Salary expectations: How to know your worth?

By Hannah Friend

During the job application process, many potential employers ask for a desired salary. But working this out is no easy feat.

Somewhere along the road to getting a new job, you may be asked what your salary expectations are.

Employers can either do this on the application form or during the recruitment. When you’re faced with a blank box and “salary dependent on experience,” it’s tough to put a value on your own skills and experience.

You have to balance your value as an employee with how much you want the job – you don’t want to sell yourself short or get rejected for a figure that’s too high.

When working out what your salary expectations should be, particularly if it’s your dream job, you may be tempted to put the lowest number possible to increase your chances of getting the job. This isn’t always a good idea, however, as it can reflect what value you think you’ll add to the company.

If you don’t have an indication of the salary range, be careful about giving too much away, warns Hannah Morton-Hedges, careers adviser and founder of Momentum Careers Advice.

“Every position is different and you can only be expected to give clear information on this once you have a better understanding of the conditions of the job and the total benefits package that comes with it,” she says.

As you might imagine, research is very important at this stage. Marylin Schlamkow, managing director at Graduate Career Coach, advises candidates to talk to industry recruitment consultants who will have an idea of the benchmark figure, as well as peers working in the industry.

National Careers Service adviser, Susan Hughes, says: “Research the industry, job role you’re applying for and skills employers are looking for.” You could scour job adverts to give you a sense of salary levels for the area of work you’re applying for. Compare other careers advertised and the salary ranges they offer.

Public sector

Once you’ve done some research into your chosen industry, remember public and private sector organisations operate in different ways.

In the public sector, budgets are set across the organisation for recruitment so it’s often harder for them to be flexible with the salary.

Marylin Schlamkow advises: “Overall, most employers would like to pay towards the middle of the salary band they have indicated.

“However, private sector companies have more flexibility in paying top of the scale for the candidate they deem as a right fit for the role, organisation and team.”

Consider your skills and current salary. Try and work out your skill set, your transferable skills and experience relevant to the job and your level of education.

Hughes says: “Career changers may have to revise their salary expectations in line with what new employers feel they have to offer,” adding, “You’ll also need to think about your current salary, as this is also normally a required field for applications.

And Schlamkow adds, “Your current salary does have an impact on your future salary, as it is a clear indication to the employer of your self-worth. However, employers also understand that in this current, difficult job market, many candidates have taken a drop in salary to gain work or change career paths.”

“If you perform extremely well at interviews and can communicate the impact you would make in your role and for the company, you can usually get near enough the salary you aim for.”

At the job-offer stage, your expected salary figure is likely to be referred back to during negotiations.  

—Guardian Profession