Hi all. I just had a job interview for a quant role last week and to my surprise at the end of the interview I was asked about what is my expected salary. I have to admit I was caught a bit off footed as I has never been asked this before in such an early stage. Has any one else gone through this? What would be a good answer?ThanksMartin

tell where you think market is and argue why they should pay you more? a not to wide range.

don't say any number, no range at all. Something along the lines "my expected salary is market rate for the position I applied and for a candidate with my experience, bla bla".Whatever concrete number you provide can and will be used against you!

QuoteOriginally posted by: QuantOptiondon't say any number, no range at all. Something along the lines "my expected salary is market rate for the position I applied and for a candidate with my experience, bla bla".Whatever concrete number you provide can and will be used against you!indeed, that's what they say to you so just toss it back at them

I disagree somewhat.So you think they will think "woow the guy is good, let's pay him/her beyond his/her expectations" ?I believe it's better to show you know what is your own worth and tell it.

QuoteOriginally posted by: edouardI disagree somewhat.So you think they will think "woow the guy is good, let's pay him/her beyond his/her expectations" ?No, and that's exactly the reason why not to reveal it. They will pay the least they can get away with, if it gets to the offer stage. If they push really hard, you can say how much you are making now, cause they will find out anyway, and politely steer the conversation in that direction.

Thanks all for your replies. I had discussed with my HH a salary range before hand, so I had to stick to those numbers. Should I get to the last stage, do you think it would be hard for me to get something above those numbers?

If, when you say salary, you actually mean salary, then there is not likely to be a huge amount of wiggle room. Most organizations have fairly well defined salary bands based on title and function/area. If you actually mean total compensation, then it stands to reason that the lowest number you have mentioned becomes a soft ceiling on what they will offer, as suggested by others here.

QuoteOriginally posted by: ppauperQuoteOriginally posted by: QuantOptiondon't say any number, no range at all. Something along the lines "my expected salary is market rate for the position I applied and for a candidate with my experience, bla bla".Whatever concrete number you provide can and will be used against you!indeed, that's what they say to you so just toss it back at themi got asked that several times and when i deferred and bullshitted they actually got pissed: You're interviewing for a trading role, this is a quick environment where you often have to commit. We NEED to hear a number now.

As a rule in negotiating it is better to be the first to quote a figure, even though this can be embarrassing. I don't know whether this applies to salary negotiation though.P

Say a high number. Like someone said, they usually have a number in mind. And it is usually a low number if they are asking you. They know their number is low enough to create problems. But you won't stop them from coming back with a low number, if you say a high number first.I would probably be honest, and say I hope I have the opportunity to make this much. Or to do work that will be worth this much. But until I know what my day-to-day schedule will actually be like, I can't say what number I would stick around for. You could say you are flexible, you would do an easy job for this number, or a hard job with long hours and no hope for advancement, for this number.And you could say you don't yet know what the culture and expectations are of the people you are working with, what the working style is. Since they know this, they have a better idea what the number should be.But really, I would probably just say "never mind" and walk out the nearest exit. The job is their product, they should know how much to pay people. Asking someone how much a can of food is worth, when it has an unknown brand and he hasn't seen the contents, is pure silliness. They should pay you what the people demand, who know what they are in for.And if they don't know how much you are worth yet, they should change their screening process, or find someone who is a more visible quantity. Or they should pay you X for the first month, and renegotiate.