean, for the love of pants, how can you talk about salary if you haven’t found out whether “donate a kidney” is or isn’t one of the job requirements. Because that kind of thing is going to have a significant impact on my negotiations. Meanwhile, for the employer, salary is important, but probably not more important than knowing whether the candidate can actually do the job, or get along with their manager, or believes in the mission of the company. That explains WHY (in my (not so humble) opinion) it’s not helpful to talk about salary. But let’s move to HOW one can av

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