might get. And if the number you give is on the high end for them, they
may not be prepared to think of you as worthy of this salary. As we will
see later on, salary negotiations are best conducted in a separate inter-
view, after the organization has made you an offer. You are in a much
stronger bargaining position, once the organization has committed to
you. And, you can prepare your portfolio especially for a salary negoti-
ation.
If at any point during the interview you are asked,“What are you
looking for in terms of money?”you can respond,“What is the salary
range you have budgeted for this position?”And if commissions are in-
volved, ask about the median salary of the person holding a position
comparable to the one you are seeking.
If your interviewer tells you, for example, that the position is rated
at $42,000 to $46,000, you can then say why you think you deserve to
receive the higher end of the scale, based on your knowledge and expe-
rience.
If you are asked what you are making now, don’t lie, though you
can say (when your salary is, say, $51,000 and you want an offer in the
$60,000 range) “I’m earning in the fifties right now, though I’m hoping
to improve on that.”
If you are given an offer, schedule a meeting to discuss it.Do not
accept or reject an offer when it is first presented, unless, of course, it
is outrageously good or bad. Prospective employers’ first offer is rarely
their best offer. Thank them. Make sure you understand exactly what
you are being offered. And tell them you would like to think about it
and meet with them again to discuss both their proposal and your “fu-
ture with the organization.”When scheduling this meeting, give your-
self at least several days to prepare your portfolio, for as you will see
later, your portfolio can be used to great advantage when responding to
a job offer.
Don’t overstay your welcome. The interviewer most likely has
other appointments to keep. Err on the side of leaving a little early. If
you’ve made a good impression, they’ll want you back.
End on a high note. The close of an interview most always ends
with “Do you have any further questions?”The odds are the interview-
er doesn’t really want to field a question now that would require a
lengthy answer. The interviewer is trying to send you a polite signal
that the interview is over.
Instead of asking a question, you can say something like:“No, I
think we’ve really covered it. I just want you to know that I appreciate
your spending this time with me. I’m really excited about this opportu-
nity and hope you feel the same way about my candidacy for this job.”
Ask about next steps. Before leaving an interview you should be
clear about the next steps. If the interview has gone well, you may want
to press for an indication of where your candidacy stands. Depending
upon where you are in the interviewing process, you might even ask for
the job. At the very least, you will want to find out when you can expect
to hear from your interviewer. To broach the subject of next steps, you
might ask:Chapter 6: Using Your Portfolio to Get That Job 93