Job interview question - need help quickly!

[chrissyk]

My sister has a job interview on Thursday. The interviewer has just emailed her to ask what her "target compensation" is. Neither of us has any clue how to respond to this. I was always told that you don't talk about compensation until you have an offer in hand. How do you keep from lowballing yourself otherwise? There is a big salary range for engineers in our area, so it's tough to know what any particular company pays. How can she nicely respond that she would rather not discuss that until later on in the process? Or, should she actually pick a number? Thanks!

 

[Lorij]

I hate it when people do that! My boss keeps wanting me to bring it up with people I interview and I refuse to until we are past the initial interview. One thing she could say is "I would expect to be compensated commensurate with my abilities and experience." or she could give a range (not too narrow) that she is comfortable with.

 

[chrissyk]

That is a good response. I think that this guy is fishing for a number, but that doesn't mean that she has to give him one, KWIM? I also really hate it when interviewers do this

 

[WDWHound]

This is a tough question, but one that turns up in most interviews. She should answer it honestly, but give a range. Something like, the lowest I might consider XXXXX, but I would prefer YYYYY. This gives her some room to bargain with.

I would not avoid the question by asking to discuss it later. I always ask this question in an interview, just to be sure that the person is looking in the salary range I can offer. If they over bid, I ask them if they will accept less. If they under bid, I disregard it and, if they get hired, offer a number in my range that I feel meets their skills.

 

[Pugdog007]

I require it prior to an interview. No target salary revealed, no interview. Waste of everyone's time to interview someone out of range.