$$And what are your expectations when it comes to compensation?$$ John Apton, president of Levy Engineering Ltd $($LEL$),$ had posed this question hoping that John Gayner, the candidate he was interviewing, would give a reasonable number. This was someone he wanted to be able to afford.

Gayner was being interviewed for a position as a mechanical engineer$$specifically$,$ as a pipe stress analyst. This was a line of work that LEL was looking to add to its professional services repertoire. Both Apton and engineering manager Cameron Keen, who was also part of the interviewing team, were pretty much convinced$$not only that Gayner had the technical skills they needed but also that he would be a good fit for the culture at LEL.

After pausing for a moment, Gayner looked confidently at both interviewers in turn, and answered, $$Well$,$ based on my seven years of engineering experience, as well as the unique set of skills that I bring to the table, I would expect my salary to be in at least the CA$$90,000$ to $$110,000$ range.$$

Putting his head down to make a note on Gayner$$s resum$,$ Apton tried to hide his disappointment. The amount was significantly higher than he had hoped. Uncertain of how to deal with the issue, he decided to push it off, and he responded, $$Well$,$ that is more than most engineers usually start out at here, but let$$s put off the compensation discussion until after we finish assessing your fit for this role.$$ Apton then sat back and allowed Keen to lead the remainder of the interview.

Apton$$s mind started to distance itself from the conversation going on in front of him and focussed instead on what it would take to get Gayner, or someone like him, to accept an offer at LEL. Apton felt that, as a smaller employer, his organization sometimes had difficulty attracting the critical people it needed to continue to grow. He knew that the work environment, the people, and the interesting projects they worked on were strong selling points$$but there was no denying that sometimes the compensation levels lagged behind those at larger firms, and money was important to people. After hearing Gayner$$s salary expectations, he knew that something was going to have to give. He was tempted to simply do whatever it took to convince Gayner to join, even if that meant paying him a lot more than most of the other engineers received. However, Apton knew enough to be mindful of how such a decision could affect the other employees in the company.