# Why does every employer need to know my current salary? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091 "2014-01-07T01:33:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/21 "2014-01-07T17:33:30Z")
I’ve always just lied and said a number I would be willing to work for. I’ve even lied under when jobs were tight and I knew my actual last salary would get me the “Ohh, he’ll just leave as soon as he can” trash-canning. Most likely they can’t check, and if they actually have access to the number, and still ask me what I make as some sort of honesty test, why the hell would I want to work for paranoid dipshits anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/22 "2014-01-07T18:42:24Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Except for the fact that this is bullshit. I’ve seen many people kick ass at thier job after taking on new responsibilities, but get marginal pay raises for whatever bullshit reason the company chooses to provide. Yes, you have to change jobs to get major pay raises, and it’s not easy. How that makes my point bullshit, I don’t see. > [@](#): > > The fact that they make peanuts is no indication of their ability at their job. First of all, the fact that you can do the job you’re currently doing is fine, but does not necessarily mean you can do the job Company ABC is offering. If you’re making peanuts, it suggests - does not prove, but is an indicator - that the job you’re doing is not actually equivalent to the job being offered. Someone could be the best $17/hour inside salesperson in the world. That does not make them qualified to be a major sales executive for corporate credit card accounts. Maybe they COULD handle a job of greater responsibility if there’s a place for a newbie, but if that’s not what I’m looking for then it’s something I need to know. It’s not the end all and be all; sometimes a person could come in and just blow you away and you’re like “we need to hire this woman right now” but I’d like to at least know what the hell she did at her last job, and salary is one very strong indication of it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/23 "2014-01-07T19:01:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > First of all, the fact that you can do the job you’re currently doing is fine, but does not necessarily mean you can do the job Company ABC is offering. If you’re making peanuts, it suggests - does not prove, but is an indicator - that the job you’re doing is not actually equivalent to the job being offered. > > Someone could be the best $17/hour inside salesperson in the world. That does not make them qualified to be a major sales executive for corporate credit card accounts. Maybe they COULD handle a job of greater responsibility if there’s a place for a newbie, but if that’s not what I’m looking for then it’s something I need to know. It’s not the end all and be all; sometimes a person could come in and just blow you away and you’re like “we need to hire this woman right now” but I’d like to at least know what the hell she did at her last job, and salary is one very strong indication of it. As I said, I’ve done salary administration, and the ordering of salaries after we got done did not match anyone’s rank ordering of skills or ability or job effectiveness. In my field anyway there is demand for new hires, so they come in high. Would you want someone a year out of school over someone with five years experience. Effective job hoppers may get more money, but do you want this person to hop from your job? Not to mention the billion other factors that are involved in setting salary. We tried to move money so that the salaries matched talent, but with a small pool it can be impossible. Plus, a manager who uses salary as a big factor in deciding whether to hire is saying that he respects the other manager’s judgement more than his own. If a manager can’t make good hiring decisions based on a resume and good interview questions, he or she should hand off the job to someone who can. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/24 "2014-01-07T20:14:26Z")
I’ve always worked for non-profits so I’ve seen the question as them making sure they can afford you before interviewing you. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/25 "2014-01-07T23:57:37Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > That’s reassuring, **Carol the Impaler**. > > But sure, don’t answer that question, be pushy about getting an interview, and have something ready if they call you on it. If the interview goes along the lines of, “How do I know your company is worth working for?”, you might come across as the assertive type. Then you leverage that impression into them choosing you over those other duds- _if_ you think you’re getting a good deal. This is sarcasm, yes? I know my worth, I am pleasant, polite, professional, and prepared when I interview. My salary history is an important bit of info. And if a company is trying to get me to commit to a figure before we’ve even decided whether we’re right for each other and being _dicks_ about it, then I’m not going to go work for them. It’s perfectly ok for them to ask for my salary history or what I’m looking for before a job offer is on the table, and it’s perfectly ok for me to _not_ be the one who gives a figure first. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/26 "2014-01-08T06:02:35Z")
A misfired joke. Interviewers _always_ prefer impalers take a light touch. Ha ha. But then I’m with ya. A job interview is a negotiation- sometimes it’s time to play hardball. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/27 "2014-01-08T07:27:25Z")
tl;dr There is a very good reason for knowing (real) salary, and a good HR will verify it along with employment. You compare what they say they did/are doing with what they were/are paid. If you are half as important as your resume claims, why are you not paid at that level? Also, if you are still with an employer, and are making more than they are looking to pay, it can save both some time. When I moved from IN to SF, the SF headhunters added 12% to my current salary - even with the massive cost of living difference, my current salary (government job) was below my skill level - had it been truthfully reported, I might not have gotten 5 interviews (and 4 offers - the loser was BofA, which I specifically stated I did NOT want to see.) I ended up doing contract work for BofA - it was as screwed as it was obnoxious. Actual quote “When you are the biggest bank in the world, you don’t need to innovate”. That interview was a trip. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/28 "2014-01-08T07:53:57Z")
> [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](#): > > This is sarcasm, yes? I know my worth, I am pleasant, polite, professional, and prepared when I interview. My salary history is an important bit of info. And if a company is trying to get me to commit to a figure before we’ve even decided whether we’re right for each other and being _dicks_ about it, then I’m not going to go work for them. > > It’s perfectly ok for them to ask for my salary history or what I’m looking for before a job offer is on the table, and it’s perfectly ok for me to _not_ be the one who gives a figure first. I’ve seen some people say that they will tell the prospective employer that salary is proprietary information of the current employer, and can’t be shared without going through proper channels. Don’t know if this is correct, but it might throw them for a loop. I do know that we have forms to give salary to lenders, but not to competitors. Good employers know that interviews are two way streets. Going into an interview willing to be abused is not going to lead to a happy job. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/29 "2014-01-08T14:04:14Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > As I said, I’ve done salary administration, and the ordering of salaries after we got done did not match anyone’s rank ordering of skills or ability or job effectiveness. That makes perfect sense and has absolutely nothing to do with my point. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/30 "2014-01-08T19:28:33Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Yes, you have to change jobs to get major pay raises, and it’s not easy. How that makes my point bullshit, I don’t see. Well put on some glasses 🙂 You just acknowledged that changing jobs is necessary in getting an appropriate pay adjustment, but then say that when you try to change jobs, your low pay is an indicator that you can’t do the new job. > [@RickJay](#): > > First of all, the fact that you can do the job you’re currently doing is fine, but does not necessarily mean you can do the job Company ABC is offering. If you’re making peanuts, it suggests - does not prove, but is an indicator - that the job you’re doing is not actually equivalent to the job being offered. That’s why you interview people. If you can’t tell from the interview whether or not I can do the job, then you, as an interviewer, suck. > [@RickJay](#): > > Someone could be the best $17/hour inside salesperson in the world. That does not make them qualified to be a major sales executive for corporate credit card accounts. Maybe they COULD handle a job of greater responsibility if there’s a place for a newbie, but if that’s not what I’m looking for then it’s something I need to know. It’s not the end all and be all; sometimes a person could come in and just blow you away and you’re like “we need to hire this woman right now” but I’d like to at least know what the hell she did at her last job, and salary is one very strong indication of it. See, I think a better indicator of this is their resume and their performance during the interview. I see no reason an existing salary tells you anything about their ability to do their job, or what they did. It could speak volumes about how out of touch their prior employer was, though. ---
**Author:** ![jfreakofkorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jfreakofkorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfreakofkorn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/31 "2014-01-08T20:19:00Z")
i wouldnt tell them … its like giving them your FB account name and password … but than again, if you have to … tell them a higher wage than your making ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/32 "2014-01-08T21:52:56Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > A rather critical way of screening the overblown from the bona fide is what people make. If someone is passing themselves off as a super duper PM with experience handling big projects in a high demand industry and they make peanuts, they’re full of shit. If they make $115,000, well now, you’ve got yourself an ace candidate. This. The opposite holds true as well. If a company is only offering $115k and you are a VP looking to bring in $500 K, it signals that the position is probably too junior. Fact is, there is plenty of salary info in places like [Salary.com](http://Salary.com) and Glassdoor. So regardless of what they ask, people should have plenty of ammo to negotiate a fair value. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/33 "2014-01-08T22:12:40Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > A misfired joke. Interviewers _always_ prefer impalers take a light touch. Ha ha. > > But then I’m with ya. A job interview is a negotiation- sometimes it’s time to play hardball. :eek: Oh. (Embarrassed.) Eek!! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/34 "2014-01-08T22:22:02Z")
> [@jfreakofkorn](#): > > i wouldnt tell them … its like giving them your FB account name and password … > > but than again, if you have to … tell them a higher wage than your making If you decide later to give in and give them a pay stub, and they find you’ve lied, then you’re out on your ass. Much better to not tell them anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/35 "2014-01-08T22:29:24Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > That’s why you interview people. If you can’t tell from the interview whether or not I can do the job, then you, as an interviewer, suck. > > See, I think a better indicator of this is their resume and their performance during the interview. I see no reason an existing salary tells you anything about their ability to do their job, or what they did. It could speak volumes about how out of touch their prior employer was, though. Hell yes. They guy is leaving his old job. Is this for better opportunities, or because he scammed the old boss into giving him a job he couldn’t do. No way of telling without decent interviewing skills. If you are interviewing people for a job in an area you don’t know anything about, and don’t have the ability to see of a story is consistent, you can save everyone a lot of time and throw darts at a bunch of resumes and hire the one with the most holes. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/36 "2014-01-09T07:43:32Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > If you decide later to give in and give them a pay stub, and they find you’ve lied, then you’re out on your ass. Much better to not tell them anything at all. Is this another joke I’ve missed? Why on Earth would you show anyone a paystub? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/37 "2014-01-09T08:57:53Z")
> [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](#): > > Is this another joke I’ve missed? Why on Earth would you show anyone a paystub? After they have made and you accept an offer, based on a given salary, they might ask. Not before this, of course. Not saying anything is much better than lying. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/38 "2014-01-09T15:37:22Z")
I have never heard of that. Of course, maybe this happens on the executive level. Does this really happen? I can’t imagine going to work for someone who trusts me so little right out of the gate. Frankly, once they’ve made an offer and the candidate has accepted it, too bad for them if they offered too much, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/39 "2014-01-09T23:26:15Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > See, I think a better indicator of this is their resume and their performance during the interview. Interviews and resumes are great. They tell you a lot. Why wouldn’t you want more information, though? People here seem weirdly opposed to knowing things before they make a decision. I guess you aren’t Bayesians. > [@](#): > > I see no reason an existing salary tells you anything about their ability to do their job, or what they did. Then you were not reading very carefully, because it was explained really well, and it’s absolute fact; a person’s job title does not necessarily tell you what their level of responsibility actually was. I have a friend whose title is “Sales representative.” Tell me what that means. Is that a $25,000 job, a $250,000 job, or somewhere in between? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091/40 "2014-01-10T02:53:30Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I’ve even lied under when jobs were tight and I knew my actual last salary would get me the “Ohh, he’ll just leave as soon as he can” trash-canning. I think this is something that employers particularly want to avoid. They don’t care as much if you’re asking for more money than your last job (either your qualifications are worth it or they’re not), but it’s a huge pain in the ass to have someone slumming in your company for a while and just waiting to jump ship for a new job (confession time: I’ve done it, too). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-every-employer-need-to-know-my-current-salary/678091.md?page=3)