You’re all excited about an up and coming interview lined up for you. The day comes, you put on your best clothes and head off for the job interview. During the interview, they may ask you what pay rate you are looking for. This is not something that you haven’t thought about. It’s serious and the pay means a lot to you. It’s the reward that you will receive for all your hard work, taking into account your skills and knowledge as well as the appropriate rate for your industry and level of position. So you might say to them a particular rate you are after, or what you were on in your last role. Some people prefer to say that they don’t have a particular rate of pay in mind, but would like to negotiate.
Whatever you say, the interviewer may just look down at your resume, think about your experience and how much they are willing to pay, then may either mention this to you or say that they will discuss it should you be successful for the position. You leave the interview feeling pretty confident.
A day later, they call you up saying that you have been successful for the position and what they are willing to pay. You negotiate over the phone and soon, come to an agreement.