One company I worked for did have this as a rule. I won’t say it was never broken (it was), but it meant the hiring manager really had to fight for the candidate. And unless there was a good story and the manager really wanted the person, it was easier to pick the second favorite candidate.
Even without a rule somebody asking for a 20% increase raises an eyebrow. Which means you need a story like one of the reason s I’m looking is because I’ve taken on all these extra duties without any extra compensation. Somebody asking for a huge salary increase without an explanation why they deserve it comes across as lacking in judgement.
This entire post lays out the most important points in negotiating a salary. You definitely want them to decide they want you before salary becomes a factor in their decision.
I think one reason for the policy is that it’s a check on the new employer’s perception of value. That is, say they are willing to pay someone $75k/yr for a certain job, and then they find out that a company down the street is paying $50k/yr for similarly qualified people in that same job. The company can use a “don’t pay x% more than previous employer” rule to re-adjust what may be an out-of-market payscale for that position.
Same thing as if you generally paid $10 per cumquat at your local supermarket and found out that another place sold them for $7 each–you’d probably adjust your feelings about how much you are willing to pay for a cumquat.
The simplest way to negotiate salary is to get two or more competing job offers and allow all parties to be played off against each other. That way, you can just be the middleman, relaying information and never take an active part in the negotiation.
Man would THAT be an ego boost. 
It means that the information is classed as confidential by your contract. Because it is useful to a competitor. While you are still employed, you are bound by your contract. In the salary negotiation game this shows that you are a trustworthy person and puts the ball back in their court.
What contract? I’ve never had an employment contract. Very few people do in the US at least. I’ve searched our employee handbook and there is nothing in there either. Is this contract implied somehow?
I have very recent experience negotiating my salary. When talking to a potential new employer, I told them my current salary is $x and I’d like to be at $x+15%. They initially offered x+7%, I declined. They came back with $x+12% plus a decent sign-on bonus, I said I’ll think about it. I decided I’d accept that if my current employer wouldn’t match or at least come close. They did, so I declined the other offer.
So, if you feel you’re underpaid and have no opportunity for career growth, just say so in your interview. If you’d like 25% more but you’ll take 15% more, just tell them you’d like 25% more and see where it goes from there.
The other option that may work in your favor is to tell them your whole compensation package value, including benefits, and negotiate from there.
That’s never worked for me:
Prospective Employer: Approximately what salary are you looking for?
Me: A market based salary in line with my education and experience.
Prospective Employer: That changes all of the time, what is the current market salary for this position?
Me: It depends on the entire compensation package.
Prospective Employer: We offer X weeks of vacation, X days of sick pay, Health Insurance at $X per month, $Y for a family, 401(k) with a 5% match. With those benefits in mind, what type of salary are you looking for?
I can never win the salary dance. Unless you are willing to walk unless they talk first, you will lose.
Prospective Employer: Approximately what salary are you looking for?
Me: I’m not comfortable discussing salary this early in the interview process, but I’m sure that if we’re a good fit for each other we’ll be able to put together a compensation package that will be acceptable to both of us.
Absolutely correct.
At an earlier point in my career I was looking for advancement (in terms of salary, position, etc). I interviewed with a couple other companies, telling them I was happy with my current job except for the compensation. One of them offered me a similar position with about 25% pay raise.
I took that offer to my then-current supervisor and told them the I was happy with my current job except for the compensation and I have this offer from another company. The company’s “official policy” was no counteroffers. Period.
Guess what, they caved and gave me a matching counteroffer. (By the way, don’t try this unless you really are willing to walk.)
Rules like these are a starting point for negotiation. The ending point may be different.
As an employer who has worked for large companies in my industry, I would say there is no right or wrong answer. Every interviewer has their own approach and sensibilities.
For example, Bob Ducca’s answer would seriously irritate me. A lot.
I like jtgain’s initial answer a lot. But if the interviewer counters with the benefit package, then be prepared to make your case.
Be prepared. Know the going wage for that job. Be prepared to make the macro market based answer, and seamlessly the micro answer as to why ***you ***warrant the salary you’re commanding.
Be prepared to sell yourself with succinct verbal bullet points.
jtgain deferred his/her answer (and that’s good; salary negotiations are best at the end for the interviewee, while salary negotiations early in the interview benefit the interviewer) and I might be inclined to defer it one more time at the risk of taxing the patience of the interviewer with something like, “I’m really interested and the benefits sound good; I’d like to learn a little more about the job responsibilities so I can better formulate my answer.”
But if the interviewer is hell bent on discussing the salary, not answering, or hedging works to your disadvantage. If you can, defer the compensation conversation until they’ve fallen in love with you.
But you are not the one in control here. You can influence the tenor and pace, but in the end, you’re singing from their hymnal. Be prepared to speak confidently, calmly, and knowledgeably at any point in the interview about salary.
Everybody goes into interviews thinking that the first person putting a number on the table loses. That’s not true. Know the number. Know the market. Be prepared to lead, not follow, and hope that that discussion happens as late as possible.
And, if possible, use comments like jtgain’s to defer that discussion till you’re as strong as you need to be.
That’s not necessarily true for all companies. You have a lot more leverage if you are the star candiate at a desperately understaffed small company that’s been trying to fill a position for 6 months than you do at, say, Accenture culling through this year’s class of campus hires.
I don’t think that discussing salary at the start of the process is necessarily a bad thing. It’s nice to know if you are in the same ballpark before you spend hours going through their recruiting process.
You’re right.
I don’t think anything is universally true. And there’s bound to be circumstances/ variables that dictate different strategies for both the interviewer and interviewee.
As a general rule-----and this is my personal anecdotal experience-----an interviewee is at their strongest when they’re no longer another applicant.
“My current company considers salaries to be proprietary information. I’ll consider any fair offer. What is the range you are looking to hire in?”