Help - I Set My Salary "Floor" Too Low

Dear Liz,

I was so excited to get a call from a company recruiter that I flubbed the salary test. When she asked me "Would $X be acceptable?" I said yes. I went on the interview, the job seems fine, but the people I talked to who already work in the department are years less experienced than I am. I don't want to lose the opportunity but I don't want to be drastically underemployed either. Do I have any wiggle room to change what I've already told them about my salary threshold?

Thanks,

Chip

----------- NOTE FROM LIZ:----------------------------------

Dear Chip,

It depends. If it's Macy's and they said "Would $9.00 an hour be acceptable?" and you said yes, I fear that you are stuck with that. If it's a salaried job that typically comes with a bonus plan, you have wiggle room. You can say during the next interview, or the next conversation with the recruiter, "Shall we talk about compensation? We talked about base salary on the phone, and I'd love to flesh that out with a bit more information about bonus, benefits, annual reviews, etc."

If you told them you could work for $50K but now you see that you underpriced yourself, you can say "Fifty thousand would be a great base salary if the annual bonus potential is in the $10-$15K range. Oh - your annual bonuses are ten percent? Okay, let's see...can we talk about a base of $55K with the ten percent bonus?"

The big myth and fallacy is that companies are being flooded with QUALIFIED people. They're not. I hear from recruiters and HR people every day who say "There are a lot of job-seekers, but not a lot of people who are well-suited to the jobs we're most desperate to fill." You have leverage, if you have skills that employers are looking for.

Cheers --
Liz