The desired salary is a term often used in interviews and walk-in drives. This is because the salary expectations of the candidate for a job position are crucial to know. Here, one of the most common questions companies ask their candidates is, ‘What is your desired salary?’ It is a tricky situation to give the right answer because it is also a criterion of selection among many candidates. It is very important to have a clear picture of what to consider and what not to consider. Let’s discuss.
What Do You Mean By Desired Salary?
Understanding “what is desired salary” is not only important for job seekers, but sometimes experience also needs to counter this question when switching from one job to another. It is often asked during an interview to know the salary expectations of the candidates. The interviewer will evaluate your desired salary by your skills, experience, and industry standards. Knowing the worth of salary expectancy reflects realistic approaches.
Desired salary is the expectation of a person from the job to get a monthly or annual salary package. Getting a clear idea of the desired salary by researching online platforms like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, etc., can be a good idea. Based on your qualifications, location, and the company’s size, when determining a realistic salary range. For an optimal answer, you can provide an arrangement rather than telling an exact figure.
In a hiring process, various candidates are there to be a part of it and get the job. The hiring teams will select candidates based on their qualifications, skills, experience, focus, and desired salary. All these things are interdependent, because if you don’t perform well or your skills and experience are not aligned with your expectations, then the chance that you get selected gets reduced.
Why Employers Ask About Desired Salary?
The reason behind the question “What is your desired salary?” is very genuine and obvious. It also helps them to understand the quality of candidates based on their expectations for this job role. The desired salary becomes a criterion of evaluation. If your expectations are high and your skill set is not as fit, then it raises a serious concern for your selection.
Also, after knowing the complete requirements and salary offering of the job you have applied for, you need to speak within the range. Some major reasons to ask this question :-
- Budget Validation : Every company fixes a budget for a specific role; this question helps them to know that your expectations fit within their salary range.
- Candidate Assessment : Interviewers seek to know your expectations, which should be realistic and knowledgeable about industry standards.
- Hiring Efficiency : In the case of bulk hiring, this helps in eliminating the mismatched expectations to get only the worthy and quality candidates.
- Negotiation : If you provide a range of desired salaries, this will help in negotiations and narrow down the decision-making area.
- Seniority Clarity : By evaluating your experience level and skill knowledge to check that you will fit in the pay scale.
- Future Retention : With a clear idea of what the candidate is expecting, this will prevent the hiring of an employee who may leave after some time, just because of dissatisfaction with pay.
- Confidence Check : Confidence is a core part of a candidate. Based on the performance, the interviewer checks the self-trust and confidence of the candidate.
There are some other factors that also need to be considered by the interviewer or the company that the question What is your desired salary annually or hourly, relies on. The salaries and wages on an individuals are monitored by the IRS.
What Is Your Desired Salary?
Many people find this concern challenging, but it is a positive opportunity to show what you deserve and get a better start. However, rather than guessing a random number or an unrealistic one, the best approach is to research first, and then, based on your skills, experience, and other capabilities, you can expect a number.
How To Answer What Is Your Desired Salary?
To know what to expect as a desired salary, you need to follow some pre-defined steps that give you a clear picture :-
- Research Market : The best way is to know what is going on in the market. Use platforms like Glassdoor, PayScale, LinkedIn Salary, to find what people are earning in a position, based on their experience and skills. Also, check the company’s size and industry.
- Skill And Experience : First, understand what skills and experience you have in the domain you want to apply to. This will help in knowing the market easily.
- Job Location : The job location also matters. In the country, technical hubs like Silicon Valley, New York, etc. have small differences in offered salary packages.
- Salary Range : Don’t assume a fixed number as a desired salary. Based on your skills, market research, and experience level, try to tell a range from the minimum expectancy to the maximum. This will help the interviewer evaluate you in the range, which eventually increases the chances of getting hired.
- Connect With Professionals : Contact with industry professionals or recruiters to get a clear idea of what is going on in the domain.
Always assume a considerable amount that you deserve and expect to get from the employer for a job role. Expects want to know your worth, but not assumptions, expectations based on facts.
What Should I Put For Desired Salary?
It is very important to put something natural as the desired salary. While filing a form or online application, don’t give an exact figure; rather, you can write “Negotiable” or give an expected range. This will help you avoid limiting your chances or anchoring yourself to a fixed number too early. However, in the case where you need to enter a fixed number, always consider the market trends and your skill level.
It is often that people are worth the job role, but due to unrealistic expectations, they fail to get the job. Saying a range like $65,000 – $85,000 can make your way clearer and give your interviewer a range of options. Gaining flexibility is very important while going for any job drive.
Conclusion :-
Getting a worthwhile salary package is very important to boost career and compete with the rising market rates. Asking, What is your desired salary, is familiar and relatable to those who are looking for a job. After all the rounds of hiring, this is the chance to showcase your confidence and enhance the income possibilities. But being realistic is a must to get selected. With little preparation and research, answering this question becomes as easy as doing daily work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What salary range should I put?
Based on your experience, skill level, and market trends, your expectation needs to be determined. Research market rates on platforms like Glassdoor to know what others are getting. And also consider the size of the company, locations, and industry.
What counts as a good salary?
According to the experts, a good salary can fulfil all basic as well as general requirements of a person or a family. Plus, some of their expenses like travelling, fees, shopping, etc. will also get covered in it, with a saving potential also. For attaining this, defining an optimal budget is very important.
How do you know what salary you deserve?
For an experienced individual, evaluate your current salary, skill level, experience, company’s reputation, and some other factors. With this, you can get a reasonable figure to tell. If you are a fresher or just in the initial phase of starting your career, then you can start with a minimum decent salary package. Know the market standard for hiring a non-experienced candidate.
