Page 160 - 101 Dynamite Answers to Interview Questions

Questions You Should Ask 153

you do call if you have not heard by then.
This is also a good time to ask the employer if there is any other infor-
mation they need in order to act on your application. If you still have
questions concerning the job, you may want to ask the interviewer if there
are two or three present or former employees you might talk to about the
organization. He should provide you with the names and phone numbers.
Be sure to contact them.

Questions About Salary and Benefits

The employer may bring up the salary and benefits issues earlier, but you
should avoid asking benefits-related questions until you are offered the
job. This means that, even though it is of great interest to you, you
withhold asking questions about salary, vacation time, sick leave, working
hours, medical insurance, and any other -
benefits issues. There will be time for Try to talk in terms
that if vou get the job offer. Of course,
J W Of a range rather
if the employer raiBes these issues, YOU
may ask questions in response to what than a single salary
he has raised, But even then avoid let-
ting this area become the all-consuming figure. This will give
focus of discussion prior to the job offer. yOU greater room
After you have been offered the job, to negotiate a
you should ask benefits-related ques-
final figure.
tions. If it has not already been dis- -
cussed, you will want to ask about the
salary range for the position. Try to talk in terms of a range rather than
a single salary figure. Discussing a range will give greater flexibility for
some negotiation. Usually there is room for some negotiation in arriving
at a salary. Your research on the field - especially information gained
from informational interviews - should give you an indicator of what the
going market rate is for the job in question. Thus you should laow
whether the figure or range quoted is at the low, high, or mid range and
decide whether to accept it or attempt to negotiate a higher figure. For
further information on negotiating salary, you may wish to look at one of
our other books, Dynamite Sala y Negotiatiosrs, which is also published
by Impact Publications.
You may wish to ask how often salaries are reviewed. Starting at the