You will be able to answer questions about your salary expectations with a researched range.
"So, what are your salary expectations?" The HR manager asks it lightly, near the end of a friendly call, and Hafiz's stomach drops anyway. Say too high and he might price himself out. Say too low and he'll have set a ceiling on everything that follows, because, as lesson 4.1 explained, the first serious number tends to pull the rest of the negotiation towards it.
Because you know this question is coming, it's one of the easiest moments in a salary negotiation to prepare for, and this lesson gets your answer ready before anyone asks. The figures used are examples.
The question often arrives early, sometimes in the first screening call, when you still know little about the role, and there are two good ways to handle it.
The first is to ask for their range. "I'd like to understand the role better before naming a figure. Could you share the budgeted range for it?" Many employers have a range set before they advertise, and some will tell you. If they do, you learn their likely limit, in the sense of lesson 2.3, Estimate theirs and find the zone of possible agreement, before you've said anything. If the company's listing already shows a range, you can refer to it: "I saw the listing mentioned a range. Is that still accurate for this role?"
The second is to give a researched range instead of a single figure. If they'd rather hear from you first, or if you've already asked and they've declined, name a range built from your market data, as described below.
What you should avoid is a vague non-answer repeated several times. "I'm open" or "whatever is fair" doesn't protect you. It simply invites them to pick a number for you, usually at the low end.
The anchor you use matters. Many people answer the salary question by adding a percentage to what they earn now. That ties your next salary to your last one, even if your last one was below the market or the new role is much bigger.
Hafiz earns less at the bank than the market range for a senior analyst. If he anchors on his current salary plus a standard increment, he'll ask for less than the role is worth to the healthcare group. His range should come from the evidence he gathered in lesson 7.1, Find your market rate from real sources: wage tables, recruiter guides and current listings for the role he's applying for. His current pay is history, and the new role is what's being priced.
If you're asked directly what you earn now, you can answer briefly and redirect to the market: "My current package reflects my current role. For this position, based on market data for senior analysts, I'm looking at..."
Here's the catch with ranges. When you give one, the other side hears the bottom of it. If you say S$7,000 to S$8,000, assume the offer will start near S$7,000.
So set the bottom of your range at a figure you'd be glad to accept. Ask yourself whether you'd celebrate an offer at that number or just put up with it. It should sit comfortably above your reservation point from lesson 2.2, Set a reservation point and a target. The top of the range can stretch towards your target.
Hafiz's market range was S$6,500 to S$8,000, and he placed himself in the upper half. His reservation point is S$7,000. He decides to say S$7,400 to S$7,900. S$7,400 is a number he'd genuinely be happy with, and S$7,900 is close to the top of what he can justify. His answer:
"Based on salary guides and current listings for senior data analyst roles, and the dashboard and programming work I'd bring, I'm looking at between S$7,400 and S$7,900 a month. I'm also interested in the whole package, so I'd look at that together."
That's under 30 seconds, it names its sources, and it leaves room to discuss everything else in the offer.
Salary answers that sound fine in your head often sound shaky out loud. Hesitate, let your voice rise at the end, or tack on "but I'm flexible, of course", and the listener hears doubt about your own worth, which usually means a lower offer.
So practise until the words come smoothly. Say your answer to a mirror, a friend or your phone, then listen back and cut any phrase that sounds apologetic. Leave the sources in, since they are what make the range sound researched.
The wider interview, from your CV to the questions you ask at the end, is covered in the course Career strategy: CVs, interviews and networking in Singapore. Here, the job is this one answer. The activity asks you to write yours and record it in under 30 seconds.
Write and record your answer to what are your salary expectations, in under 30 seconds, using your researched range.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).