Introduction to Salary Negotiation

Only 330 miles off the coast of Florida or a 45 minute flight from Miami International Airport is the magnificent country of Cuba. Although our governments have a dicey history, the country is full of kind, well-education, and fun people who are incredible hosts and have extraordinary ingenuity (not to mention Cuba's cigars and $1 Mojitos)! The most enchanting part of Cuba is how feels like you're walking back through time. Due to a crippling Embargo by the U.S. in the 1960's, Cuba's access to the outside world was instantly cut off, their economy was halted, and they became technologically frozen in time. This is the the reason why so many vintage american cars are famously still commonly driven on the island. Once during a vacation there, I got my first experience haggling with taxi drivers and after watching my girlfriend handle the negotiations for a few days, I thought I had a good gauge for a fair price. The next time we hailed cab, I took the lead, and told him where we wanted to go. I then asked the gentleman "how much?" and before he could even state his first bid, I eagerly blurted out out "ten!?" while simultaneously offered "five". There was an awkward silence where we both realized how stupid I was, he smiled, and accepted $10.

When I'm asked about salaries during interviews I'm always reminded of that story because you have to be careful not to ask too little. However, in an interview environment you additionally have to worry about being too greedy or expensive because that would get you rejected from the candidate pipeline. When answering this question, it's important to be realistic, have a legitimate sense for what this position should pay, and the range you should provide.

Here's how we'll do that...