Earlier this week, I was at a HR office and I witnessed first hand, the dialogue between the HR manager and a potential employee.

 

“How much do we pay you?”, said the HR manager.

“Pay me what you have on your payscale”, replied the interviewee, sounding unsure.

 

I have not realised how dumb and unprofessional this reply is till I heard him utter them.

 

Going for an interview with a company, you should have at least done a background check (including their payscale) This shows you have done your homework.

 

You should reply with the sum you feel is worth your service(s). While it doesn’t mean that the figure you suggest will end up being what you’re paid, establishing a ground for negotiation gives you some level of authority.

 

Of course, if you are changing your job, it is only right to suggest a sum that is higher than that of your previous or current job.

 

Be smart about it, being overly demanding or too insisting will come off as rude. Convince the HR manager that you truly deserve to be paid the right sum.

 

I wish you Good luck.


Source: www.justiceokwudike.com

Insightful and informative! Previously, I thought doing the above would give an employee off as rude(greedy).

Now I know better. Thanks Op.

Nice one.

Do your homework, then give a range little higher than the expected pay. Do not sound too unsure and at the same time tell them you are more interested in creating value.

Good.

...

op, so how do u answer the question when you are not able to get the pay scale?

*modified

ok, got to learn that there are supposed to be websites dedicated for pay practice analysis. ....but do we have such in Nigeria? ....cos for naija no body go tell u how much be him salary......

I think it's difficult getting the pay scale of many professions in Nigeria, especially when coming in as a graduate trainee. it's even not easy knowing it when u are moving to another industry.

Op if u couldnt gt any background checks done on the company wat will u answer den?

Beht today is Sunday Na, let us use today to pray for tomorrow interview.

..

Dfinex:
op, so how do u answer the question when you are not able to get the pay scale?

Dnt Mind D Op, He Is Hungry.

pay me 2,500

Ask too much? wahala. Too little? Iranu.

So, what do you do?

Firstly, study the Company, seek out and ask people who have had dealings with them about the package they are most probable to offer (yes, it's possible to make such findings especially if you have worked in that industry for some time).

Do that before the interview, of course. It never hurts to be prepared.

Then, mark it up by 20%. Not less than 20%.

If you are not desperate for the job, don't settle for less than 20% more than your current salary.

Got no job at present?
Calculate a comfortable take home, add running costs to it, then mark that up by........you guessed it. 20%. Or more.

Cheers.

naahh

u gon ppay me benjamins inna hundred stacks

or I ain't working

I cannor come and suffer
I was made for enjoyment

nice one

But why do employers ask such questions? I guess it's mostly from all these small companies, the employer already have a pay scale for the position why ask the potential employee again

niggi4life:
I have often said, stereotyping job interviews are indeed waste of time, what works for Mr A might not work for Mr B.
While you do your homework about the company, some companies will never disclose how much they pay their staff in any level. What will you do in that case?

I was called for an interview by Jagal Group sometime four years ago, after succeeding in their oral tests i was asked by the RM(Recruiting Manager) how much can we pay you? Honestly i wasn't expecting too much or too low, so i just said they should pay me about 300K per month.The lady looked at me with surprise, i was almost about to reduce it when she said, next time it's better you request we pay you based on the salary scale of your level, your monthly take home is about 420K with some added incentives.(Mind you she wasn't even a Nigerian o)

True!
However, some would ask you to quote a figure.

In that case a range seems better... 300-350

Payme According To My Faith... Happy Sunday Peepz

niggi4life:
I have often said, stereotyping job interviews are indeed waste of time, what works for Mr A might not work for Mr B.
While you do your homework about the company, some companies will never disclose how much they pay their staff in any level. What will you do in that case?

I was called for an interview by Jagal Group sometime four years ago, after succeeding in their oral tests i was asked by the RM(Recruiting Manager) how much can we pay you? Honestly i wasn't expecting too much or too low, so i just said they should pay me about 300K per month.The lady looked at me with surprise, i was almost about to reduce it when she said, next time it's better you request we pay you based on the salary scale of your level, your monthly take home is about 420K with some added incentives.(Mind you she wasn't even a Nigerian o)

Exactly. I was almost saying the writer is not well informed before I saw your post..

I can even give him the name of my company and give him 6 months to find out salary details and use it as bases for his salary negotiations, if he won't get the shock of his life.

How many interviews has the writer gone to and how many firms has he worked for.

Interview stereotype is useless to me.

Many years back, when interviewing for my first job in Lagos, the last stage of the interview was with the GCO. He made it clear that he was not interested in any roles structured resume at that point, as most of them were embellished with outright falsehood or at best, half truths.

The man was interested in your side jobs, jobs that were out of your profession and training and how you you were able to pull it true.

People write from their limited perspective.

It's better you request they pay you based on the salary scale of your level in the organization. Not 20% high or less is still okay if you already know what you're suppose to take home.

I have always set my own minimum acceptable salary. I don't follow that pay me according to company policy shit. I give my minimum acceptable salary and create room for the company to pay more base of performance and if I come in and find out your company pays more than what we agreed, I give you three months and after that I demand for increase in my salary instead of saying one shit that will make me look stupid.

JUSTICEOFFICIAL:
Earlier this week, I was at a HR office and I witnessed first hand, the dialogue between the HR manager and a potential employee.

 

“How much do we pay you?”, said the HR manager.

“Pay me what you have on your payscale”, replied the interviewee, sounding unsure.

 

I have not realised how dumb and unprofessional this reply is till I heard him utter them.

 

Going for an interview with a company, you should have at least done a background check (including their payscale) This shows you have done your homework.

 

You should reply with the sum you feel is worth your service(s). While it doesn’t mean that the figure you suggest will end up being what you’re paid, establishing a ground for negotiation gives you some level of authority.

 

Of course, if you are changing your job, it is only right to suggest a sum that is higher than that of your previous or current job.

 

Be smart about it, being overly demanding or too insisting will come off as rude. Convince the HR manager that you truly deserve to be paid the right sum.

 

I wish you Good luck.


Source: www.justiceokwudike.com
 

some jobs you will never find out if you like research from now to December. And if you a stranger work to a company to ask a staff how much he earns, you will look weird. Even fellow staffs don't know how much his colleagues earn

nmreports:
Here is how to answer this question:

But firstly, know that we have all made one mistake or the other during interview's but we should not make it twice.

For new graduate's and job seekers, when it comes to salary negotiation, this simple technique will guide you:
http://www.hrtechnique.com/2016/11/how-to-negotiate-your-salary-with-new.html

oga wait first.....oga wait. if everybody com sabi am now who go come get d job

Ohamzee:
oga wait first.....oga wait. if everybody com sabi am now who go come get d job

Haha haha bahaha this just made my day.
Let's share it na.

How on earth u take ansa d wuestion now

Me, I always quote what I feel is OK for me. if you don't want to pay, u can leave it. for a responsible company, even if you quote a lesser figure, they always pay within the scale they have. is only most of this Asians backed by some useless Nigerians that are always looking out to short change Nigerians.

The OP ended up saying nothing worthy of note. what I choose to call sweet nothings. Next time hit the nail on the head on what exactly a potential employee is to say .

There is no strict answer to this question. It all depends on the company and the interviewer.

I had an interview and I was asked that question. I gave the Interviewer the standard : 'I know the company has a structured pay scale and I'd be comfortable with being paid according to my level." But the guy just smiled and asked me to give him a figure. So I gave him a figure slightly higher than what they were going to pay me and told him I was open to negotiations.
He asked what if the company could not afford the figure I asked for, and I then told him the minimum salary I could accept which was in line with what I knew their pay scale was.

Different Interviewers have expectations.