Prepare for the salary question

My friend Solomon Ocen shared with me how he remained dumbfounded when asked how much he wanted to be paid.
“I didn’t know what to tell the interview panel because I was desperate for this job having sat home for a long time waiting for an opportunity to come by,” Ocen said.

Fresh from university, you have made a tremendous effort to finally land your dream job. Most millennials groups are however faced with desperation by this time. Knowing that if you do not ask for it, you will not get it, you have to put your bargaining power at hand to reach your expectations.
Experts advise that before one puts mind to what they have to be paid, they ought to first attach value to their skill - know what they are worth and they will gain the confidence to bargain for their pay.
James Agasirwe, a human resource expert says, having knowledge about how the company you intend to work for operates is important.
If you bargain for higher than they pay for the position, you stand a chance of losing out on the job but also if you put it way lower that they pay, they are likely to think you are not the right candidate for the position,”Agasirwe says.
Ocen says he was torn between saying a higher price or a lower one, the two sides would either be safe or not.
“I wanted the job more than the one before, so I feared to go for a higher bargain. I only came to learn later after I had left that my predecessor had been paid slightly higher than me. The reason he had lost his job, was because he was demanding for a pay raise,” he says.
Samuel Okullo, head of administration at Global Link Africa, says when faced with the question of pay during an interview, give a breakdown.
“If you must really talk about the pay, then you must justify what figure you want with a breakdown. Talking about the transport costs, housing rate, lunch, and many other things to put up a better bargain,” Okullo says.

Tread carefully
He adds: “If I were the one, I would be reluctant to confront the question of how much I want to earn. I would bounce the question back and ask what their budget for the offer looks like. Tell them… I am not sure what your budget is but I am always willing to adjust my expectations with your budget.”
“Despite the enthusiasm that comes with wanting to know what your employer has in store for you, there is need to put it at the back of one’s mind that pay is part of a job interview. Have your priorities high and make it a point to always achieve your dream,” Agasirwe advises.