Salary History
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I saw an advertisement for a job I am interested in, and they asked for a salary history. I have never seen that before and am curious as to exactly what is wanted. My current salary? The salary over the last 20 years? Any help is appreciated. Tim
Sometimes, companies and recruiters use it to short circuit those beyond their salary band. I always thought it is a cruel way to start the process. I was talking to head-hunter once and he jumped into the question right away ME: Well, we have not even talked about the position and what I can offer HIM: I need to know how much you make now ME: I think the topic is about the new position HIM: I still want to know ME: I don't feel comfortable talking without knowing more about the current position HIM: Ok, give me a range ME: Ok that is simple between $1 and $100 Million HIM: can you be more specific ME: I make above what the junior egineer makes but below the VP. HIM: I think you are not interested. ME: How could I be interested if the only qualification needed is my salary history. HIM: Well, nice talking to you ME: Thank you for wasting my time. BTW can I charge you my hourly rate? HIM: OK, what is your hourly rate? ME: Give me your name and address and I will bill you. HIM: Hangs the phone. ME: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
/* I can C */ // or !C Yusuf
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very often the person doing the hiring is not the one interested in the salary history. but rather it's the HR folks who are usually the ones interested. giving salary history is not a requirement of doing a job and if you don't want to hire me because i don't provide salary history so you can try to get me "on the cheap" then i don't want to work for you.
Silence is the voice of complicity. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. -- monty python Might I suggest that the universe was always the size of the cosmos. It is just that at one point the cosmos was the size of a marble. -- Colin Angus Mackay
Although I agree HR probably will want this more I think it is still useful for the interviewer. I mean if I see a candidate who consistently got 5% or better annual raises to me that says that the company rewarded him/her for their work.
John
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Sometimes, companies and recruiters use it to short circuit those beyond their salary band. I always thought it is a cruel way to start the process. I was talking to head-hunter once and he jumped into the question right away ME: Well, we have not even talked about the position and what I can offer HIM: I need to know how much you make now ME: I think the topic is about the new position HIM: I still want to know ME: I don't feel comfortable talking without knowing more about the current position HIM: Ok, give me a range ME: Ok that is simple between $1 and $100 Million HIM: can you be more specific ME: I make above what the junior egineer makes but below the VP. HIM: I think you are not interested. ME: How could I be interested if the only qualification needed is my salary history. HIM: Well, nice talking to you ME: Thank you for wasting my time. BTW can I charge you my hourly rate? HIM: OK, what is your hourly rate? ME: Give me your name and address and I will bill you. HIM: Hangs the phone. ME: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
/* I can C */ // or !C Yusuf
If I was interviewing you, I would have ended the conversation long before that...
John
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If I was interviewing you, I would have ended the conversation long before that...
John
John M. Drescher wrote:
If I was interviewing you, I would have ended the conversation long before that...
I know... after a minute or so talking to him, I figured I am not interested in this guys job offer, so I decided to take it to the lighter side of the discussion. ;)
/* I can C */ // or !C Yusuf
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Sometimes, companies and recruiters use it to short circuit those beyond their salary band. I always thought it is a cruel way to start the process. I was talking to head-hunter once and he jumped into the question right away ME: Well, we have not even talked about the position and what I can offer HIM: I need to know how much you make now ME: I think the topic is about the new position HIM: I still want to know ME: I don't feel comfortable talking without knowing more about the current position HIM: Ok, give me a range ME: Ok that is simple between $1 and $100 Million HIM: can you be more specific ME: I make above what the junior egineer makes but below the VP. HIM: I think you are not interested. ME: How could I be interested if the only qualification needed is my salary history. HIM: Well, nice talking to you ME: Thank you for wasting my time. BTW can I charge you my hourly rate? HIM: OK, what is your hourly rate? ME: Give me your name and address and I will bill you. HIM: Hangs the phone. ME: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
/* I can C */ // or !C Yusuf
The recruiter wanted to know your rate so he could figure his margin, if you ate into his margin he was not going to tell you about the job because he was going to dump you anyway.
MrPlankton
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I saw an advertisement for a job I am interested in, and they asked for a salary history. I have never seen that before and am curious as to exactly what is wanted. My current salary? The salary over the last 20 years? Any help is appreciated. Tim
It's a negotiating tactic, whether for fulltime or contract work, designed to answer a couple questions. One is whether or not your salary falls into their range. If historically you've made 80k, and they are offering up to 70k, they likely won't consider you even further. Second, is whether you have a history of being "worth" your salary requirements. It's hard to justify asking for 120k if historically you've never made above 70k. Any company is going to try and get you for the least amount possible, and protect themselves from hiring someone for way more than they are worth, and that's usually done by offering just above what you've been making historically. The best advice I can give is to get to the heart of what they want to know, and always work in ranges, never exact amounts. A good technique is to talk about "total compensation" or the "complete package", which shifts the conversation away from particulars of salary and considers the larger picture of salary, bonus, options, vacation, etc.
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The recruiter wanted to know your rate so he could figure his margin, if you ate into his margin he was not going to tell you about the job because he was going to dump you anyway.
MrPlankton
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Although I agree HR probably will want this more I think it is still useful for the interviewer. I mean if I see a candidate who consistently got 5% or better annual raises to me that says that the company rewarded him/her for their work.
John
John M. Drescher wrote:
consistently got 5% or better annual raises
I've never worked anywhere longer then 2.5 yrs, and I'm not atypical! Just struck me as a humourous thought for a basis of appraisals. Besides which annual raises are tied to the company's financial situation, the market and the given ability to hardball far more so then the annual appraisal.
I'm largely language agnostic
After a while they all bug me :doh:
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John M. Drescher wrote:
consistently got 5% or better annual raises
I've never worked anywhere longer then 2.5 yrs, and I'm not atypical! Just struck me as a humourous thought for a basis of appraisals. Besides which annual raises are tied to the company's financial situation, the market and the given ability to hardball far more so then the annual appraisal.
I'm largely language agnostic
After a while they all bug me :doh:
I think I oversimplified my reasoning a bit, but any information provided would be used to try to weed out differences between two cantidates that on the surface look very close. Also I would take this salary history as more important than references that only say good things about the candidate in question.
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I saw an advertisement for a job I am interested in, and they asked for a salary history. I have never seen that before and am curious as to exactly what is wanted. My current salary? The salary over the last 20 years? Any help is appreciated. Tim
The Salary History question is so they can try and not give you a sizable raise as well as weed out potential candidates. Normally I am not interested in such companies as it means they have HR that is a nightmare, however, the following answer always works, "My previous salaries are confidential, however, I am looking for a total compensation package of X";
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Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest Hemingway -
Double the amount of salaries you have had before sending them :d
Giorgi Dalakishvili #region signature my articles #endregion
Giorgi Dalakishvili wrote:
Double the amount of salaries you have had before sending them
although this sounds like a good idea, and a bit fun, if you don't want the job you can do this.... the problem is you can actually outprice yourself from the job you are looking at.... They might have offered you 25 or 50% more, but 100% might be pushing it. I would say only do this if you are absolutely certain you made below average income, then go for it. But if doubling it takes it above what was reasonable, they may look at the application and say, "look at that money, he would never work at a 20% pay cut." when in reality it would have been a significant raise. I have no qualms about stretching the income numbers per se, though here lying on an application in any way shape or form is grounds for firing. I even listed a $125 speeding ticket in oklahoma when I was going to school there. It was above the $100 mark and thus had to be listed. Hey, I was at least thorough. :)
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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I saw an advertisement for a job I am interested in, and they asked for a salary history. I have never seen that before and am curious as to exactly what is wanted. My current salary? The salary over the last 20 years? Any help is appreciated. Tim
Tim Carmichael wrote:
I have never seen that before and am curious as to exactly what is wanted. My current salary? The salary over the last 20 years? Any help is appreciated.
See here.
"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." - Ellen Goodman
"To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne
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John M. Drescher wrote:
consistently got 5% or better annual raises
I've never worked anywhere longer then 2.5 yrs, and I'm not atypical! Just struck me as a humourous thought for a basis of appraisals. Besides which annual raises are tied to the company's financial situation, the market and the given ability to hardball far more so then the annual appraisal.
I'm largely language agnostic
After a while they all bug me :doh:
MidwestLimey wrote:
I've never worked anywhere longer then 2.5 yrs
ouch... that would be a big strike here.... not that we expect people to stay forever, but 2.5 years longest means we are training you to benefit someone else never us. that's not a great incentive to any employer.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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MidwestLimey wrote:
I've never worked anywhere longer then 2.5 yrs
ouch... that would be a big strike here.... not that we expect people to stay forever, but 2.5 years longest means we are training you to benefit someone else never us. that's not a great incentive to any employer.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
That is one thing I would at least question in the first interview from seeing that on a salary history.
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I think I oversimplified my reasoning a bit, but any information provided would be used to try to weed out differences between two cantidates that on the surface look very close. Also I would take this salary history as more important than references that only say good things about the candidate in question.
True, references are bloody useless.
I'm largely language agnostic
After a while they all bug me :doh:
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MidwestLimey wrote:
I've never worked anywhere longer then 2.5 yrs
ouch... that would be a big strike here.... not that we expect people to stay forever, but 2.5 years longest means we are training you to benefit someone else never us. that's not a great incentive to any employer.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
First job out of uni sucked, so I left after 18 months. Second job imploded in the bust after 2 yrs - probably still be there otherwise. 3rd job was fun for 2.5 yrs, but when presented with a 25% pay inrease, well what can you say :) Then contracting. Now here for over a year, total of >10 yrs. I'd say I'm fairly typical. I'll also add to that, that the only way I've found to keep salary parity with the market is to leave. A sad indictment to be sure, but that's been my experience.
I'm largely language agnostic
After a while they all bug me :doh:
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That is one thing I would at least question in the first interview from seeing that on a salary history.
John M. Drescher wrote:
That is one thing I would at least question in the first interview from seeing that on a salary history.
actually, in his message below, he is right, that is fairly common in the first 10 years, sometimes. I am one of the rare ones... a whole slew of jobs putting myself through school any way I could.... and then two jobs, though given contracting status, that second job has had multiple employers for the same desk. :-D
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Go figure. My rule of thumb has being any upfront salary question are not worth of pursing.. :^) If the discussion comes up after a lengthly interview, I am open to talk on ball-park range, which is very wide.
/* I can C */ // or !C Yusuf
Yusuf wrote:
I am open to talk on ball-park range, which is very wide.
Me too, I can easily be bribed with PTO and flexible working arrangments. Plus a short commute or just that 'cool' feeling when you walk into their building can be a great selling point.
I'm largely language agnostic
After a while they all bug me :doh:
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John M. Drescher wrote:
That is one thing I would at least question in the first interview from seeing that on a salary history.
actually, in his message below, he is right, that is fairly common in the first 10 years, sometimes. I am one of the rare ones... a whole slew of jobs putting myself through school any way I could.... and then two jobs, though given contracting status, that second job has had multiple employers for the same desk. :-D
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
I have had two employers since I graduated in 1996. One was a small job at the university the other is my current job so I guess I am more rare. I know this (a long with my salary history) influences my position on this as an interviewer. As for his reply. I would have accepted a reply like that and it would have totally cleared up any the issue I had with that.
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Although I agree HR probably will want this more I think it is still useful for the interviewer. I mean if I see a candidate who consistently got 5% or better annual raises to me that says that the company rewarded him/her for their work.
John
But how would you check it anyway? Also, you don't know which raises were performance based, and which were inflation based.