3. Tip number three recommends doing internet research. Applicants without a clear salary expectation could research on the Internet what is usually paid for the advertised job. You can find what you’re looking for at Lohn.de or Lohnvergleich.com, among others.
In an entry on his blog Career Bible, career expert Jochen Mai also sees it as a mistake if you don’t mention your desired salary despite being asked to do so. Not answering this question would be the wrong reaction of all alternatives, Mai quotes the Stuttgart personnel consultant Alexander Walz. He advises finding out about an appropriate salary requirement in advance. If you don’t want to mention such a salary request, you should indicate in your cover letter that you have registered the employer’s request. For example, by at least mentioning the current salary as a possible basis for negotiations.
For the brave: play high poker
Anyone who avoids salary expectations in their cover letter will probably be asked about their salary expectations at the latest in the interview. “Poker up!” is Career Bible’s advice for risk-takers who want to earn as much as possible in their new job. Jochen Mai cites research by a scientist from the University of Idaho, according to which the number initially stated in salary negotiations – no matter how ridiculous it is – has an enormous influence on the salary agreed later.
In this experiment, applicants who tongue-in-cheek stated an unrealistically high desired salary were ultimately paid better than candidates who stated their previous salary. After the crazy statements of an annual salary of 100,000 or a million US dollars, the participants in the experiment also gave a more realistic salary expectation after the fun demand. The bottom line is that they negotiated a higher salary than the candidates who immediately joined at a low rate or with realistic demands, explains Mai onkarrierebibel.de.
But how do you react if all your courage doesn’t have the desired result and the HR manager makes a low salary offer during the interview? Our sister publication Computerwoche gives the following example explanation that applicants will hear in this case: “You will not be satisfied with what I can offer you as a salary… but unfortunately, unfortunately there is no other way. There is nothing we can do about that.”
If you still want the job, the colleagues at Computerwoche recommend the following approach. First of all, you should agree with your counterpart: “Yes, that’s right, I’m really not happy with that.” And then you should add that you still want to find a really appropriate solution and ask “What possibilities are there, currently and in the future?” In this way you show understanding, but also that you don’t give up so easily. One option would now be to agree on a fixed salary increase.
