re: "What are your salary expectations?"

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It's always better to nut up, be straightforward and give them a number. Do your research and know the worth of the position.

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This, pretty much. I think people really overthink this question, especially when it's initial screening by HR or a 3rd party headhunter.

Everyone immediately assumes it's a negotiating tactic and that they are trying to lowball you. Which is true to a certain extent. But there's also a pragmatic element to the question. It costs companies money - and, more importantly, time - to conduct second/third interviews, draft offer letters, and negotiate final salaries. If they have an immediate need, they don't want to waste time interviewing a candidate who has salary expectations 50% higher than the top of the pay range for the position.

If you're interviewing for a ~$100k job, there's little to no chance the company is willing to pay $200k for any candidate. You really have to be at the highest levels, or interviewing for a very specialized position that requires a specific, uncommon background, for that to happen.

So if you're truly looking for $200k, it's likely a waste of your time and the company's time anyway. If you're looking for $120k, maybe it's close enough that you either fall into the salary range or they feel like they can negotiate into the salary range.

Obviously you don't know what the salary range is, which is why you need to have done your research beforehand. Alternatively, if you have a job and are relatively happy - just throw out a real number that would force you to leave your current job and see what happens.

One piece of advice that may help, try to be clear on whether the number you provide is base/guaranteed compensation, or total compensation including incentives. Personally, I like to speak in terms of total compensation and aim high based on my expectation of the salary range. This gives you the ammunition to counter when the real salary negotiations start while also creating a little more ambiguity to prevent you from getting disqualified unnecessarily.

Example: If I think the salary range for a job is $90-110k and I think it likely has a 40% target bonus, that's a total compensation range of $126-154k. I might suggest that I'm looking for $150-160k in total compensation. HR doesn't disqualify me because it's certainly possible to make that much if you have a good year and exceed your target bonus.

Then, if they come back with an offer of $100k + 40% target bonus ($140k total target compensation) it's easier for me to counter with a higher number since I initially asked for $150k. Even if they offer $110k + 40% ($154k total) I can argue that I have no way of knowing whether the bonus is reliable, as a negotiating tactic.

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First, they're going to try to low-ball you based on whatever your salary is now, even if they are external recruiters.

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External recruiters get paid a fee based on your 1st year annual salary. They're incentivized to make you more money, not less because it directly effects their pocket as well. You're also going to be less likely to get hired via external recruiter for the same reason.

The dilemma is: If I can find someone on my own who can do the job for 100k or a staffing agency send me someone who is "better" who wants 120k + 24k fee (20% is the standard), are you 44k better than the guy I found on my own?

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Data Science, Big Data, Market Research

I was the #1 top of the ladder in the Data Science/Analytics department for a major broadcast corporation in 2019 and 2020 before being let go due to budget cuts.

Usually data scientists with my experience(7 years of data science experience, 4 years of management experience) can command salaries of $130,000+ even in low cost of living markets.

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You just answered your own question. You know your range and about what you should be paid. Tell your number and if they counter offer with something unreasonable than walk.

Gotta be tough finding a job in Vegas with "BTFO'd by Caesars security" on your background check.

I always give a salary range with the bottom end much higher than I think they can do. And to my surprise, they always come back a little above that bottom number.

Where are you looking? Indeed, Monster, Careerbuilder, etc?

Just curious. Haven't even looked passively in a long time so I was wondering what the best sites are these days.

I respond with “I’m currently making x plus stock options, it would need to be x amount more for me to consider making a change”

You are a data scientist......but cannot data mine the best answer to the question?



I would turn you down for the job as incompetent.