Job interviews - salary disclosure

K

kalevra

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
478
Reaction score
3
I'm about to go for job interviews - is it common practice for employers to ask what you are currently earning? Is it ethical/ frowned upon or rude to decline and say it's private?

Also what do you think about employers basing your salary offer on what your previous employers paid you? i.e. you interview for a job where they offer R20k, you're earning R14k so they only offer R16k??

Lastly what are you thoughts on providing false information i.e. providing a salary that is higher than what you are actually earning, in order to go for higher paying jobs without being prejudiced by what your last employers were paying you?
 
1) Yes it is common practice, and while you are allowed to decline, it is somewhat frowned upon to do so.
2) That is also par for the course.
4) If they call your previous employer for confirmation, this will come back to bite you.
 
cerebus said:
1) Yes it is common practice, and while you are allowed to decline, it is somewhat frowned upon to do so.
2) That is also par for the course.
3) If they call your previous employer for confirmation, this will come back to bite you.
Click to expand...

I work with family so not a problem with your last point. So my only issue would be if they phoned to confirm?

From an ethical stand point is totally wrong to do this? Surely the onus is on the new employer to check your skills and ensure they match what they are looking for, what does your old salary have to do with this process?
 
kalevra said:
I'm about to go for job interviews - is it common practice for employers to ask what you are currently earning? Is it ethical/ frowned upon or rude to decline and say it's private?

Also what do you think about employers basing your salary offer on what your previous employers paid you? i.e. you interview for a job where they offer R20k, you're earning R14k so they only offer R16k??

Lastly what are you thoughts on providing false information i.e. providing a salary that is higher than what you are actually earning, in order to go for higher paying jobs without being prejudiced by what your last employers were paying you?
Click to expand...

Be open with them, tell them what you earn and the reasons you applied for this job.

If they offer you less than advertized tell them that you applied because of the rates they offered even if you have to travel further to get to work (This doesn't have to be the truth). This will leave them with 2 choices, pay you what they advertized you where their first choice, or pay someone else which is not the first choice the lower salary.

Pretty simple. But be frank with them, don't ever lie on your CV or in the interview.
 
Pitbull said:
Be open with them, tell them what you earn and the reasons you applied for this job.

If they offer you less than advertized tell them that you applied because of the rates they offered even if you have to travel further to get to work (This doesn't have to be the truth). This will leave them with 2 choices, pay you what they advertized you where their first choice, or pay someone else which is not the first choice the lower salary.

Pretty simple. But be frank with them, don't ever lie on your CV or in the interview.
Click to expand...

Travelling further is still a lie ;) What's the difference between one lie and another?
 
kalevra said:
Travelling further is still a lie ;) What's the difference between one lie and another?
Click to expand...

For all intended purposes neither the person phoning nor the interviewer will know this. Companies are doing this more and more, your concern is very valid as they will only offer you slightly more instead of the advertized price. And who knows, maybe it is further for you I don't know :p
 
Pitbull said:
For all intended purposes neither the person phoning nor the interviewer will know this. Companies are doing this more and more, your concern is very valid as they will only offer you slightly more instead of the advertized price. And who knows, maybe it is further for you I don't know :p
Click to expand...

i.e. lie as long as you can get away with ??? I can lie about my salary as long as the person phoning nor the interviewer will know?
 
kalevra said:
i.e. lie as long as you can get away with ??? I can lie about my salary as long as the person phoning nor the interviewer will know?
Click to expand...

Not at all. That can and will be checked. They will ask you for a pay slip or a bank statement and if they found out you lied /C.V + Bin
As for the address, you can always say it's closer to where you are staying now but you are planning to move to a plot outside town or something. Which they can't prove to be wrong or false. Anyway, it's your interview not mine.
 
Pitbull said:
Not at all. That can and will be checked. They will ask you for a pay slip or a bank statement and if they found out you lied /C.V + Bin
As for the address, you can always say it's closer to where you are staying now but you are planning to move to a plot outside town or something. Which they can't prove to be wrong or false. Anyway, it's your interview not mine.
Click to expand...

I won't provide bank statements - I think that's crossing the privacy line. I print my own salary slips and it's a family company so I can put anything I want on there if I wanted to. Therefore can't be proven to be wrong or false - following this logic it's an alright instance?

I understand your point but a lie is still a lie - therefore if one lie is ok under certain conditions then a different lie under similar conditions could also be ok...

I don't think we're going to agree on this so we'll have to agree to disagree - thanks for your point though it does shed light on the subject!
 
kalevra said:
I won't provide bank statements - I think that's crossing the privacy line. I print my own salary slips and it's a family company so I can put anything I want on there if I wanted to. Therefore can't be proven to be wrong or false - following this logic it's an alright instance?

I understand your point but a lie is still a lie - therefore if one lie is ok under certain conditions then a different lie under similar conditions could also be ok...

I don't think we're going to agree on this so we'll have to agree to disagree - thanks for your point though it does shed light on the subject!
Click to expand...

If you can print your own Salary slip wth would you want to leave? :D
 
kalevra said:
Also what do you think about employers basing your salary offer on what your previous employers paid you? i.e. you interview for a job where they offer R20k, you're earning R14k so they only offer R16k??
Click to expand...

Very bad (from an prospective employee perspective) but common practice here in SA.
Don't lie - on CV or in the interview.
I won't disclose my salary information to a "recruitment agent" - but I'd consider giving it to someone from the company itself. You'll also usually find that the job is advertised as "up to Rxxxx" and not specifically state an amount - in this case they'll probably use [current salary + 15%] or similar
 
TKD01 said:
Very bad (from an prospective employee perspective) but common practice here in SA.
Don't lie - on CV or in the interview.
I won't disclose my salary information to a "recruitment agent" - but I'd consider giving it to someone from the company itself. You'll also usually find that the job is advertised as "up to Rxxxx" and not specifically state an amount - in this case they'll probably use [current salary + 15%] or similar
Click to expand...

Yip have to agree with you lying is never good... I'm just going to refuse to disclose and if they're unhappy with that then I'll move to the next company - rather do things the right way.
 
Yip, agreed, don't lie. It will almost certainly come back to bite you!

The more open and honest you are, the more they will like you, the more chance you have of getting the job.

I have always been brutally honest in interviews. "Do you know this?" "No, sorry, but I can learn"

I also think it is definately their business what you currently earn. They need to know in order to ascertain if you fall into the salary bracket they are offering.

Remember not every employer is out to get you, they just need to know these things in order to hire the right person.
 
kalevra said:
Yip have to agree with you lying is never good... I'm just going to refuse to disclose and if they're unhappy with that then I'll move to the next company - rather do things the right way.
Click to expand...

Dont outright refuse to disclose. offer it like this:

Interviewer:
"So how much were you on at your last company"?
You:
I feel that my last company is not paying me what I am worth. I am looking for a company that can make the best use of my skills, and is willing to give me what I am worth. I am hoping that your company is the one to do that.

You refuse to disclose, but also show them your confidence by both complimenting them and challenging them at the same time.

Even add some icing on top with this little gem that I like to use.

"There are 2 types of companies in this world. One type with high staff turnover. Employees go to these companies for early career building and learning. These companies employ people that they can get at a cheaper rate than normal. They both benefit. The employee earns experience and gets a foot in the door. The employer gets to lower his expenditure to get the job done.
The other type of company has good staff retention. They hire people that are looking to set roots up as a permanent career. They see the value in hiring these people and paying them what they are worth in the marketplace.
Right now I am an employee looking to set roots up for my career, I am looking at long term goals and long stays adding value to any organisation that I set up with. The question is, what type of employee are you looking for for this position?

Always remember, in an interview where you have skills to trade on, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. Don't be too cocky about it, but dont be shy to show them that you are hungry. The result of this approach is that you either get offered what you want, or very close to, or you dont get the job. Which means that they would have offered you much lower than you wanted, and they know that you would not have accepted it anyway.
 
SoulTax said:
Dont outright refuse to disclose. offer it like this:

Interviewer:
"So how much were you on at your last company"?
You:
I feel that my last company is not paying me what I am worth. I am looking for a company that can make the best use of my skills, and is willing to give me what I am worth. I am hoping that your company is the one to do that.

You refuse to disclose, but also show them your confidence by both complimenting them and challenging them at the same time.

Even add some icing on top with this little gem that I like to use.

"There are 2 types of companies in this world. One type with high staff turnover. Employees go to these companies for early career building and learning. These companies employ people that they can get at a cheaper rate than normal. They both benefit. The employee earns experience and gets a foot in the door. The employer gets to lower his expenditure to get the job done.
The other type of company has good staff retention. They hire people that are looking to set roots up as a permanent career. They see the value in hiring these people and paying them what they are worth in the marketplace.
Right now I am an employee looking to set roots up for my career, I am looking at long term goals and long stays adding value to any organisation that I set up with. The question is, what type of employee are you looking for for this position?

Always remember, in an interview where you have skills to trade on, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. Don't be too cocky about it, but dont be shy to show them that you are hungry. The result of this approach is that you either get offered what you want, or very close to, or you dont get the job. Which means that they would have offered you much lower than you wanted, and they know that you would not have accepted it anyway.
Click to expand...

Very nice!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X