Many job ads require it: please state your salary requirement in the application. A requirement that presents many applicants with a dilemma. If demands are too high, they won't get the job. If salary expectations are too low, they'll sell themselves short – and have a hard time making up the shortfall over the years. When do I need to go down with my salary expectations?
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When do I need to go down with my salary requirements?
It's impossible to give a blanket answer to the question of when you should lower your salary expectations. There are too many scenarios, too many parameters, too many imponderables – more on that later.
One basic piece of advice: when you apply for a job, don't necessarily base your salary expectations on your current or. Orient last salary. Rather orient yourself to the market realities. If you were previously underpaid, then add to it with a clear conscience. Were you overpaid, you can set your salary further down to increase your chances of being hired.
This assumes that you have done sufficient salary research beforehand. Figures and data can be found here, for example:
- Official statistics from the Federal Employment Agency
- Salary reports from associations, recruiters or job boards
- Employer review platforms such as Kununu and Glassdoor
- Job profiles on our sister site karrieresprung.en
It must also be an intermediate goal for applicants to generate as many offers as possible. If you have more than one offer on the table, you can better assess your market value and negotiate more confidently.
There is also nothing at all against experimentation. For example, against that which IT departments understand by A/B testing. This involves, for example, putting two versions of the same website online and then analyzing which one is better received by users.
Applicants can also try this out. Example: you send an application as a product manager to ten companies. In five applications you name an average amount as salary demand, in the other five an above-average amount (but in any case one you could live with, should you get the job). Over time, you will gain a more accurate picture of your personal salary prospects.
At what age do I have to lower my salary expectations??
Many older job seekers over the age of 50 are familiar with this phenomenon: their CVs are impeccable, their specialist knowledge is abundant, their formal qualifications are excellent. Only the basic salary, which one had earned before, discourages potential employers.
In addition, there are other reasons why it is sometimes difficult for members of the generation u50 to find a good job:
- Your current or. last salary was very high.
- The expertise is no longer up to date.
- They are – at least in the perception of the companies – less fit and efficient, but more often absent due to illness.
In general, it is always an option for older applicants to lower their salary expectations to increase their job chances – even more so if they are still unsuccessfully looking for a job after a long time. An alternative would be to use this time to acquire new knowledge – through private training, for example. A gap of two or three months in your resume hardly diminishes your market value these days.
Whether and how much you (should) go down with your salary expectations, however, depends on several factors. Ask yourself above all these questions:
- How many job offers or. Possibilities I have? The more, the more negotiating leverage you have.
- How big are my financial reserves? The bigger, the more time you have and the higher you can poker.
- How long have I been looking for a new job? If you go several months without any invitation for an interview, you should fundamentally rethink your strategy.
- How great is my need for security? People who crave security are more likely to make financial sacrifices.
- How does a salary sacrifice affect my lifestyle and self-image? Salary losses can be stressful – even to your own ego.
- What benefit does my new employer derive from me? If you could bring a large network or even new clients, this should have a positive impact on your salary.
- Where do I apply? Location and industry are contributing factors in any salary issue. You can expect a higher salary from a pharmaceutical company in southern Germany than from a retail company in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
I have earned very well so far. Do I need to go down with my salary expectations to find a new job?
Sometimes the answer is yes. For example, if you move from Frankfurt to Gelsenkirchen and you are looking for an almost identical job. Or if you want to remain a controller but switch from the automotive to the media industry.
In addition, the air is thinner especially for high earners. Jobs for a top manager who recently raked in millions are simply rarer than retail sales positions. The tight offer makes it harder to maintain the high salary level in the long run.
All these examples, mind you, are not laws of nature. Even a move from Frankfurt to Gelsenkirchen can mean a jump in salary.
Negotiation experts always recommend that applicants should not fixate on salary alone. Rather, you should throw everything into the pot in negotiations. For example:
- Bonuses and premiums
- Special bonuses such as Christmas bonuses and vacation pay
- Job ticket
- Kita contributions
- Company car
- Company cell phone
- Further training
- Travel costs
- Employer loans
- Vacation days
So you thicken the negotiating mass and create flexibility in the negotiation. If you lower your base salary, for example, but at the same time offer to cover daycare contributions, travel expenses and a company cell phone, this could be a win-win and even bring you more net income.
In addition, you should be attentive to the financial benefits that the company may receive if it hires you. For example, because they have access to industry networks, bring customers and clients, or could ask service providers for a good deal. If communicated correctly, such arguments can make a company more generous.
Do I have to lower my salary expectations because of Corona??
On the one hand, no one understandably wants to sell themselves below market value and voluntarily give away money. On the other hand, the Corona crisis is really shaking up the job market. How many jobs will be lost in the end – unclear.
In occupations that remain in high demand, you will not have to decrease your salary expectations at all, or at least not as much, in the future. Software developers or jobs in the pharmaceutical industry come to mind.
In other professions, the salary structure could shift downward. In a crisis like this, a marketing manager has a harder time than usual getting a lucrative offer. It's impossible to predict when the situation will calm down in industries like aviation, tourism, trade shows and advertising. Salary increases unlikely to impossible for the time being!
However, if your salary is only just above the minimum wage, as is the case with many employees in the catering industry, temporary workers, hairdressers or florists, you hardly have any room for maneuvering downwards anyway.
Basically, it seems advisable, especially for career starters, not to formulate overly confident salary expectations in times of the Corona crisis.
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How can I lower my expectations during an ongoing negotiation??
That is difficult. You want to remain credible. If you set your salary requirement in your cover letter at 40.If you have a gross annual salary of EUR 000, you can't suddenly expect to earn EUR 50,000 in an interview.000 euros demand. The other way around, it would make you look like a windbag if you suddenly only had a 35.000 euros.
One way out of the negotiation trap: you name a salary range in the cover letter – but a relatively narrow one. So not: 40.000 to 50.000 euros, but rather: 42.500 to 47.500 euros. This leaves you with some wiggle room in the negotiation and you don't have to worry about losing face by negotiating foolishly.
Another scenario: In your application documents, you have 60.000 Euro annual salary demanded, but the company offers you only 50 in the job interview.000 euros. The right thing to do can't be to jump in right now. It would strengthen the suspicion that you have played too high a poker game and that you are not worth the requested salary. So don't let yourself be talked down too far – this would also weaken your standing in the company.
Also consider that even if you accept the reduced offer, the company might balk at hiring you. Because the presumption is that you would move on at the first available offer. And secondly, a cheap contract would not have a very favorable effect on your own motivation either. Would you really give it your all if your new boss just gave you a 10.000 euros per year has brought?
What you can do instead: Make concessions on salary, but ask for alternatives in return, such as higher bonuses or more vacation days or coverage of travel expenses.
And there's another strategy for the savvy: They accept the low offer, but continue to look for a job. It is known to be easier to apply from a permanent position. Once you have a better offer, you switch. Morally questionable, but definitely an option for realists.