Will not disclosing my salary history effect future job offers?

Dryst999

So to make a long story short i'm working for about 10k less than I should be for my position mainly due to my poor negotiation tactics and badly needing experience right after college since I had no IT internships. I knew the offer was way too low and after one attempt to renegotiate that was shot down I went ahead and took the job anyway for fear of the offer being re-singed considering they interviewed over 20 people for the position and god knows how many applications they got.

I've made the best of it so far and am not crying everyday about my salary b/c it's my own fault but I will be looking for a new job soon with acceptable pay, i'm kind of worried about the whole salary history process. Every job i've ever been interviewed for have always required my salary history. Obviously since I low-balled myself in my current job I don't want to disclose this information b/c I don't plan on taking below market value for a job again.

How can I handle this situation if they press for this information in an interview?

Hyper-Me

I would not disclose it.

Infact, my current employer asked for it during the interview and I said "I'd rather not disclose that information." and they were ok with that.

If the application requries it put "N/A" or "Personal Information" or something to that affect. The bottom line is what you are making now has ZERO bearing in your ability to do this other job, the ONLY reason they want it is as a tool to low ball you.

keenon

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I would not disclose it.

Infact, my current employer asked for it during the interview and I said "I'd rather not disclose that information." and they were ok with that.

If the application requries it put "N/A" or "Personal Information" or something to that affect. The bottom line is what you are making now has ZERO bearing in your ability to do this other job, the ONLY reason they want it is as a tool to low ball you.

+1 i agree.

Dryst999

Is telling an employer you'd rather not disclose your salary history an acceptable norm? I really don't want to dodge the question with some "I took the job for experience blah blah" excuse, i'd love to just tell them that I don't want to disclose my salary history like you did but I just see employers getting pissy over that. If I refuse to give them my salary information can they get my history from my employer without my permission anyway?

Hyper-Me

I believe they can get salary history from your previous employer (I could be wrong, before astorrs gets all upset). But I still tell them I will not disclose it.

If a potential employer gets really upset that you wont disclose your past compensation, you probably dont want to work there anyway. You may want to offer a salary range you are willing to accept in leui of your actual previous salary, just to make sure you and the employer are on the same page.

b1tbuck3t

Dryst999 wrote: »

Is telling an employer you'd rather not disclose your salary history an acceptable norm? I really don't want to dodge the question with some "I took the job for experience blah blah" excuse, i'd love to just tell them that I don't want to disclose my salary history like you did but I just see employers getting pissy over that. If I refuse to give them my salary information can they get my history from my employer without my permission anyway?

The following is going to seem funny but I am 100% serious.

Have someone give you a piece of candy, five dollars or whatever in return for not ever divulging the terms of your current salary. You will be then be contractually (oral contract unless you want to write it up) obligated to NOT disclose the terms of your current compensation.

On the Employment Application leave the salary blank. When HR,the recruiter, or hiring manager asks, tell them "I am very sorry but I am contractually prohibited from disclosing the terms of my current salary". You can then say "However, I can tell you that the broad salary range that I am looking for is X to Y depending on the details of the position and the benefits"

If the HR or other person keeps pushing state "I take integrity very seriously. I have a duty to honor contracts and safeguard potentially propriatary information".

I am indebted to a former coworker of mine that taught me this. In my case I have only ever had one HR person push back. I stuck to my guns and was still submitted to the hiring manager for an interview. In the case of my current job it was not an issue and my answer was immediately accepted at face value.

In the above exchange you do not ever lie. You keep the focus on what you are willing to accept (make sure the low end of the range is something you can live with and is appropriate for the position) but still leave negotiation room for salary, vacation, etc.

I can tell you that I am a hiring manager and I do ask prospective employees for their salary information. This is not because it is my right but because I can use it to adjust my offer as well as for market research purposes. It is never in your best interest to disclose your former salary whether you are underpaid, overpaid, or paid correctly.

b1tbuck3t

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I believe they can get salary history from your previous employer (I could be wrong, before astorrs gets all upset). But I still tell them I will not disclose it.

If a potential employer gets really upset that you wont disclose your past compensation, you probably dont want to work there anyway. You may want to offer a salary range you are willing to accept in leui of your actual previous salary, just to make sure you and the employer are on the same page.

Most of the time former employers will not divulge your salary and potential employers really shouldn't check with your current employer unless they are making an offer. I still state to the prospective employer that they only have permission to check with my current employer or perform other background checks if they have made me an offer contingent apon a successful background check/reference check.

I have also seen company's require a copy of a paystub, or W2. I have never had this request made to myself (I have only been on the hiring end). This is typically only done after an offer has been made and so therefore it is only being used to detect dishonesty.

As another point, don't lie about degrees or anything else on the application. I have had to let newly hired employees go for lying on their resume about having a degree we didn't even care about.

tpatt100

My current employer got all of my past salaries during their background investigation. I would rather not disclose because now a days I can negotiate down if the position were closer to home or were more family friendly etc.

Paul Boz

"It is hard to provide a firm number, as my pay check was a combination of salary and performance-based incentives."

Hyper-Me

Paul Boz wrote: »

"It is hard to provide a firm number, as my pay check was a combination of salary and performance-based incentives."

Thats a clever way of saying

"they paid me my salary and a few pats on the back"

(not saying that pertains to you, in particular)

Paul Boz

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Thats a clever way of saying

It's a clever way of saying "it's up to 20% of my bottom line so don't @#$$ing low ball me."

Aldur

I've lost most of any respect for any HR for this reason. Yes, I understand that it makes good fiscal sense to get employees for as cheap as possible but in my opinion all this does is force people to leave before they normally would because they are not happy with the wage they are at.

I especially like it in the past when I've been working out a wage and the HR guy tells me that he's not going jack me around like a used car sells man, then gives me an incredible low ball offer...

No offence to anybody out there but from my experience these guys tend to be your typical "used car sells men"

/end rant

Bokeh

And if the always common "so what are you hoping to make in your new position" question comes up, simply turn the tables. Ask THEM what someone with your skills, education and background would make at their company.

He who gives salary info first usually looses.

bwcarty

Paul Boz wrote: »

It's a clever way of saying "it's up to 20% of my bottom line so don't @#$$ing low ball me."

I tell recruiters something similar for the same reason. I'll tell them that my base salary is $X, but my current position includes incentives outside of that base that make it worth significantly more to me.

If they can't even match the base salary, we can end the conversation right there and save everyone some time. If they can meet my salary requirements, I'll talk to them about their entire compensation package.

networker050184

Bokeh wrote: »

And if the always common "so what are you hoping to make in your new position" question comes up, simply turn the tables. Ask THEM what someone with your skills, education and background would make at their company.

He who gives salary info first usually looses.

I've never been a fan of this method. I know what I want to make, no point in hiding it. When a company asks me what I want to make I tell them and I've always gotten more than that offered. Thats a win/win in my book and it keeps from wasting time with low ball offers.

RouteThisWay

networker050184 wrote: »

I've never been a fan of this method. I know what I want to make, no point in hiding it. When a company asks me what I want to make I tell them and I've always gotten more than that offered. Thats a win/win in my book and it keeps from wasting time with low ball offers.

Robert K. had a link here to a good book about salary negotiating. One tip it recommends s that if they ask you about salary, give them just that. The number you throw out there is the first number that is given in negotiation, thus becomes the starting point in negotiation.

Say a company is given $45-55k salary to hire a new IT guy. They bring you in for an interview. If they ask you what your requirements are, you tell them $50,000. That is where negotiations will be around. However, if the company comes out and throws out $35k, negotiations start there. The first number mentioned is very important, and the company is never going to throw out their max dollars they can spend right off the bat. So they throw out $35k, you end up negotiating and get them up to $40k. You think you did good because you got more money out of them than what they offered. However, the company really wins out because they are paying you much less than what the position was willing pay.

The company is not looking to pay you a fair salary. The company is looking to keep costs down however they can, to increase profit.

This is where research and finding out your value and the value of the work you will be doing comes into play. Going into an interview, unsure of what the pay is for that position in your area, with your skills, etc is a fantastic way to quickly lose money. The company knows exactly what the job is worth- HR's job is to get someone to do it for less.

From what I have seen, in my personal subjective opinion, you are nothing more than a service... a commodity.

Hyper-Me

I agree entirely with RouteThisWay's post.

Hyper-Me

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I would not disclose it.

Infact, my current employer asked for it during the interview and I said "I'd rather not disclose that information." and they were ok with that.

If the application requries it put "N/A" or "Personal Information" or something to that affect. The bottom line is what you are making now has ZERO bearing in your ability to do this other job, the ONLY reason they want it is as a tool to low ball you.

Why did someone neg rep me for this? Most everyone in this thread agreed. :

veritas_libertas

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Why did someone neg rep me for this? Most everyone in this thread agreed. :

Probably a mistake. I have had that happen to me before.

Hyper-Me

*shrug*

networker050184

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Why did someone neg rep me for this? Most everyone in this thread agreed. :

You sir are not allowed to agree with everyone else.

Kaminsky

RouteThisWay wrote: »

... The number you throw out there is the first number that is given in negotiation, thus becomes the starting point in negotiation.

... The first number mentioned is very important, and the company is never going to throw out their max dollars they can spend right off the bat. So they throw out $35k, you end up negotiating and get them up to $40k. You think you did good because you got more money out of them than what they offered. However, the company really wins out because they are paying you much less than what the position was willing pay.

The company is not looking to pay you a fair salary. The company is looking to keep costs down however they can, to increase profit.

This is where research and finding out your value and the value of the work you will be doing comes into play. Going into an interview, unsure of what the pay is for that position in your area, with your skills, etc is a fantastic way to quickly lose money. ...

/agree

I would add that a bit of ballziness also comes into play here as your current employer is never going to disclose your current salary for various reasons. Plus you will sue their a$$ if they do. So, now is the time to think of the figure you would be very happy with that they would also accept. The closer you get to this unknown magic figure, the better. You don't have to justify why you need that much. You are already sitting in the interview chair. When this question comes up, it's time to take the gloves off and go for it.

Sadly, I am not very good at this. I guy I once worked side by side with doing the same job, with very similar backgrounds and knowledge and hired within a month of each other was getting £4k more than me just because he was ballzier when it came to the salary negotiation part of the interview. I thought I had done well as I hiked my salary £5k on my previous job but turned out he was on 2k less than me on his previous job. He just went for it and got it.

One clear point to bare in mind is that, once you are in, it is usually quite difficult to get any kind of major pay rise so you should do your best to get as much as you can, whilst still getting the job, right at the start.

Onefive

networker050184 wrote: »

I've never been a fan of this method. I know what I want to make, no point in hiding it. When a company asks me what I want to make I tell them and I've always gotten more than that offered. Thats a win/win in my book and it keeps from wasting time with low ball offers.

You're right on the money with this. There is no problem with telling the employer what you want to make. Every time I've given the employer a "desired salary range", they have gone above. It saves everyone time! As for your previous salary, they will find this out in the background checks, so no point in hiding it.