It’s the second interview and the new interviewer says the things below. For each one:

Question

• Speculate on the interviewer’s strategy. What is the interviewer trying to accomplish? Be specific.
• What can Shereatha say? Keep in mind that she must be polite. Explain why your answer is a good move in Shereatha’s negotiating strategy.

“I’ve certainly heard good things about you from ______ (the first interviewer). Before we get too far along, let’s talk about your salary requirements.”

“What do you currently make?”

Answer 1

The interviewer wants (a) to establish himself or herself as the decision-maker, (b) make Shereatha feel that she is very close to getting a job offer and that her salary requirement may be the deciding factor, and (c) pressure her to talk about salary at an early point in the interview.
Shereatha could say:
• “Do you have questions for me about what ______ told you?”
• “It’s nice to hear that you’re thinking about my salary if I’m offered the job, but may I tell you more about [a specific job duty or responsibility] ______ described? I have strong experience …”
• “I was very interested in what ______ said about [a specific job duty or responsibility the first interviewer described] because I have strong experience in that area. I recently … (or, because one of my chief responsibilities in my current job is ...).”
Each of these responses is polite, and each one puts the burden on the interviewer to follow her lead into the new topic.

This direct, blunt question leaves Shereatha with little wiggle room in her answer. The interviewer implies that salary is a very important consideration when deciding whether to offer Shereatha the job.
Shereatha could say something like this: “I’m very interested in coming to [name of company] because of the contributions I can make to [name of department] because my experience and qualifications are such a strong fit with your needs. I need to earn more than I currently make in order to consider the job offer because there are many things I enjoy about my current job.”
If the interviewer doesn’t say anything and waits to Shereatha to continue, she really does have to address the question asked. She could say, “My current salary is $___. I have several benefits that add to that figure: [such as a health savings account, dental and vision coverage, and I was vested in the 401(k) program after six months].”
This response (a) answers the question and (b) tells the interviewer that Shereatha has the sophistication to weigh the total offer carefully.