The moment I realized I was killing my own interview chances

I kept wondering why I never got callbacks after interviews at places like that marketing firm downtown. Then my friend who works in HR at State Farm told me I was talking about my salary expectations way too early in the conversation. She said mentioning numbers in the first 15 minutes makes hiring managers think you only care about money. Has anyone else made this mistake and figured out a better way to handle the salary question later?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_tara1mo ago

Honestly, that "first 15 minutes" thing hits close to home. I remember once I was so excited about a job at a creative agency that I blurted out my salary needs before the interviewer even finished asking about my weekend. The whole vibe shifted after that. She went from smiling to looking at her watch every few minutes. Looking back, I think I was just nervous and trying to control the conversation. What I started doing instead is just saying "I'm flexible" or "I'd love to discuss that once we both feel it's a good fit." It buys you time to show them you're actually interested in the work, not just the paycheck.

brookethomas1mo ago

My brother has been a hiring manager at a midsize tech company for about twelve years now, and he says this whole "salary talk ruins everything" thing is overblown. He told me once that if a candidate brings up pay early but does it respectfully, like saying "I know we'll discuss numbers later, but I want to make sure we're in the same ballpark," it actually saves everyone time. He said the real killer is being vague or pushy, not the timing itself. I think folks put too much stock in arbitrary rules like "first 15 minutes" and forget that hiring is just people talking to each other.