Lucy Devine
There are all kinds of tricky questions that come up in job interviews.
From the classic, 'what are your weaknesses?' to 'sell me this pen', questions can range from difficult to just plain annoying.
Then there's the oh-so-mortifying 'describe yourself in three words'.
Advert
But one of the least favourite interview questions is always at the end of an interview.
You think you've done a cracking job and then bam, you're hit with a mega difficult question. And we're never sure how to answer it.
We are, of course, talking about the dreaded salary expectation question.
If you go in too high, you'll worry that they could see you as too much of an expensive hire, but you also don't want to undersell yourself with a lower figure.
Well now, one expert has revealed how to answer this question perfectly - and it's totally brilliant.
You can watch for yourself below:
Career expert, Erin McGoff - aka @erinmcgoff - took to TikTok where she revealed why companies ask this question and how to answer it in a smart way.
She said: "Companies ask this to see how little you'll go for or if you're out of their price range.
"If you say too low of a number, you risk them lowballing you, and if you say too high a number, you can risk them writing you off as too expensive."
While many would opt to give a passive answer such as 'I don't know' or 'anything higher than my current salary would be great', Erin explained you could be massively underselling yourself.
Instead, the best response is: "Thank you so much for bringing that up. I would love to know the approved salary range for the position."
Erin explained that if they say they don't have a 'set range' or that it 'depends on the candidate', you could respond: "Well, my salary range is flexible, but I'd like to know more about the specifics of the role before giving out a solid number."
And if they *still* keep pushing, Erin recommends telling the interviewer the kind of salary range you're currently interviewing for.
For example: "Well I can tell you that I'm currently interviewing for roles that are between $65-95k range and I'mm flexible on salary depending on other elements of the compensation package."
People have been loving the advice, with many admitting they find the question extremely difficult.
One person commented on the video: "Yeah this question is always the worst. Feel like I’ve answered myself out of the opportunity before."
While another said: "Dang thats good, I'm saving that."