The question about salary expectations will come up at some point in the recruitment process. A common mistakes among candidates is not knowing what to say and end up asking for too low that the rectuiter thinks they didn’t do their homework or asking for too much that it doesn’t make sense to continue the interview process.
But how to know what salary is reasonable when we are applying for a job in a foreign country? Here are 5 things you can do.
Research the average salary for the job title and the location of the job you are applying for. Consider at least 2 results you found and get a middle range between them. Why? Because no salary platform is perfectly accurate. When you use 2 or 3 different platforms and find a common range between them you have more chances to get it right. In Germany, you can use Payscale, Kununu, Glassdoor, among many others.
Take into consideration the cost of living in the location of the job. Numbeo can give you a estimation in several cities around the globe. It’s an estimation so keep reasearching other sources and ask your friends, relatives or friends of friends who live in the same country what their experience is.
Saying a range is usually better than saying an exact number, especially if you are not sure what the salary for the job is. For example, you can say that your salary expectation is 67k-77k Euros/year, instead of saying that you expec 67k or you are looking for 77k and end up falling into the cases where you ask for too low or for too much.
Add up 3k-5k Euros/year to the salary you have in mind. When it comes the time for an offer call, the company will try to negotiate, so you have a room of 3k-5k Euros for negotiation.
Last but not least, try to get an idea of the net salary in the country where you will live. In Germany, this calculator helps you estimate the discounts for health insurance, social security and taxes.