| January
2004 Special Offer
Newsletter: Jan 2004
How to ask the tough questions about compensation.
Ask most hiring managers and they’ll tell you that the most
difficult question to ask a candidate is one about their current
salary and compensation. Why? Mostly for cultural reasons, from
the time we are little kids we are taught that it’s not polite
to talk about how much money we make or worse ask someone else what
he or she makes.
However, this barrier can be overcome if the proper rapport is
built up between the interviewer and the candidate prior to asking
sensitive questions about compensation.
So how does the interviewer get around those social barriers and
not offend the candidate but still ask the question in such a way
so as to elicit a truthful response. After all, when it comes to
salary and how much a candidate makes, any seasoned recruiter knows
that most candidates “exaggerate” what they are currently
making by as much as 10% to 20%.
To get over this hurdle, and get the information you want you must
first begin by building a solid rapport with the candidate. Try
the following:
- Sell them on the company and job opportunity. By talking about
the positive points of the company and the benefits of this job
and how it will affect the candidates career will help get them
engaged in the process.
- Do not start off grilling them about their background. Sell
the opportunity first.
- After you feel the candidate is engaged, begin asking them
questions about what is important to them. For example, “Tell
me the three most important things your next job must have for
you to consider making a change?” You can then use their
answers to help close them on the job.
Most of all you don’t want to make the conversation sound
like the Spanish Inquisition. Be sure to ask open-ended questions
and allow the candidate time to answer the questions. See our past
article on
“20 questions to Ask a Passive Candidate”
for more open-ended questions.
One of the best questions to ask to segue into the salary questions
is “Why would you not accept the job offer?” The most
common response is somehow salary related. If you follow the above
process of building rapport you can now ask directly, “What
is your current compensation?” or “What is your current
salary range?” Some candidates feel more at ease giving a
range rather than a specific number. Either way, be direct and do
not back down.
Follow-up questions to get more specific information about their
compensation package could be:
- Is that base and bonus? If so, what is your base? What is the
bonus? How is the bonus calculated? Do you control the outcome
of your bonus? Etc.
- How do you feel about your current compensation?
- Will that be a driving factor in your decision about whether
to join our team?
Remember:
- Built rapport
- Gain their trust
- Ask direct questions
- Follow your instinct
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