What's the appropriate salary to ask for during a job interview?

Question

I figure an employer would ask how much I want during a job interview. What's the appropriate amount to ask for as someone fresh out of college, no experience, looking to work at a local accounting firm or place that focuses on taxes?

The location is a city of about 60,000 people in the Southeastern part of the US.

Answer 1

Don't storm in demanding a particular salary. You should let them ask you what you want to make. Also, if they are interested in hiring you, they should make you an offer.

You have to do your homework! You don't want to give your future employer a figure that is way under what they generally offer. You don't want to make fryer cooker at McDonalds salary. Find out from other people in the industry. Does your school have a list of recent grads that you can use for networking, check there, ask them about the lifestyle and then get around to the salary. Figure out the cost of living in your target area, and adjust accordingly.

I had a couple accounting friends that were making low 40's fresh out of college, then got some ridiculous 5k bonus for staying past 1 year. But of course that was in New York City.

Choosing a salary is like playing poker. You have to figure out when to call the bluff. You don't want to undercut yourself only to regret it when you find out what your co-workers are making. But you don't want to overshoot and make an unreasonable offer. Research salaries and set a target. Don't forget to get all the goodies added on, such as 401k, how much of your salary goes to healthcare, gym membership if your target company is large enough etc.

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Answer 2

You will need to research the salary scales that are appropriate. Towards the end of the interview you will be asked if you have any questions. You should have been making notes and that will impress the interviewing panel. At this point one of your questions will be What do they propose to pay?, not what you want. This is assuming that they have not already told you beforehand. I would be surprised if the advertisement for the job or the trawl through your college did not give an indication of the salary on offer, very surprised!

Answer 3

This is a very important question if you ask for too little, then they will assume you do not value yourself, while if you ask for too much, the other guy may not only get disinterested / shocked, but also may think you are sleazing him / her off their money. A good way to calculate what you want to get paid is to calculate the goal you are doing this job for, say you are going to be working 4 Hours a day for 5 Days a week for the next 3 Months, that makes it a total of 20 hours per week x 4 weeks per month x 3 months = 240 Hours of working Now assume you were doing this job to pay for a gadget you wanted to buy, which cost you 1000 $, so you need to save 1000$ by working 240 hours. Also to goto work, you will spend say 1$ and to come back you will spend another 1$, while on your work, I will assume you will spend 2$ for coffee / snack etc, so your daily expensie is 1 + 1 + 2 = 4$ x 5 Days a week x 4 weeks a month x 3 months = 240 $ Now if you were to make 1000$ at the end of it, you need to make atleast 1240$ = 1000 for the gadget you wanted to buy and 240 for your indirect expenses or 1240$ / 240 hours = 5.1 $ per hour. Use this as a calculation to calculate what you need to get paid. Also try to find out what they pay out, and then try to get a pay as per what is your comfort zone. Putting a goal to everything will make it simplar to calculate things. GS

Answer 4

If the interview is properly conducted, it's not likely that you'll be asked what kind of salary you're looking for. And it's not advisable for you to ask for an amount during a job interview as it conveys a message that all you're interested in is the money.
Only after they offer you the job comes the time to discuss the coin and benefits.

Answer 5

How much you can expect is somewhat related to the size of the company, and whether they offer any other benefits. I would give an indefinitive answer, something along the lines of, "Enough to create a budget and pay the bills, which aren't anything out of the ordinary, and then put a little aside in case of an emergency."

The important thing is to answer in a way that won't disqualify you. The answer given would tell them that you're a planner, and savvy with your money, important attributes for an accountant.

If they want a dollar figure, give them a figure based on your current living expenses and budget, and that upon proving yourself, you hope to buy a home eventually (or whatever) - tell them what your goals are.

Answer 6

Rule 1 : Never talk about salary during first interview (get the job first)
Rule 2 : Always give a salary range, never a specific figure (if you say a number too low, they won't pay you the amount you deserve; if you give an amount too high, they won't take you).

Answer 7

go to www.salary.com and look up the salary range for the position you are interviewing for. It will let you search by location. You can probably ask for a salary ranging somewhere in the entry level range shown on the site.

Answer 8

Only answer this question if you have had an interview and they are making an offer. Otherwise, you can simply ask them what they generally pay for folks with backgrounds such as yours AND base your requirements from that.

Answer 9

If this is your first interview, you dont ask....asking comes on the follow up interview.

Answer 10

NO experience? Not good at all. I dont think you can demand that much. If you have a Bachelor's, maybe 40K? And thats lucky..