Left feeling confused
I had an interview Friday morning and it was for a receiving position in a warehouse. I have 10 years of warehouse work and felt comfortable knowing i was going to do great on this interview. The HR lady called me back and introduced me to the receiving manager. They both asked me a couple of questions about my last job. The HR lady asked me how much was my end pay at the last job, I told her and she told me I was over qualified for the position I had applied for. Not only that, she also told me she was really fascinated with my resume that she just had to bring me in to meet me. Needless to say I left the interview feeling very confused and without a job.
Netta,
I'm sorry this happened, but the mistake you made here was revealing the pay rate with your last employer. It's one thing you should never do before, during or after an interview. As you've experienced, you become automatically labeled as overqualified knowing if/when a potential employer cannot or will not pay anywhere close to your prior salary. All you can do is learn from this, and I suggest that you take my advice with responding to this question. If you are ever asked to state your prior or expected salary pay rate, you will need to position it like this:
- Q: What is your salary requirements/expectations?
- A: "My salary requirements/expectations is open to negotiation depending on what is being offered by the company, however my first priority is finding the right fit".
You never want to be the first one to reveal a number in terms of pay because you end up shooting yourself in the foot. In some cases, employer(s) might still push you for a number so you will need to do the following before your scheduled interview:
Research three companies that have the same/similar position you're applying for.
Attempt to find out what the pay rate(s) are for those related/similar positions/companies (you can check out: http://www.payscale.com to help you pinpoint certain pay for positions).
Select the highest pay rate for the position from your research (which you will provide the range if pushed during an interview).
Q: We understand that pay is negotiable, but we still need to know what pay rate you're seeking?
A: "I'm being considered for positions in the range between XXXX (e.g. $16-$20+).
This way you only provided a range, and not a specific dollar amount, and the best part is that should you be offered employment, you cannot be given a pay rate any lower than the minimum amount of the starting range you stated. Now, most of the time you won't be pushed to provide a pay requirement after stating that your pay rate is negotiable. However, just in case you are asked this unexpectedly, you will know how to respond. I hope this is helpful!
Sry I ben very busy in tge hospital for tge last couple months bc of a bad crash