How to Answer the Most Difficult Interview Question for Young Creatives
You’re preparing for that all-important interview. The job is a great fit and you really hope you’ll get it. You’re worried about the salary portion of the discussion, though. You’ve read that this interview is one of those moments that will set the stage for your lifetime of earnings, so you want to get as much as you can. But you get butterflies every time you think about the money talk.
Here’s how to prepare.
1. It’s important to know your personal numbers.
- What it costs you to live: rent, food, transportation, and so on.
- What the low end of the salary range is for your skills and experience.
- What you were paid in your last position.
You need to have these facts clearly in mind. They give you the logic for setting in your mind the lowest amount you would accept in this new position. This becomes your personal, “below this I walk” number.
These amounts are personal and private. Never reveal what it costs you to live, the low end of the range, or what you were last paid. These amounts are for your own reference only. If you reveal them you can be sure that your opposite can and will use them to peg their offer to, and you’ll end up getting less than you can.
Here’s an example: A client of mine was offered a position at $40,000 and she accepted on the spot. Then they asked her what she had been paid in her past position and she said, “$30,000.”
They immediately lowered their offer to $35,000.
If you accept a low offer you will feel badly about it far into the future and it will affect your job performance.
Studies have shown and I’ve experienced this: if you mention a low amount it will keep what they offer you low. It’s hard, and often impossible, to negotiate up from a low offer.
So, never reveal your past pay or any of these personal numbers.
2. It’s important to know a few things about hiring managers.
- They are professional negotiators whose job is to keep entry salaries low.
- They sometimes receive salary bonuses based on their ability to negotiate.
- They could say that “past pay is an important indication of your value.”
- They might say “it’s short sighted of you to not reveal your past pay.”
- They could even say that they “can’t make you an offer without knowing your past pay.”
- Or worse, they could tell you that “not revealing your past pay shows a lack of excitement about the opportunity.”
- They sometimes say that you’ll need to “prove yourself” in your first year on the job.
- I’ve encountered some who have used this: “Salary websites are not a factor we use in determining compensation.”
These tactics are all about power; who has it and who doesn’t.
On the surface, hiring managers will lead you to believe that they hold all the power and that you are the vulnerable one in this conversation, when often the opposite is the case. And even if you are just one of several people being interviewed, you have more power than these bullying tactics above would indicate.
Not revealing your costs or what you were paid in the past will set you apart and add to your power.
3. What to know to counter the hiring manager’s power.
- Their job is to find and hire people.
- Unemployment, especially among skilled creatives in big cities, is low. There are more positions open than folks to fill them.
- They can’t force you to tell them anything. What you say is up to you.
- Salary surveys published online provide information to all of us that was only available to hiring managers in the past. They are completely relevant. They level the playing field. Use them. Quote them.
- Of course you have to prove yourself. If you’re anything like me you’ve been proving yourself your whole life. Just because you’re always proving yourself doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be paid what you are worth.
4. Now that you know these dirty little secrets here’s what to do.
- Ask them why they are interested in you. When they tell you why, ask a relevant follow up question.
- Take time to review your alternatives. The process of looking at other opportunities can help you calm your fears. It will also help clarify what additional information you need about the job.
- Prepare a list of questions for them and use them to keep the hiring manager talking as much as possible.
- Practice describing your background, concisely, in a way that shows why you should be paid above the top of the range — and in the employer’s best interest.
- Practice until you feel comfortable with your ask — you can ask a friend or colleague to help you.
- When it’s your time to talk, ask permission to describe your accomplishments, then use your concise practiced background. (I offer more on this technique in my article Defend Your Ask.)
- Tell them: “I love to prove myself through my work. I’m a creative and at my happiest when I’m working.”
- Know that once you are hired it’s much harder to get a sizable jump in compensation. So this interview is the time to set your goal high.
- Know what salary surveys show as the high end of the range.
- The more you ask for, the more you’ll get. So ask.
5. When they ask what you were paid it’s alright to say: “My past salary is a private matter between my employer and myself.”
This is a direct, but polite, way to set a boundary on the sensitive subject of what you were paid in the past. It shows that you respect your past employer and suggests that you will be discreet on this subject with a new employer. It also shows self-respect and the courage to say no in a stressful situation like an interview. Having the courage of your convictions is an asset for any employer.
It’s important to remember that if you do reveal your past salary, they will use it against you.
When we’re in an interview and feeling vulnerable, it’s quite natural to fall into the mode of being so likeable we can appear weak. Saying “no” in a respectful manner on the subject of past pay will dispel any appearance of weakness.
Setting boundaries like this is often confused with rejection. And that’s the last thing you want to do in a job interview. That’s why it’s so important to be polite. Manners matter. They’ll always remember how you made them feel.
So, yes it’s uncomfortable to say no to a potential employer. But, if you prepare by:
- anticipating the salary question and the emotions that may arise,
- researching the salary range for the position, and
- practicing remaining polite when standing your ground,
you’ll leave the salary meeting with their respect, your self-respect, and, with a bit of luck, a high-paying job, too.
