What to Do When Asked About Your Previous Salary |
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Posted By: Jennifer Anthony In: Job Seeker - Interview
Score! You've landed an interview for the job of your dreams. You meet with the boss, and all goes favorably until you are asked the dreaded question, "Tell me about your salary history."
Score! You’ve landed an interview for the job of your dreams. You meet with the boss, and all goes favorably until you are asked the dreaded question, “Tell me about your salary history.” Or maybe you’re reading about an opportunity that you’d love to pursue, but the ad states that resumes without salary histories will not be considered.
Naming a low salary can cause a potential employer to write you off as not being worth what the company is willing to pay. Instead, it may get you the job, but at a lower price than they were going to offer. If your previous salary was higher than the company is willing to pay, you may not get a call back on the assumption that you would not be interested anyway. What to do?
One thing not to do is lie. If your previous salary is not what you are willing to accept now, don’t be tempted to simply beef it up a bit. It’s not worth the potential hassle that lying can cause.
You could try offering your salary requirement instead of your salary history. Tell the hiring manager what you are expecting to make instead of what you have made in the past. If that doesn’t work, you could attempt to convince the hiring manager that your previous salary has nothing to do with the present opportunity. This is true, of course, but may not go over well.
In the end, you may end up needing to give out the info or risk losing out on a job offer. In this type of situation, it’s good to have a plan, and to know your bottom line. If you know that your previous salary was higher or lower than what you expect from the new position, then say so. Let your salary history be a part of where you were, but don’t let it necessarily determine where you are going.
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Comments
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Posted by: William G.
I appreciate the posts from everyone. I was recently asked for past salary details during a phone interview for a job that gave a salary range in it's description. The description mentioned $60k in one city and $70k - $80k in another city. My honest reply was that my pass base salary was 45k. I was called a day later and was told that the updated salary being offered was $40k - $50k. I should have stated that I was comfortable with the range $60k - $80k, and if pressed mentioned the company's 401k, tuition reimbursement and relocation expenses that I received from my last job. At this point I will take the job if offered. If not offered I will be starting another job later in August paying $22k. This salary is so insulting to me but at least my foot will be in the door. A word to the wise; do not rely on unemployment, it can end abruptly at any time. I hope that things get better for us all!
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Posted by: A.A.
when asked for my previous salary I usually say " what is in the budget for the role" . Very often the HR/ recruiter gives me the range. then if I'm ok with it (and I'm usully very much ok since I was badly underpaid) I say "the range is working fine for me" and usually this is where it ends. I do remember being pressed for the exact number a couple of times. When I was revealing the number they were in shock (it was very low). So, I learned to not reveal my previous salary, I always try to direct the convo into "my expected salaty range". Seems to be working fine. Have been looking for a job for 13 months now. (laid off in june last year)
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Posted by: Kris
I totally agree with Jim's comment on June 12! Cheap is an understatement. I have gotten quite a few calls for interviews. They all tell me that I am just what they are looking for and my qualifications are impressive. I go in for interview after interview and eventually the conversation turns to salary. 20 years of experience in my field, they are soooo impressed with my qualifications, and I'm just what they need.....for $9.55 to $10.00 an hour!!! Less than 1/2 of what I was making. AND they expect you to work 3rd shift, weekends and holidays for that rate!!! It takes all of my reserve to not slap them in the face and tell them they are just insulting me. I believe they know better but are hoping to land some desperate (but extremely qualified) person for a dime. By the time they take off taxes and medical, I would take home $6.00 an hour. These companies are truly taking advantage of a bad situation. I would really like to answer those salary offers with, "Oh. And how much is your CEO taking home by paying slave wages?"
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Posted by: Hendrik Goss
In any case it is never good to sell oneself below cost. I have the situation a few weeks ago that I was invited for an interview for I job I was absolutely qualified for and then popped up the salary question and I aimed low because I didn't want to spoil my chances of getting the job and I didn't get it anyway because I was not able to sell myself. I learned from the mistake and will not do that again
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Posted by: ELLIOT MILLER
Looking for employment for five months now, the longest in my thirty-five years working, I have found this market to be the most difficult. The few employers I have either met or spoken with have been quite demanding regarding salary requirements. The general view has been to get the biggest bang for the buck - and they will be successful given the climate that seems to persist and will probably be this way for the future. I have also read that the bigger companies now have an unwritten policy to avoid hiring anyone on unemployment. Since there is little market competition going on, they have realized that the next level of competition is to recruit from competitive companies only. Until all the political parties address the issue of Corporate America - and they won't, since it is their self-serving meal ticket - we have a long road ahead. I sympathize more for all the younger people with huge educational loans that will be a burden on their ability to achieve financial independence.
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Posted by: joe
This is brutal, as an engineer with a long history in management, one of the deal breakers these days is the salary. I also try to get the job definition & responsibilities up front, as it is usually not the "exact" same skill set. So, you can ask the range & determine if the overall responsibilities, travel, expectations are within your comfort zone. Tough times indeed.
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Posted by: William Ketel
For one interview, I told them what I was paid at the previous job, and the interviewer gasped. I then told them that If I seemed like a good choice, that they should make me an offer, and that I promised to not get mad and leave. I also said that I may or not accept it. In another interview, when they asked what salary I required, I told them "Better than a UAW assembly line worker". They said that they had never had that response before, but it must have been OK, since I did get the job at a salary that I was happy with. Currently, if I am pressed, I tell them that my previous salary was competitive.
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Posted by: Annamarie
What I've found after looking for a job for almost a year is when your truthful, you never get a call back. I have lowered my salary requirements. I'm glad the article said not to lie because that is what I was going to do. I'm afraid to tell the truth at this point because I've had bad experiences, like not even getting the job interview. I've had HR people ask me in the first sentence how much I made, it's really a hard subject matter to get around...thanks for the advice...
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Posted by: Rhodes
When asked about previous salary or your expectations, I would suggest that you humbly answer that question with a question; “what is the salary range for this position?” This puts the onus on the interviewer to provide the range for the position and you can then answer with ‘my salary is within the range’ or ‘that I am ok with that range’ and will not have divulged your previous history. If the interviewer insists on a number, I would suggest that you provide an average of you last 3 years salaries or hour rate. When making the reply make sure that you use the term “average” if you give the average salary or hourly rate as an answer, i.e. my average salary for the past 3 years or assignment is XYZ/ABC.
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Posted by: Ronald
When I answered one advertisement for a job for which I was more than adequately qualified, I received a call back asking what my salary was. I asked the HR if salary was their main concern, why they did not state the salary in their ad and save themselves time. She had no answer that made sense.
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Posted by: Davood
Very good interview tip.Be honest to yourself and the employer.Tell them how much you expect your salary must be against you will put on the table regarding your skills and ability.Put a short term condition saying that I expect to get at least xx but after the elapse of the agreed short period I expect to get xx+yy.
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Posted by: kathy
-- It is touchy, especially if you have been taking courses or updating skills in any way! Being prepared is the way to handle the situation, with two simple sentences. "The total compensation I received in my last job included 4 training days, a national conference, a 401k contribution and salary. I would estimate my total compensation at xx. Since then I have independently improved my skills and created this portfolio for you to see - which aside from my experience adds addition value to what I can do for xyz company.
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Posted by: Antonette
Two weeks after I was laid off last year, I started looking for a new job and on my telephone interview, I was asked what was my ending salary and I was totally honest., he responded, that's not a problem since it's within our budget. Then,on my second interview, he asked me, If I offer you this job at a lower salary, would you accept, just answer yes or no., Well, I asked how much lower and he didn't say and he did not want to hear any of my justification so, I said NO! Thank you so much for your advice. I do appreciate them.
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Posted by: Bob Dethlefs
I was told by an employment specialist that you should never give your past salary or requirements. Simply say in an interview that you would like to know what you are worth to their company and have them give you a salary - you can negotiate from there. If pressed, follow the advice above.I was also told to put "will discuss in interview" or something similar on applications under salary requirements.I did that on one application and the HR person from that company called about it. When I hesitated on providing the information they said they would get my salary from my current HR group. I later found out that that is illegal.
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Posted by: Erica Levey
I am wondering if and why prospective employers have the right to know personal information of this nature. Do they really? Since they have their salary range pre-budgeted, this question seems to me to constitute their means of quickly gaging whether you fit into their range. I don't let that intimidate me. The advice is good to state what one's current expectation is and to suggest that one's past is not relevant to the current opportunity!!
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Posted by: Lisa
On telephone interviews I have been asked that question before and it worked to my advantage. They offered me more so that I would take the job!However, I also have been asked what would be the expected salary that I'd want to be paid and also what would the least acceptable amount be? I have turned down interviews after finding out that the job was going to pay less than what I was comfortable with. It seems that they want you to do so much but for so little. Because of my experience I know what I am worth and what my needs are, and I don't think I should have to lower my standards. On the other hand, it's hard to find a job these days! I'm afraid that if I take a job that would pay less, that I won't feel good about myself and that I have just "settled" for anything that came along. The longer I am out of work the more frustrated I become. I don't want to miss an opportunity because I was honest. I guess the best thing to do is wait to be offered the job and then talk about wage. Then assess the amount of responsibility of the job with the wage they are willing to pay.
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Posted by: Jim
All the CHEAP bastards that I have met in the last 14 months, of my unemployment, want a real "bargain" employee! These morons know that times are rough so they are cutting salaries in half. There are some companies in Los Angeles that, if I had taken the job, it would have cost me money to show up. My commute, car maintenance, and drive time would have eaten up any "income" the job provided.
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Posted by: Arnold
By giving up any information as to salary requirements, income goals, or history you have now taken the focus away from your qualifications and introduced money as a determining factor. It is best always to explain the pitfalls of discussing salary from both ends (as hitting their number is a real crap shoot) and tell them that you want to be considered because of what you bring to the table and your ability to solve their needs employment. Whether they offer you the position or not, it shouldn’t be tainted by money. By eliminating the salary factor you now have the opportunity to WOW them. If you do impress them well, there are stern possibilities you may have earned an offer in the higher end of their pay range. The two pitfalls avoided when not alluding to salary requirements are: if you say too low in these challenging economic times they may take the opportunity to save on payroll; if too high, you may have priced yourself out of the opportunity. In sales the cardinal rule is never discuss money until you’ve had the opportunity to justify value. Interviews are sales opportunities. How well you portray your value should be what determines the size of the compensation package. Your needs and wants should never be discussed, including compensation, until and if you are offered the job. If not, then your needs and wants are mute points.
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Posted by: Patricia Miceli
Very good suggestions for handling this sensitive salary topic. I recently had this question asked in part of a telephone interview and I was honest. He said honestly that they were looking to pay in a lower range and I said that's fine because based on the job description it appears I wouldn't be doing exactly the same job. This allowed the recruiter to continue the interview process and set me up with an interview. You will prove your worth on the job and hopefully be recognized for it.
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