Job Hunting Tip #9: Don’t Negotiate Salary Before an Offer

Sometimes a prospective employer will ask a candidate how much they are currently making or how much you are expecting to make should you be offered the position. I recommend that you do not get in a discussion about salary until you have an offer in hand, although you should have an idea as to the compensation range being offered even prior to your first meeting. In general we are seeing the following compensation ranges:

Analyst: $45,000 to $60,000
Senior Analyst: $60,000 to $75,000
Associate: $70,000 to $90,000
Vice President: $85,000 to $155,000
Asset Manager: Varies significantly depending on the market

If you are using a recruiter like ACG to schedule interviews, leverage off of the recruiter to provide all negotiations. That is part of the value-add of having a broker involved in the deal and it could insulate you from a potentially uncomfortable or even disastrous situation.