Salary Range Expectations

A hiring company might play games with a position's salary range.

Just as you don't want to price yourself out of the market; hiring companies don't want to lose out on a great talent find by low balling the position's pay range. At the same time the company wants to keep pay rates within established parameters to maximize profits.

Being able to determine the hiring range of a position will allow you to approach opportunities with realistic expectations.

Realistic Expectations

Many times when a pay range is advertised it's the position Salary Range meaning: It's the lowest amount and highest amount a person in that position could ever earn.

This is not the same thing as the position Hiring Range. The hiring range is the pay range within which the company expects to hire someone new to the position. It's usually in the lower one third to one half of the overall pay range for the position.

Smart companies will never hire someone at the top end of the overall pay range. They will, however, hire an exceptional someone at the top end of a hiring range.

To manage your expectations you must determine whether you're looking at an opening's overall pay range or a hiring range. Determining the hiring range and positioning your candidacy go hand-in-glove during a pre-screening or telephone interview.

The salary that is ultimately offered will depend on how well you interview and how well your skills and abilities match the job to be done. Depending upon the level of the position, the hiring authority may be able to go above a position's stated hiring range. That said, it's very common for job candidates to over estimate their ability to influence the hiring authority to that extent. And if you're overqualified for the job, don't expect to be compensated for skills you wouldn't be using in the role.

My advice is to pursue opportunities with realistic expectations regarding compensation. If you're able to get an idea of what the hiring range is, you'll be in a much better position to determine whether it's worth your time to pursue the opportunity.