Hey guys, so I’ve written before for advice regarding this job I’ve applied for. In short, I’ve been in contact with this company for about two months now, and I have it on good authority I’m the only person they’ve brought in for an interview (about three weeks ago). Anyway, they finally got back to me today and said they’re “almost done” and just need me to fill out a job application. Now, I have a few questions on how I should answer these questions.
Alright, so I never graduated high school. I “dropped out” after two years because I was bored, but I did get my GED> Unfortunately, while they do ask if I graduated, they don’t ask if I obtained a GED or, equivalent. Is there any way to squeeze that in, or do I just check “no” for graduated?
They ask for my current salary. Is it okay to leave this blank? (others suggested I do so in another thread, but I want to double check). I’m hoping to make a lot more money at this company, and I don’t want to cripple that chance by listing my current figure. If so, should I put anything there instead?
Is there enough space to check off NO for graduated, but then squeeze in “GED in 2005”?
I have always put my correct current salary on job applications which ask for that information. I don’t want to omit it, because then it seems incomplete, and I don’t want to lie, because most job applications require your signature, with some sort of statement beside it saying that by signing you are promising that the information you’ve provided is correct.
I would check “no” and write “GED, [year]” like Stainz said. I would leave the salary information blank. Realize that’s a gamble, though; I don’t know how badly you want/need the job. But as you probably know, the one thing you shouldn’t do is lie about it.
I definitely don’t need the position; I’m totally secure where I am. But would not listing the slary be potentially beneficial for my future salary at this company?
No. If you left it blank they’d ask you at the interview, and if you lie of course they can fire you, and that is a question they can ask your current employer.
I don’t think it generally matters- they’re probably going to pay you based on their scale and your experience. Back in the day I left a job making just north of minimum for one paying a good $9K or so more (the difference in about $11K and $20K back when those were a bit higher than they are now). They understood that better pay was a major reason I was applying.
Only thing is, I wouldn’t lie, but I’d avoid the question if asked (also, I’ve already gone through the interview, so this whole process is a bit backwards – in short, I think I’m pretty much a lock for the position). Also, I told them on the sheet not to contact my current employer (which they had better heed), as I would undoubtably be fired on the spot were they to find out.
Sure, they can ask you at the interview, but that doesn’t mean you have to tell them then, either. IMO, the response to “what is your current salary” asked in person is “why do you ask?” If there’s a legitimate reason, you can disclose, but IMO you are right to be concerned that they will use your current salary information to peg your salary with them. Even if they have a range for starting salary, if they know you now earn, say, $ 20,000 less, they are going to offer you the bottom of the range knowing you’ll probably be happy with that. If they don’t know that information, then maybe the up the offer to the mid or top of the range to make sure the offer is attractive.
If I feel pressed to answer the salary question and I feel like I can’t continue to refuse to answer without it being held against me in a big way, then I give them a range. “My current salary is in the range of $50,000” or “I currently earn in the mid-50s” or whatever. This also has the benefit of being less specific: You can say you earn in the range of $50,000 if in fact you earn $46,000, because you haven’t specified how big the range is.
If this is the case, and if this job is similar to ones I’ve both applied for and hired for, the application part is just a formality. If you’ve already interviewed and this is the last step, it may be that they just want an official application on file from you. If that’s the case, you could write “I was paid in beads and trinkets” for salary, and it’s likely no one would ever see the thing ever again.
Of course, that may not be the case here, so my suggestion is to just put down your current salary. If you’ve made it this far through the process and this is just a formality step, they’ve likely already decided how much they’re going to offer you, and what you write on that line won’t have much influence.
Heh. Had I interviewed you and had that exchange take place, my response would be “because we’d like to use that as a starting point to determine how much we will offer you.”
It sounds good in theory, and no offense to you, but the first “why do you ask?” would probably be held against you more than you think. Hiring managers like to hear good, concise, straightforward answers. Beating around the bush on something trivial like your salary, while intentional, could leave a very bad taste in your prospective employer’s mouth. Take that as you will.
And my response would have be, “That’s my concern. I was significantly underpaid in my last position, and I think it would be fairer, and more appropriate, to consider the value I will bring to your organization when deciding what I’m worth.”
No offense taken. The point is that past salary is not necessarily trivial to your applicant, even if it is to you. I know it’s a gamble, and I already said that. But when I moved back to the private sector from government work I had just this sort of exchange for just this very reason. I ended up giving them a range (of which my then-salary was at the low end) and they made me an offer slightly above the high end. That pencilled out to be a major raise for me, and I doubt I would have recieved as attractive an offer if I had frankly owned up to my old salary. But is it risky? Yes.
Surely your present salary is company-confidential? You’re not allowed to discuss it with your colleagues, are you? And a competitor knowing what your current company pays for a person of your ability can be quite an advantage.
So, expanding on Jodi’s line, you might say something like, “My contract with X includes an agreement to not reveal my salary. However, I believe I am significantly underpaid in my current position, and I think it would be fairer, and more appropriate, to consider the value I will bring to your organization when deciding what I’m worth.”
Unfortunately, applying for a job is an exercise in submissive behavior. They hold all the aces and you don’t. As far as being truthful about the information you reveal about yourself, be only as truthful as necessary. Your future employer is lying through his teeth about himself also. This should also give you some insight into how obligated they will feel towards you as a revenue generating employee. Think about it. They want your loyalty and your labor and then, and only then, will you get paid. Who the hell owes whom here? On the other hand, if you are so glib as to convince a capitalist running dog to pay you in advance, yes, you do bear an obligation of work related time to this blood sucking enterprise. But guess what? It rarely works like this. In conclusion, lie through your teeth and make them work for their money!
In my experience, the application is more of a formality and a reference point for HR’s background check than anything else. The actual decision is made during the interview.
That said, you still want to be honest on the application form as it is what HR will use to perform their background check, regardless of what you said in the interview.
Look, no one but the most pedantic douchebag who you wouldn’t want to work for anyway is going to nitpick every little detail on your application form and then not hire you. If you have a GED just check “Yes” and write “GED” next to the box.
My current job, I had an entire company they couldn’t find any record of. It had been acquired, delisted from the NYSE, aquired by some foreign conglomerate and then went out of business. I just sent them a copy of an old W-2.
Um…my salary isn’t trivial to me. It’s a critical point in the negotiation process.
I always leave the salary information blank, unless pressed. The only thing people will use it for is to benchmark your salary or to get salary information about other companies.
Thanks for all the advice. I went ahead and submitted it without the salary information. I liked the line somebody above suggested that my company doesn’t allow me to disclose how much I make.
As for the schooling, I marked “graduated” as “no,” though I wonder if I should have put “yes.” Either way, I did write “GED” next to it.