Don’t employers usually check previous salary when they check references, though? I was under the impression that this was one of the “acceptable” questions to ask previous employers (ending salary). I’ve always assumed that my potential employer knew what I made at my last job, so inflating my salary requests would be shooting myself in the foot.
I’ve never had anyone ask me what someone’s salary was. If they asked, I’d laugh.
I’ve never had that experience. Seriously. I never answer that question. But I wouldn’t want to work with an employer (at the professional level, at least) who doesn’t understand that salary negotiation is standard practice, like wearing appropriate clothing to an interview. If I’m weeded out for not answering the question, that’s a save for me.
Ok, I’ll stop banging my drum now.
Interesting. I thought there were three questions they could ask:
[ol]
[li]Length of employment[/li][li]Ending Salary[/li][li]Would you hire again?[/li][/ol]
Huh…this is something to ponder.
Having been in both situations (looking for a job and being a manager needing to hire people)…
This could be a question in good faith but clumsily done. However, I have been guilty of using such measures out of desperation.
You see, when you are a hiring manager for a small company and/or a company that doesn’t pay all that well and you put out a job ad you will get tons of responses. 2 things can trip you up regarding salary:
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You bring someone in for an interview and they think they are applying for a position much better paying than it is*. This way I, as a hiring manager, can weed out people that think the position is more senior than it is. This is not necessarily hurting the job seeker but stopping us from wasting each others time.
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Because your company doesn’t pay that well, you cannot expect to get the best out there. Knowing what they expect means that you avoid the job seekers that know what they are worth but what your company will not allow you to pay.
From my point of view, I was authorised to pay at most $x. $x was already too low. I was not trying to get people for less than $x. However, I didn’t want to waste my time and the job seekers time going through all the interview process and hitting a brick wall during the offer. Gawd that was frustrating! This caused me to start doing stupid, clumsy things like asking minimum salary acceptable. However, if you had put $40,000 as min and I believed market wage was $50K and was authorised to pay $44K…I would offer you $44K. If you put down $50K, then I knew I couldn’t get you and so wouldn’t interview you.
I never did this written though. I would have called you and asked. This way you couldn’t weasel out by putting 'negotiable".
However, I am not normal and others probably do use that to try to get you cheap.
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One thing to note - The earlier the company fishes around for salary the less they will likely pay. Pre-interview phone calls fishing for salary or asking on forms is a huge red flag - this company doesn’t pay well so we need to know this info so as not to waste our time.
Good companies will not usually fish around for salary expectation because they KNOW they pay market rate or higher and so it is not an issue.
It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t interview at these fishing companies…but realize why they are doing this.
- An example that happened to me here was I went on an interview, it went well and received an offer. For $30,000. I was shocked and she then asked what I thought the position would pay. I brought out my data showing $90-$100K. She was shocked - even more shocked when I told her what I was currently making. If she would have had some idea of what I thought the position should pay then she would not of interviewed me or (less likely) realize that she was bat-shit crazy when she received info from all the others with exepctation well north of $30K. It is an extreme example dealing with someone totally disconnected from reality but it shows what can happen.
Sure they can ask. But most won’t give it to them, and because of this, most won’t ask. My employer, one of the largest in the country, would not even consider giving out a former employe’s salary information.
One other thing.
If you put, say, $40K as your lowest acceptable salary and then that is what they offer and you say you want $55K and they bring up your form saying $40K…that is easy to defeat. Just say you have other companies interested in you and that $55K seems to be the market rate for the position…and you feel that you are damned good at your job and that you should get at least market rate. 
Companies do not like to hire people that used to make more in the past. They tend to be a little bitter about this and will also demand more money or leave when the economy gets better.
This.
Don’t put negotiable. Do your research and put in a reasonable (but relatively low) number. However, don’t let them use this to bind you.
It seems the most efficient approach given your employer’s constraints would be to state up front, “This position pays $44k, non-negotiable. Is that acceptable to you?” That way your time and the applicant’s time is not wasted dancing around the “minimum salary requirement” question.
No.
Negotiable is a perfectly valid response. You are just being smart. It would not get you weeded out with me.
However, it will provoke a phone call.
I still think having the balls to put down a number that is well researched will do you good as well. However, there is nothing wrong with ‘negotiable’. If the company thinks there is then that is a sucky company and thank God they weeded you out.
This is what would happen during the initial phone call where the person had balls to stand up to me.
If it was obvious that the person would not flinch and mention salary first then I did do exactly what you have written above. Something like “I am authorised to offer at most $44K for this position. I am highly doubtful I can get the owner to offer more. Should we proceed with the interview process?”
Be aware though, I was in bad position. The MOST I could offer was underpaying. Hopefully most hiring managers were not/are not in that situation that I was in back then.
Now, thank heavens, the company work for believes in paying ABOVE market rate…and so I don’t have to bring up salary until the offer. If they reject my offer it is NOT because of salary Much, much better.
I, now, never to pre-interview phone calls, require forms to be filled out etc.
One of the pieces of advice that I’ve come across is to state a range (e.g. $50,000 to $60,000) - you can put what you really want and think is reasonable in the middle - thus you still have some protection if they’re weeding out everyone above 50k.
So, when you buy a car, if the salesman asks what the most is you will pay do you give him an honest answer, hoping to go lower? You’ve just set a minimum price. Assuming this is higher than he was willing to go, he might cut it below your max, making you feel good, while being a lot higher than he was willing to go.
Nick at Ask the Headhunter is dead set against giving this information. His suggested response is why a company wants to follow what another company says. Your salary should be based on your value to the new company. I think technically salary is considered proprietary (wouldn’t company A like to know what company B pays specifically) and so should not be disclosed. Certainly not without your permission.
How about a range, depending on experience and qualifications? That will keep away those wildly out of line, while giving some wiggle room.
This strategy might work a lot better when the unemployment rate hits 5%, or if you just finished walking on water in your interview. Not that walking isn’t an option, but why shoot yourself in the foot? Walking when they offer you a salary you said you would take is not going to make them want to call you back.
This. They asked you how much you would take. You said $X. They offered you $x and you said no. Unless there truly was something specific about the job that you can say you didn’t understand or was poorly explained, I can’t see how that is a reasonable position to take.
Think of buying a car:
You: I’ll give you $24k and not a penny more!
Salesman: Deal!
You: How about $23-five?
I own a small business in a specific niche. I’ve had people ask all sorts of stuff. Like “She sure is hot. Was her reason for leaving related to this?” :dubious:
I usually just confirm the length of employment and that’s that. In one particular instance, with a real psycho ex-employee and a potential employer I’m friends with, I was honest. “Don’t hire her. And you owe me dinner.”. I collected.
It is true if your skill set is a dime a dozen, or you know you don’t interview well, you are behind the 8-ball and in no position to try to increase their offer. In that case, the best answer to the “minimum salary required” question is, “What ever you are offering!”.