When they bring it up too early

It’s happened to us all. We’re in the middle of the first call, meeting, etc. with a company we want to work for, and right out of the gate you get something like

How much are you targeting for this role?

or

What type of salary expectations do you have for this position?

or

What level of comp should I introduce you at when I go to the company?

I’ve heard them all. You likely have too, and you need to know how to respond. Let me ask you this, did you discuss how many kids you wanted on your first date with your spouse?

No, and for good reason. The same holds with salary: it’s just too early.

Handling early salary discussions

The simple tactic is to push the conversation to a later point, telling them you are more focused on ensuring the role is a good fit and less on comp.

To their question above, then, you would respond with something like:

Good question. I don’t have a compensation number in mind right now, as I mostly want to make sure the role is good fit.

or

It’s hard to put a number out there because compensation has so many pieces to it, but I’m sure we’ll be able to figure out a package we’re both happy with if we want to move forward.

Now, they may come back and push you harder for it, but trust me, it’s worth it dancing around the topic at this point. You want them to fall in love with you before you discuss money, naturally.

What if they keep asking?

Believe it or not, you can still get around prying into salary questions if they push harder with “I just need to know if this is even possible” type questions. All you have to do is respond with something like

“How about you tell me the range you’re targeting for the position and I can tell you if we’re in the same ballpark.” When they give the range, you can quickly say “My number is in that range, so I think we’ll be ok to move forward.” And then try to pivot the conversation.

Boom. See what you just did? That response did a few things for you:

1. You pushed it back for the recruiter / HR person to tell you their range, without disclosing your target (which you may know)
2. You gave yourself insight to their thinking, allowing you to push toward the top of their range
3. You bought yourself time, and an easy out if their range is something you’d feel comfortable with.