# Responding to Salary Expectation Qns in SA



## BJ100 (Jun 6, 2011)

Hi All, 

For those who have conducted a job search in SA, how have you handled questions about salary expectations? Compensation for the positions I'm targeting varies significantly and in an ideal situation, I'd rather not disclose salary expectations. I'm wondering how others have handled or worked around this question. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

BJ100 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> For those who have conducted a job search in SA, how have you handled questions about salary expectations? Compensation for the positions I'm targeting varies significantly and in an ideal situation, I'd rather not disclose salary expectations. I'm wondering how others have handled or worked around this question. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


I never included any salary expectations initially when I applied for jobs as I thought it might discourage employers from even seeing me if I aimed too high. I calculated what I would want to receive after tax and when asked in interview I confirmed what I wanted, after some negotiation I got what I asked for.


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## BJ100 (Jun 6, 2011)

Saartjie said:


> I never included any salary expectations initially when I applied for jobs as I thought it might discourage employers from even seeing me if I aimed too high. I calculated what I would want to receive after tax and when asked in interview I confirmed what I wanted, after some negotiation I got what I asked for.


Thanks Saartjie, that's a great suggestion! Will calculate a reasonable net salary and use that as the floor for comp negotiating.


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## Kay88 (Jan 24, 2012)

Hi
I'm looking to move to SA in May and have started to consider companies based in the UK but with hubs in Joburg. At one of the interviews I was asked about salary expectations and was quite taken aback. I said I would expect at least around 400-450k rands a year for a job as a management consultant- this is slightly less than the amount you might get in the UK (around 50-60k) so it seemed reasonable to me. The company also seemed satisfied with my answer...It would be good to hear how others have handled the question.


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## WhenweB (Jan 23, 2012)

I also found the question very hard as my previous employers whom I left to come to UK said they wanted me to indicate what salary I wanted when I asked if I could come back. When I left 14 years ago I was netting around R2000 per month which I know is not going to be anywhere near enough now - during my last holiday I spent that amount on groceries alone in 3 weeks! I found friends in SA very secretive and reluctant to say what I could be earning and/or what region their salary was in and all the job websites said "neg" or "dependant on experience" for salary which wasn't helpful. I have seen some insurance clerk jobs advertised for R6000 per month and some for R20,000 per month so no idea how they work it out. I am still none the wiser but thinking that probably need around R30,000 per month for a reasonable standard of living. Is that realistic? Anyone? Thanks.


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## martinaloeb (May 12, 2011)

Hi Kay,

You could actually earn much more than that here as a management consultant. My guy is with one of the big 4 and earns more than that. I suppose it depends what grade you are, but he is not senior yet. Aim higher and let them haggle you down!

FYI, Joburg usually pays more than other parts of the country. The equivalent role for my guy in CT was a lot less rewarding financially



Kay88 said:


> Hi
> I'm looking to move to SA in May and have started to consider companies based in the UK but with hubs in Joburg. At one of the interviews I was asked about salary expectations and was quite taken aback. I said I would expect at least around 400-450k rands a year for a job as a management consultant- this is slightly less than the amount you might get in the UK (around 50-60k) so it seemed reasonable to me. The company also seemed satisfied with my answer...It would be good to hear how others have handled the question.


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## Kay88 (Jan 24, 2012)

Thats really interesting...I think I'm so concerned that I'll end up jobless in South Africa, I'm willing to accept anything. Ah so stressful 

How did you and your guy go about arranging jobs? Were they transfers from the UK?


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## martinaloeb (May 12, 2011)

I know how you feel, but if you aim high and they want you then they will haggle you down rather than not respond at all. He is actually on secondment from the UK so is still with the same company as before. 

It is definitely less stressful for him to be with the same company, but they offered him less money initially and were not going to pay for me to relocate initially.

Be strong, confident in your abilities and convince them of your worth. You will be great


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## martinaloeb (May 12, 2011)

Hi,

Money discussions with friends are always difficult! The amount you need will completely depend on your circumstances here - where you will live and in what type of accommodation, what your outgoings will be with respect to bills (ours is very high due to car payments, medical aid and National Insurance in the UK). My rent is 3 times lower than some friends, but then twice the amount as others. R30,000 a month is a lot of money, but there are so many variables as to what your expenditure will be





WhenweB said:


> I also found the question very hard as my previous employers whom I left to come to UK said they wanted me to indicate what salary I wanted when I asked if I could come back. When I left 14 years ago I was netting around R2000 per month which I know is not going to be anywhere near enough now - during my last holiday I spent that amount on groceries alone in 3 weeks! I found friends in SA very secretive and reluctant to say what I could be earning and/or what region their salary was in and all the job websites said "neg" or "dependant on experience" for salary which wasn't helpful. I have seen some insurance clerk jobs advertised for R6000 per month and some for R20,000 per month so no idea how they work it out. I am still none the wiser but thinking that probably need around R30,000 per month for a reasonable standard of living. Is that realistic? Anyone? Thanks.


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## WhenweB (Jan 23, 2012)

martinaloeb said:


> Hi,
> 
> Money discussions with friends are always difficult! The amount you need will completely depend on your circumstances here - where you will live and in what type of accommodation, what your outgoings will be with respect to bills (ours is very high due to car payments, medical aid and National Insurance in the UK). My rent is 3 times lower than some friends, but then twice the amount as others. R30,000 a month is a lot of money, but there are so many variables as to what your expenditure will be


Hi Martina - well we would be living in Milnerton Cape Town which isn't an expensive part of town and if house sale here goes okay we should be able to buy a house without having to worry about a morgage. I am not sure what percentage of a gross salary would go out on pension, medical aid and tax but when I left SA 14 years ago it was about 40% of my gross salary. I know our food bills would be higher than average as we try to eat healthily and I found that seeded loaf and skinless boneless chicken breast will set you back far more than a loaf of white and a whole chicken but we only have one child so not a huge family to cater for. Have tried to google to see if there is a site that outlines all the basic monthly costs an average family would have in SA but no luck yet. I realise that food costs, school fees (R1200 per month at a gvmt school and R6000 per month at a private school ouch!) petrol and insurance etc would vary depending on a family size and standards but surely there are set costs for medical aid, water, electricity, rates etc that most families would have to pay each month regardless of income. Will carry on researching as there must be a website out there somewhere with this info. Thanks for your input though. Hope you are enjoying living in SA - we can't wait to get there!


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## BJ100 (Jun 6, 2011)

Hi WhenweB and Kay88 Kay88, 

I followed Saartjie's advice when I provided salary expectations to the firm that ultimately hired me. I estimated my monthly expenditures by asking friends/family about their expenses for utilities, groceries, etc. (this is a much easier conversation than discussing compensation with family/friends), as well as checking websites such as Discovery, Vodacom, and Telkom for pricing) and added a little more for miscellaneous/unexpected expenses to arrive at my required minimum salary (net of taxes and other mandatory deductions). 

Since I don't know my effective tax rate in SA, I gave my salary expectation net of taxes and the firm had to work out the gross salary I requested. Before doing this exercise I might have accepted a lower salary and would have struggled to make ends meet because I realized food, transportation, internet, mobile phones, and car expenses are quite high in JHB (I don't know about other cities). So even though this might seem like a lot of work, at the very least you must work out the minimum you need to earn to cover your expenses and then go higher from there. Hope that helps!


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