Veteran Employment Tips: Setting Salary Expectations with Potential Employers

CPL David Muir — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 12:08:10 -0400

Salary negotiation is a critical step to secure the best compensation for employment. The unique skills and experiences you gained during your service qualify for a fair salary for what you bring to the organization.

The first step to securing a great offer is researching and knowing what the market will pay. Without this information, you are operating without preparation, making negotiations difficult. To help with research, some useful websites are: Salary.com, Glassdoor.com and PayScale.com.

Also, check out the BLS’ National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (https://rly.pt/USBLS), which provides employment and wage estimates for over 450 industries. The data provided by these resources should give you a good sense of what an employer expects to pay for your services. If you require more help, Easterseals Veteran Staffing Network can help: https://rly.pt/Easterseals

Another reason why unsatisfactory salaries happen is expectations are not set with the employer from the first conversations. Properly setting expectations sets you up to maximize your compensation at the offer stage.

You will likely encounter a question about salary expectations early in the interview process. Compensation questions are a prescreening category for a candidate to be considered. When asked about your expectations, avoid giving a range of numbers, unless you want to receive the bottom of that range.

Here are some useful salary responses to use when starting to discuss salaries with a potential employer.

Market Range Response
When asked about your salary expectations, try learning what their number is first. The “Market Range Response” helps to communicate you know your value, without disclosing a number.
Sample response: “I would prefer to learn more about the position as a whole before I commit to any number. I can assure you, if I am the right fit for the position and this opportunity is the right fit for me, we will be able to come to an understanding as my expectations are within market range.”

Reversal Question Response
After the “Market Range Response,” try to get the interviewer to provide a range by using a “Reversal Question.” Designed to get an idea of what their pay expectations are for the job, you can get some insight to the top end of their range and see if it suits your needs. The employer may avoid providing a direct answer, but it never hurts to ask.
Sample of what you can say: “Let me ask you, what kind of salary expectations do you have? What type of range make sense?”

Detailed Market Range Response
Should the employer press you for a number, we recommend the “Detailed Market Range Response,” which shows you know your market worth. Set the expectation that you are on the front end of the salary range. Then ask if it meets the requirements for the position. Provided your range is based on proper market research, you will most likely move on with the rest of the discussion.
Sample response: “Again, I don’t want to commit to a number now. I would rather evaluate the entirety of the opportunity first, but if we must discuss some numbers, I can accommodate, so we aren’t wasting anyone’s time. Average compensation for this type of work and my experience level is between XX and YY dollars. Although I am on the front end of the bell curve, if this opportunity fits us both, I am sure we can come to an understanding. Does that meet your expectations?”

These techniques will help to ensure that a fair salary is presented at the offer stage instead of you being provided something below your value.

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 24 at 2020 6:28 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 06:28:00 -0400

Thank you for the great information CPL.

Response by SPC John Tacetta made Jul 25 at 2020 8:15 AM

SPC John Tacetta — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 08:15:25 -0400

Great advice.

To expand a bit on the author's presentation, you should avoid talking money until you know exactly what you will be expected to do as a single job category can encompass a wide range of services and the duties will set the salary more than the job description. A plumber setting up boilers should make a fair amount more than one changing faucets. Remember, you are interviewing the employer as much as they are interviewing you. You should have firm expectations in regard to what you're looking to do as well as your salary requirements.

In my opinion, you should be prepared with a number as well as your job expectations during your first interview. As a (small) employer I'm usually fairly certain of what I am able to pay for a given position and for an unproven candidate the range is usually rather narrow. Moreover, I don't want to waste my time with someone who's seeking more than I'm willing to spend. Many employers, particularly union outfits, have set scales for their employees, so there may be only two options: yes or no. You and your employer will know one another after a year and that's the time you can ask for a raise. Just keep in mind that, unlike the service, you can leave at any time. I moved around a bit during my early career because often the best way to move up is to move out because advancement can often be difficult in a stratified shop.

Happy hunting!

Response by PO3 John Gruener made Jul 25 at 2020 8:26 PM

PO3 John Gruener — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 20:26:43 -0400

Thanks