Image commercially licensed from: Unsplash
If you have spent any time on job search websites like Indeed, Monster, or Glassdoor, you have probably noticed that many jobs list a salary range. You also have probably noticed that the difference between the low end and the high end of the salary range can be considerable.
For example, a recent posting for a cybersecurity director position with a health services firm in New Jersey listed the salary range as $154,000 to $196,000. A posting for a restaurant manager in California listed its salary range as $66,000 to $99,000. The range on a posting for an ESOL teacher in Florida starts at $34,000 and caps at $55,000.
The obvious question for anyone job hunting today is how to get paid at the high end of the salary range. Is it certifications? Is it experience? Or, as the saying goes, is it all who you know?
According to some experts, securing the maximum salary for a position has everything to do with how you interview.
“Truth be told, interview training is probably the most critical thing that someone can do to maximize their salary,” says Michael Gibbs, CEO of Go Cloud Careers. “The interview determines not only if the applicant is going to get the job, but also what their salary will be. That is because it is typically up to the hiring manager to actually determine someone’s salary.”
Michael has spent more than 20 years providing skills training in the cloud computing and networking industries. His unique approach goes beyond giving students technical competencies to provide invaluable, sought-after soft skills and elite career guidance. Thanks to the proven methods of applying and interviewing that he shares, an exceptionally high percentage of those who complete his training go on to secure jobs with six-figure salaries.
“The best way to get the job and get paid the highest salary possible is to approach interviewing as if you are going to war,” Gibbs explains. “There are no second-place trophies in the job market. Only one person gets the position. To be that person, you need to develop and execute a great battle plan. Job hunting is a ‘survival of the fittest’ situation.”
Maximize your salary by controlling the interview
One key to boosting your salary potential is ensuring that you highlight your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses during the interview process. To win the interview, you need to know how to control the interview. If the interviewer asks questions about areas in which you lack competency, you need to redirect him or her to the areas in which you have expertise.
“If, for example, you are asked about technology that you have yet to learn, be honest,” says Gibbs. “But then turn the discussion to areas in which you are an expert, saying something like, ‘I am not familiar with that technology, but I am highly motivated, energetic, and enthusiastic about tech and I love to learn new things. If I was part of this organization, I’d do whatever it takes to master this technology. While the technology you mentioned is not my area of core competency, I am highly skilled at X, Y, and Z.’ Now X, Y, and Z should be your top strengths. Drive the interview back to a discussion about your strengths. That is how you control the interview and keep it focused on why you are the best person for the job.”
As you seek to control the interview, it is also important to be able to read the interviewer’s body language. Having the correct answer to a question is not enough. To stand out, you also must know how to answer, which involves knowing whether to keep talking, wrap it up, or change the subject.
“Throughout the interview, stay focused on reading the interviewer’s body language,” Gibbs explains. “If they are nodding while you are talking, keep talking. If they lean forward, make eye contact, and smile, keep talking. If you see them cross their arms or lean back in their chair, it is often a sign that they don’t like what they are hearing. When you see that, stop talking or change the subject.”
Maximize your salary by asking the right question
At some point during the interview, you will be asked if you have any questions. Seize that moment as an opportunity to show that you are already thinking about how you can contribute to the success of the company.
“‘What are your goals so that I would know how to help you if I was part of your team?’ is the best question to ask the hiring manager during the interview,” Gibbs says. “As you ask it, you can explain that you want to know what you would need to do as an employee to support the company and make sure that it was successful. That is the question that will make you stand out from all of the other interviewees. It will win you the interview and allow you to demand compensation that is at the upper edge of the salary range.”
Interviewing is often the last step in the arduous process of securing a job. End strong. Make sure you fully understand the process and that you are prepared to not only win the interview, but also achieve the highest salary possible.
