The topic of compensation in a job interview process has always been a bit of a fearmonger for legal professionals. From negotiating an offer to timing the comp ask, candidates in today’s market still feel anxious when it comes to the money. One frequent predicament that arises is how to handle the “What are your compensation expectations?” question. Whether raised by employers at the beginning, middle or end of the process, this inquiry often asks candidates to move their first pawn in a vacuum—without much, if any information. And candidate reactions are similar:

  • “Am I required to give them a compensation expectation range?
  • “I don’t have a specific range in mind so how am I supposed to give one?”
  • “I’m worried about coming in too low.”
  • “I’m worried about pricing myself out of the role.”
  • “I’ll lose my leverage if I go first.”
  • “I don’t want to provide an answer, but I’m worried that if I don’t, my candidacy will be rejected.”
  • “How am I supposed to know what my expectations are when I don’t know the comp range for the role?”
  • “How should I respond without compromising my candidacy?”

So how should you manage such a situation? Before I provide your narrative options, a few points to convey:

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]