When looking for new employment, inevitably you will be asked by recruitment agencies and employers alike for your salary information. Don’t fall into the trap that many do – which is to tell all! A good negotiator understands that the moment you show your hand, your negotiation position dwindles. Now is the time to prepare for the inevitable salary negotiation questions to make sure that you don’t end up with a raw deal.
I am pleased to say that I am not alone in encouraging job seekers to hold off disclosing their current salary and future salary expectations for as long as they can as they progress throughout the interview process. Ideally you want the recruitment consultant or employer to disclose the salary first. Ask the Headhunter has a great article on the topic ‘How to make more money: Withhold your salary history’. As the article states “The advice is simple: Don’t disclose your current salary or your salary history when a prospective employer asks you for it. The reason is also simple: When you disclose your salary information, your negotiating leverage is gone.”
Ask the Headhunter makes the valid point that your salary history is not any employer’s business, nor I suggest should it be a reflection of your future earning potential. When asked the question there are polite and professional responses you can give, which may or may not be accepted by the hirer. However, if the hirer is insistent then you have to make the call if you want to progress or walk away. The Six Figures Salary Negotiation Guide Section 5.1 looks at handling Salary Questions and offers some appropriate responses to give when asked the salary question:
- “I would prefer to find out more about the position, the responsibilities and expectations before getting into any salary discussions”.
- “I am sure that your company offers a fair compensation scale, and if we both decide that this is a worthwhile match, I am confident we will be able to agree on a salary”.
- “I have researched the salaries for this level of position, with the market value of the total compensation package being within X range”.
It is your decision whether you want to disclose your salary information during the early stages of the interview process. If you can, it is best to avoid entering into this conversation too early in the process, as it limits your opportunity to negotiate further on. Being more astute when it comes to salary negotiation can earn you more – so you have to ask yourself is that extra 10% in your pay packet worth it!
What are your opinions, advice and experiences on holding off disclosing your salary information during interviews?
24 Comments
Ideally, I like the idea of not getting into the subject of price until after an interview with the hiring manager. As you said though, to use this strategy, you have to be willing to walk away.
If you can get the other side to disclose the range they were thinking of paying before you disclose any figure, then your doing pretty well.
When you work with the big agencies like Michael Page (rather than applying for specific job ads), they require this information from early stages, as they need to know what jobs they can offer you.
However, you don’t necessarily have to disclose your current salary, you can state your salary expectations and that should do.
If they insist, you can always ‘blame’ it on your work agreement that requires confidentiality…
You can use the third response to complete the argument – salary research should always support your claim best.
I once felt my interview change dramatically when I answered my previous salary. (It was substantially more than they were offering. I knew, but really wanted the job for reasons other than money Eg close to home). From then on the attitude was that when the market picks up I’ll leave – so they refused to give me the job even though I was more than qualified and otherwise suitable. I couldn’t convince them that other factors were over-riding.
I had felt doomed either way – if I don’t answer the question they’ll think I’m hiding something and I’ll damage the good rapore I had going, but answering the question was also damaging to my case to get the job.
Unfortunately I didn’t have any of the above suggested answers readily available on my tongue at the time. The salary question had been slipped into the converasation unexpectedly and caught me unprepared.
I’ve seen the recruiting process swing in the other direction from what David described. Say you work in a company that typically pays in the lower half of the salary range for the type of job you are seeking. The job is demanding, you’re performing well, develop skills and abilities, and want to move up. So, you apply for a position for which you are well qualified in a company that typically pays in the top half or even top quartile of the salary range. Once the interviewer learns that your current salary is lower and than even the bottom end of the pay range the company has set for the job would be a significant increase in pay for you, it isn’t unusual to feel the tone of the interview change. There is the perception that if you are being paid a lower salary than the company has targeted for the job that you could not possibly have developed the necessary skills. Another common view in this situation is that even if you do have the skills for the job successfully, you don’t deserve to be considered for a big increase in pay just because you have the interest and ability to move from a low paying employer to a higher paying employer.
In this situation, the best approach is probably #3, just as in David’s situation. Demonstrate that you have the skills and can deliver performance, then talk salary in terms of what the market ranges are for that type of position.
In my former role as a recruiter for technology executives I learned first hand how they react when a candidate or recruiter will not answer the compensation questions. They are annoyed and in some cases cut the interview short.
If you are asked a question, you want an answer. Being cagy or unresponsive is insulting and is not a good way to begin a vocational relationship.
Employers have a salary range and what you want or what you previously made does not change that range. Once an offer is made, if it is lower than you want it to be, negotiate. But don’t ruin your chances of getting that offer by avoiding an important question.
Rita Ashley, Job Search Coach
Author: Job Search Debugged.
Hi Rita,
I understand your point here however also if you look at it from the job seekers perspective – hirers that fail to provide salary information up front are going to miss out on good applicants. If they are advertising for a job and not disclosing a salary range to prospective applicants (buyers) this is annoying to potential applicants. For example if you go to buy any product or service and they will not disclose a price, this is going to irritate the shopper who will likely walk away. I think the same logic can be applied to recruitment and advertising a job without one of the crucial pieces of information attached – the price!
Kelly
Your image is right kelly, but I think you are misunderstanding the roles.
In the employment process, it is the recruiter who is the buyer. In this way, it is normal that he wants to know the “price” of the candidate.
If the recruiter discloses early his salary range, it would be the same as saying how much you are ready to pay for a product or a service.
Hi Kelly – Good topic & after over 20 yrs. of interviewing I know there are lots of perspectives on this answer.
In this case the “buyer” is the company & especially with unemployment being what it is I agree with Rita that you have to be careful about refusing or being “cagy” about sharing info. Definitely be honest & up front with recruiters you decide to work with & just choose those with credentials you trust. Good recruiters will not represent those who avoid salary questions with them as they can’t afford surprises after the fact & do need to know via open discussion what will work for the candidate & client company at the start. Most recruiters are paid a percentage of candidate’s 1st yr. income for perm. placement by the company so the more you make the more they make so aren’t motivated to give your rightful income away. One possible way to respond is to name a range you’re open to & let them know you’re keeping an open mind dep. on the position requirements & opportunity. However if pushed I suggest honesty with explanations if deemed necessary. You should spend time thinking about salary questions in advance & decide how to respond in different circumstances vs. just trying to “wing it” understanding that some, as Rita shared, have cut an interview short rather than debate the question & being prepared comes across as more confident which can help. Recruiters you’re working with can & should help with this as they know their clients. Often also a required piece of info on written applications or email submissions knowing employers & recruiters often get 100′s & have databases of 1000′s from which to select.
Good luck with your interviews all!
Debra
This question really consist of two parts: what you are currently earning and what you are prepared to accept. Neither party wants to waste time.
The pay discussion should be around the vacant position. Most recruiters would indicate the range and certainly need to know if the applicant is prepared to consider the role seriously.
The best advice is to provide a range, depending on how STRI and LTI is structured, with a sensible discussion around pay.
The best negotiating position and timing is once they are keen to employ you, having done all the interviews and reference checking. This is the time when you will also have a much better understanding of the role and other relevant factors, such as dimensions and scope of the role.
Playing your cards too close to your chest early on is not advisable as no recruiter will put a candidate forward without understanding the pay expectations.
Charles van Heerden
Job Search Expert
Author: Job Search Secrets
In reply to Rita’s comment, I don’t think that Kelly was suggesting that you skirt around the question regarding salary.
Rather she is indicating that you should try and handle it better so that it plays to your advantage. If you really must give an answer, number 3 should suffice in almost any circumstance. And if you are really pressed for your current earnings TG’s suggestion of contractual obligations requiring that you maintain confidentiality certainly seem like a reasonable reply to me.
Here’s hoping that what I have read here will lead to more cash in my hip pocket!! Wish me luck.
I love the comments here. However, here are a few colloquial examples.
Resist quoting a range of acceptable salary as a candidate. Why? For example, if I was trying to sell you my lawnmower and I quoted you a price of 30 to 50 dollars, what would you offer me for my lawnmower? Conversely, when companies, or recruiters quote pay ranges to candidates, you have created a potential conflict, at the very least set the stage for disappointment and more difficult closing/acceptance of job offer, equal to the difference between high and low. That is, the candidate hears the high number. The Company wants the low number. Once, you the job seeker has spoken a number, the odds of that offer coming in any higher is extremely low. Plus, you may have inadvertently priced yourself right out of the game.
People usually respond to this with something along the lines of “hey, I just want to be honest….” They continue, depending on which side of the fence they sit, with something akin to “…..I have to have at least $xxxxx.xx or at least xx% to make a move” or if on the company side “This job won’t pay more than $xxxxxx.xx” Both of these things are true if the money negotiation is the first salient point covered in the negotiation. Why is it that it seems to happen that way? Those folks are the same ones that continually ask themselves “wow, how did he get them to pay him that much? Is he really worth all that?”
Here is my First Date example:
The young man pulls to the curb to pick up the young lady for their long anticipated first date. The young lady climbs into the car. As he is about to put the car into drive, she exclaims. “Before we go, I must tell you. I don’t know where this relationship is heading. I am not sure that we have any type of future. But, if one day in the future you decide that you want to marry me, I am going to need a ring of at least 3 carats. I just want to be honest with you. Ok, let’s go have a great time.”
Her honesty is self serving and detrimental to the courting process. Overall, she is the one that loses. He is most likely not interested anymore. If he had fallen in love, 3 carats might have been attainable. If she had fallen in love it might not have taken 3 carats to seal the deal. Most likely they will never get to that point. ….and neither do most job seekers.
Once when a Head hunter asked me for my current salary, I replied that I was under confidentiallity agreement not to disclose it to any one. He replied, “Well you told the banker your salary when you applied for a mortgage?”
I replied “There is a reasonable expectation from my employer that this information be divulged to a mortgage banker…but not to you.” I got the job.
I strong believe that you must be 100% sure that you deserves the payment that you are asking for. If you have the minimal dude about if really you must to receive that money, is almost sure that you be comfortable with a less increase that your initial expectation.
You must to be 100% sure that you are the best “product” for your boss/ your company
My experience is that employers are getting to this attribute pretty quickly during the interviewing process. In one instance, I had to go through all three steps in the exchange of a few emails, as the Director needed to provide a salary range to the board, as this was for a new position. Sweating a bit, I gave a slightly-higher-than-typical range, to see if they were bluffing about the board approval. They weren’t, and I’m in my fourth and final round of interviews. I go by the theory that you can’t get what you don’t ask for (assuming you’ve already determined what your skills are worth). Also, cover the low end of the range by asking about other forms of comp (stocks, ed. reimbursement, etc.)
Philippe you raise an interesting point and I suspect it is an issue of perspective and also demand and supply. I would suggest that if you are advertising a job opportunity, it is not unreasonable to expect that a price is included. As the market shifts we are seeing it revert back to a candidates market – as such the power rests with the candidate. In such a market if the ‘buyer’ wants to attract the top people they have to play by the ‘sellers’ rules. Today’s sellers don’t necessarily want to waste time with job opportunities that are not in their desired price range.
Certainly, and this is why a recruitment agency has also a role to play.
My experience is that the recruitment agency and the candidates make sure in the first step that the enterprise and the candidates range of salaries are compatible.
Then the salary point is only discussed at the end of the process when both parties have decided to work together. It is then only a matter of adjustment
The approach I have always taken in the last 15 years in answer to the question “What is your current salary?” or “What is you expected renumeration for this position?” is simple…
I turn the table around on them and say openly “I am sure that salary will not be an issue assuming that we are in agreement that the position is of interest to me and that I am of interest to the company for that position” It disarms the loaded question. Whenever I have said this the interviewer has agreed and moved on to other questions/topics.
I gives you more time to “Sell yourself”.
This excercise and the points made here are more art than science. I think the key to this or any other negotiation is being able to get a “read” from the party you are dealing with. Some answers and “evasions” will be just fine while others will not suffice and clearly create distance between you and your prospect and vice versa. Frankly, in the digital age, I have seen many online corporate applications that explicitly demand previous and current salary ranges or they won’t let you progress through the application. Clearly there is little or no choice. However, due to the abundance of salary information for many industries readily accessible online these days, it is very adequate to base a strong, data supported range on the table when dealing with a recruiter or hiring manager. A range is simply that, there is no law or etiquette that says you cannot adjust the range to fit your salary requirements within reasonable expecations as it relates to your experience. The bottom line is no one approach or answer is going to work consistently. Candidates these days should arm themselves with an array of reasonable and justified responses and anticipate many types of salary questions. Simply revealing what you earn is only one choice, not always the best choice. This is a buyers market, and a little research and prep is the best defense for a commodity, which both all levels of workers have become due to high unemployment.
I agree Steve
“What is your current salary?” or “What is you expected renumeration for this position?”
This is all part of the game so when salary comes into the picture it is best for you to make them give you an offer first.
Telling about your current salary in an interview will surely take you down. If the interviewer ask you if how much is your current salary, just simply answer, “Not bad, just enough for me” Cause telling about salary makes your interviewer disappointed.
On my own opinion, we don’t have to say our current salary because anything about money on an exclusive interview will surely disappoint your interviewer. And because you are telling the salary you will actually be rejected.
My experience is that the recruitment agency and the candidates make sure in the first step that the enterprise and the candidates range of salaries are compatible. Then the salary point is only discussed at the end of the process when both parties have decided to work together.
Mic @ miki@mail.com” rel=”nofollow”>http://bit.ly/creditcardpaymentsx
Are we overlooking the Recruiter’s Job description? Employers tell the recruiter they want to know each prospect’s salary expectations. When you thwart the recruiter she is likely to drop you from the list of candidates. None of this is a negotiation, it is only data gathering. That distinction is important.
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[...] 1. Why Not to Disclose your Current Salary at Interviews When looking for new employment, inevitably you will be asked by recruitment agencies and employers alike for your salary information. Don’t fall into the trap that many do – which is to tell all! A good negotiator understands that the moment you show your hand, your negotiation position dwindles. Now is the time to prepare for the inevitable salary negotiation questions to make sure that you don’t end up with a raw deal. To read more visit Why Not to Disclose your Current Salary at Interviews. [...]