Prospective employer asking your current salary

I would appreciate anyone’s opinion on this common problem.

I’m employed but in the market for a new job. It’s white-collar and there is a lot of variation in salary for this type of position. I’ve found that a large percentage of employers and recruiters insist on me telling them my current salary. I’ve been able to stall them so far, but they all say they will “need to know” that information before an offer is made.

I know that the standard answer to this is that it’s none of their business and you should deflect the question by telling them what you’re asking for rather than what you’re making. This tactic has never worked for me. They still demand to know my current salary.

So far no one has given a reasonable explanation as to why they need to know this. Unfortunately, I’m working a lot with recruiters, and the recruiter’s excuse is always that the employer “needs” to know, and the reasons why are not the recruiter’s problem.

I have nothing to hide about my current salary, I just object in principle, and I don’t want to worsen my negotiating position.

I know that in principle they shouldn’t ask and I shouldn’t answer, but does anyone out there have real-world experience with this dilemma? Has anyone either successfully avoided giving out this information, or lost out on a job opportunity because you stuck to your guns?

I can see your problem but I have never come across the problem in recruiting, I never ask that.

My immediate inclination would be to make it their problem, “What, you don’t think you can afford me? What salary did you have in mind?”

But as I say, I have no idea, that is just how I would respond.

Because I don’t give a shit. There are lots of jobs out there.

Really? I’m moving to Australia. There sure as hell aren’t “lots of jobs” here in the American Southwest.

“Currently, I make [truthful] but I’ve had offers from [your competitors] for [what I’m asking].”

Just lie and tell them its just below what you’re asking. How would they ever know the difference. Do you also have to provide a paystub?

I lie. Typically i’ll give them a number that is a range where a 10% would put me in the salery i want from my new job.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me what people doing similar work earn at your company.”

Interesting tactic…it solves the problem of not hurting your negotiating position, but it doesn’t solve the privacy issue. Plus you have to be able to convincingly lie about the other offers.

I’ve had at least one recruiter say they wanted to see a W-2. I’m not working with that recruiter anymore, but it’s early in the process and I imagine others will make the same demand.

Because when they do the pre-employment background check, this information is often part of it (no, I don’t know how they get it, but on mine, it was accurate to the dollar). And many HR departments won’t give a salary for an ex-employee, but they will confirm or deny one.

Lying to a potential employer is a really bad idea in the long run; in virtually every company, it’s grounds for termination if discovered later.

Just call their bluff and tell them you don’t feel comfortable sharing, but realize you may not get an offer. Or tell them the truth, and have reasons for negotiating up if the offer’s too low (they want it because they’re going to offer you your existing salary + x%, of course, but that’s just a first offer).

Salary is difficult for people to deal with. Recruiters and hiring companies are often looking for a way out of evaluating a candidate’s skills and abilities and just want to work incrementally off your current salary. This becomes a problem if you are making less than you think you should be and don’t want a lowball offer, or you’re making too much and don’t want to be rejected as too expensive.

So do your homework, find out what you should be making for your job in your location. Look at the middle of the range if you find some statistics. Everybody thinks they belong at the top end, but this wouldn’t be an issue if you were demonstrably the best at what you do. Take the information you have and tell those guys what salary you are looking for. They really are looking primarily for a number.

There are hirers who work on the philosophy that any new employee should start at a small increment over what they were making before. Don’t fall for this. State your number, and the reasons why, and stick to it.

It is incredibly important to set your salary as high as possible when you start a new job. Most increases are based on a percentage of your salary, so you want the base to be as much as you can get. It will likely determine the rest of your salary history at that job.

The “Ask the Headhunter” site has discussed this problem a lot. Nick, the guy who runs it, and who is a headhunter, is dead set against revealing this information. A couple of ideas from them:

  1. Ask why they would think another company is more competent than they are at assessing your worth to them? (Put in nicer terms, of course.)

  2. Salary information is confidential. You need to share it with the government, and with financial institutions covered by privacy laws, but not with direct competitors.

  3. Say you will share it, but only when you have a firm job offer.

Definitely don’t lie. Very bad move, since if they find out the truth they have reason to fire you or at least never trust you again.

I hope no HR department will give out salary information or even confirm or deny a given salary. The policy I’m aware of involves confirming employment, that’s it. HR revealing anything would be a serious breach of confidentiality.

“I’m sorry but that is commercially confidential information and I am contractually bound to not reveal it.” Feel free to add, “I am looking for a package in the region of X.”

This immediately marks you as someone who is discreet and honourable, abiding by their contract.

They want the information so they can lowball you. That’s why they won’t tell you why they want it. Either tell them it’s confidential (because it is - there are a lot of companies who will fire you for discussing your salary with co-workers), or lie to them and exaggerate it. They’re playing an asshole game; play back or refuse to play at all - your choice.

A company that demands to know your current salary is tipping you off to what they’ll be like to work for; they’ll expect all the power, and expect you to submit meekly. If you need the job badly enough, you can just play ball with them, but know going in what kind of company you’ll be working for.

I guess I’m an oddity then, because I have always told them what my current salary is and what I want, which has generally been 10-15% more. I don’t see a problem with this. If I’m asking too much then so be it. I’d rather kill the deal before it starts then have me waste time with interviews, taking time off work, and then have them offer me $10,000 less than what I make now at the end because everyone was being so coy about salary at the start. What’s worse is that the recruiter will probably try to figure out what you are getting paid anyway and make a guess. Or worse, they will ask around with others in the industry and might drop your name, letting everyone you know (including your boss) that you are looking. This has happened to other people I know when very green recruiters were involved.

I’m happy to negotiate salary, but I have no problem laying out my cards on the table and being upfront to cut through all the BS. Frankly, I’ve felt employers ad recruiters appreciate this and if we are negotiating anything regarding salary, then in generally takes the form of, “well, we can’t pay you that much, but how about X in exchange” where X = extra vacation, options, or something else of value. If I’m asking 15% more and they want to negotiate me to 10% with some other perk of real value then that’s been reasonable for me. What has never flown with me (and why this trick often comes up is a complete mystery to me) is the scam where they say, “How about we pay you the same base salary with an (impossible to achieve) bonus plan that will get you up to the salary you want?”. I’ve been seeing that a lot in the defense industry lately and I can’t figure out who falls for this scam. I’ve told recruiters as much, especially since companies have a bad habit of magically changing their bonus plans and benefits on a regular basis, always to the detriment of their employees.

Of course, I’m fairly secure in my job at the moment, so while I will always listen to recruiters interested in talking to me, I don’t let them jerk me around. Perhaps if I was unemployed, I’d change my tune.

Well, speaking personally, I’m fairly sure I’m not getting paid as much as I could be for someone in my position and experience. If I were to look for another job, I’d be looking for a new salary 25-50% over what I’m making now. I see no reason a new company should feel justified in shorting me just because I’ve been shorted at the last job, especially when they would be comfortable paying more.

Interesting tactic. However … what the hell is a nicer way to say that?

(Start with leaving out “the hell,” I suppose.)

This is what I’d recommend. To continue pushing or prying makes them sound like jerks.

Fair enough. Perhaps you’re at the mid-range in your career where large jumps are possible. I’m a bit more senior, and in my line of work, I’m quickly topping out at the max salary less cost of living increases and bonuses, and to make a jump any higher, it would be to next job category that would be a Vice President type role. I’ve seen what’s involved with that and the sacrifice it means to family, friends, and quality of life along the way. No thanks. I want the Director level job and that’s where I’ll stay. Ergo the small jumps for me here on out.

I give a range about the money I make. For example, I’ll say I make between 55k to 60k a year.