Dave Jensen wrote:
Nate W. wrote:Tonight, I heard an excellent webinar by an executive recruiter. He suggested that in no way should you provide current salary information. His contention is that once you provide current salary early on, it becomes a glass ceiling for salary discussions.
When a recruiter or manager pressures you to disclose this information, tell them you signed a non-disclosure and that employee salaries are confidential information.
In his experience, most managers will back off then.
Nate, that webinar gave you the most ridiculous "advice" I've heard in years. Either that or perhaps you misunderstood and they were talking about the salary "expectations" question.
Present salary information is expected and there's no way to get away from it. Do your job right and you will be judged by your professionalism. Your offer is not based on what you earned in your Postdoc. Salary info comes in two elements -- present earnings and expected earnings., One question (your present earnings) is expected and you won't get away without answering. The other ("What do you need to do our job?") is almost an insult to your intelligence and should NOT be answered. We have articles on this site that go into detail about how to answer that question without really answering it.
If you don't answer the "What is your present salary?" question, you just won't get a call back. You'll ensure no traction on your job search and that your phone interviews NEVER lead to job offers or "real" interviews. What a dangerous piece of incorrect advice to have on the forum!
Dave,
Not so fast. I always tried to be honest with people but I always resist talking about salary current or expected until I hear more about the position. What gives me pause here is that HR and recruiters often expect this answer before they discuss any specifics.
Frankly, many people find the current salary question early on (w/o an offer) down right insulting. Give one good reason why a recruiter or HR person needs this specific information before discussing a job offer?
I will gladly give the commensurate salary with my qualifications answer and even state a range. But expecting it up front?
I might not get the job and do I want this company to know my salary history. Plus, it is probably completely irrelevant to the new position for discussion. Are they going to keep it confidential?
However, most hiring manager don't ask this until they are seriously considering you. Job specifics first money talk later.
If they ask current salary in the final stages of an offer with the hiring manager, no problem!
Statistics: Posted by Nate W. — Thu May 01, 2014 12:30 pm