I do not know why but I find it ridiculous and almost rude to require salary history in a job posting.
Someone sent me a job posting for a position I have exp in and I thought 'cool' then I see they want a cover letter, salary history and resume. Now I am like 'grrr'.
It may be because I am from the corp. world and I know many companies that would have a "job posting" and require salary histories from applicants as a way to gather free salary info. for a position or a region. Of course there was no job actually available.
Great timing for this thread. I found a position that I'm interested in and they want salary requirements. I'm not sure if I put the range I'm making now, increase it a little bit because of COL or what.
Great timing for this thread. I found a position that I'm interested in and they want salary requirements. I'm not sure if I put the range I'm making now, increase it a little bit because of COL or what.
Is there a rule of thumb for this?
Salary requested is a bit different from salary history. If they're asking for your salary, you tell them your salary and you don't lie because if they find out you lied, you may lose your offer.
I think it is okay for requirements to be higher than what you're currently making (because in many cases it is perfectly natural to jump from one position to another to get a pay increase), but I defer to HR people on any of that.
I only offer it when it is required, for several reasons that are specific to my field. First, if I leave my current job, I will likely happily take a pay cut. Saying that I currently make x may make them think that I will demand x, when maybe 75% of x would make me super happy if the lifestyle that comes along with it is good. Also, as far as requirements go, I don't have a hard and fast answer without knowing more about the position. I'd take a lower number for a 9-5 job than I would for a 9-7 or sometimes later plus sometimes on weekends job. In my field, it can be hard to determine lifestyle from listings.
Great timing for this thread. I found a position that I'm interested in and they want salary requirements. I'm not sure if I put the range I'm making now, increase it a little bit because of COL or what.
Is there a rule of thumb for this?
Salary requested is a bit different from salary history. If they're asking for your salary, you tell them your salary and you don't lie because if they find out you lied, you may lose your offer.
I think it is okay for requirements to be higher than what you're currently making (because in many cases it is perfectly natural to jump from one position to another to get a pay increase), but I defer to HR people on any of that.
I only offer it when it is required, for several reasons that are specific to my field. First, if I leave my current job, I will likely happily take a pay cut. Saying that I currently make x may make them think that I will demand x, when maybe 75% of x would make me super happy if the lifestyle that comes along with it is good. Also, as far as requirements go, I don't have a hard and fast answer without knowing more about the position. I'd take a lower number for a 9-5 job than I would for a 9-7 or sometimes later plus sometimes on weekends job. In my field, it can be hard to determine lifestyle from listings.
But these answers of course can differ by job.
What if my current salary is a range depending on my monthly bonus?
For example, $20,000/yr without bonus up to $32,000/yr with bonus. Would it be wrong to list my salary requirements based on 1) my current salary 2) COL (because it's in another state with a much, much higher COL).
I'm starting to make my goals/plan for my escape so I've been researching salary in a variety of cities as compared to SLC. Based on an awesome link I got here awhile back.
Post by sillygoosegirl on Oct 12, 2012 16:32:14 GMT -5
I try to avoid giving it, but sometimes it's a required question on online applications. Grr. I'm less good at avoiding providing it during interviews, though I think I'm getting better. My experience says if I tell my salary history during a job interview, either I won't get offered the job, or I will get offered the job, but not at a wage I'm willing to accept. It's been further complicated for me by changing fields. I know what I'm worth and I won't work for less, even though I haven't always been that assertive in the past.
Also, when they ask for salary history, they usually specifically state NOT to include any kinds of benefits and/or bonuses. They want your salary.
Ooo, I didn't know that. That's great to know. I always (wrongfully) assumed that salary = bonuses as well. I've been giving wrong salary information for over 5 years now.
You're talking about salary requirements. This post is about salary history. My salary requirements would be based on the job I'm applying for, not the job I currently hold.
You're saying you're moving to a different state entirely and a different field, right? So what does your current salary have to do with your future job? If it's the same field and location, then there's generally some correlation. I would still find out what the future job's salary typically is and base my salary requirements off that, not just off my current salary.
No, I'm staying in the same field but different states. Basically a lateral move. I'm not entirely which state I'm moving to either. I'm just browsing what's available in areas I think I'd enjoy.
I like to see what's available now and make sure I'm prepared for my next career step.
Also, when they ask for salary history, they usually specifically state NOT to include any kinds of benefits and/or bonuses. They want your salary.
Ooo, I didn't know that. That's great to know. I always (wrongfully) assumed that salary = bonuses as well. I've been giving wrong salary information for over 5 years now.
I don't think it would hurt to put "32k plus bonuses" in that case. In some fields the bonus is a huge part of the compensation and the base would be a really unrealistic number to pay someone exclusively, right?
Also, when they ask for salary history, they usually specifically state NOT to include any kinds of benefits and/or bonuses. They want your salary.
Ooo, I didn't know that. That's great to know. I always (wrongfully) assumed that salary = bonuses as well. I've been giving wrong salary information for over 5 years now.
If you are talking to someone in person, or have a paper application or cover letter, you can still respond with, "My total compensation is..." Or, "I'd be looking to make at least..." It's not dishonest, and is more relevant.
Post by explorer2001 on Oct 12, 2012 17:32:34 GMT -5
My case was a bit different, but I was asked in the interview what I was looking for and why I thought I was worth that so I presented the salary range of other positions I was interviewing for and argued for a premium for the niche and my additional specialized skills that fit better here than the other places I interviewed. I did not tell them what I made before as I was underpaid and they didn't specifically ask.
No, I'm staying in the same field but different states. Basically a lateral move. I'm not entirely which state I'm moving to either. I'm just browsing what's available in areas I think I'd enjoy.
I like to see what's available now and make sure I'm prepared for my next career step.
Salary requirements = the salary that you would require to take the job. You can pick any number you want for that, though something realistic in light of your experience/the field/the area will give you a much better chance of landing the job.
Salary history = what you earn. Which is a fact. It isn't asking what you want to make etc. It is asking what you in fact earn. Sometimes it will ask for salary alone, sometimes salary + bonuses, sometimes salary and bonuses go in different boxes so you list them separately. That's where you need to be honest.
So if you currently earn $20,000 in a LCOL area but are applying to jobs in a higher COL area and think you're underpaid anyway and you wouldn't take the new job unless they offered you at least $40,000 a year, you would put $20,000 in the "current salary" (i.e., salary history) box and maybe $40,000 or something around that in the "salary required" box.
So they're two entirely different concepts. Does that make sense?
But with salary required, you have to be a bit strategic because employers will use it to weed out candidates -- they aren't going to interview people where there's a big disconnect between what they want to pay their new employee and what the candidate wants to make. So while you don't want to short-charge yourself by shooting too low (particularly because you could end up wasting your time and the company's time if you wouldn't accept the job at the salary they're willing to pay), you also don't want to shoot too high and get nixed because they can't afford you/don't think you look worth it. It is tricky.
It would all be much easier if companies would just list salary ranges in their listings, but I understand why they don't (because sometimes it changes a lot after they see their candidate pool and start interviewing people).
Thanks v. I've been learning a lot about the whole behind the scenes/recruiting process with my new job. We don't list our salaries on our postings and it's annoying. I agree and wish employers will post them.
I think how I'll handle salary requirements will be my current salary + COL increases.
Post by MrsManners on Oct 13, 2012 16:29:25 GMT -5
I'm in sales management so my salary is only a portion of my income and commission are about the same amount (or slightly more) than my salary. Even if I weren't asked, I would offer 3 years W-2s at some point in an interview process. That's because I wouldn't consider a job for less (and probably won't leave except for significantly more), they need to know definitively that I have a proven earning history at this level and that I'm entirely comfortable on a performance based plan. It's not uncommon in my industry though.
Maybe this info will be helpful to others in the future.
I am a corporate recruiter. We never ever give out salary amounts or ranges. But we require candidates to give us their current salary and 7 yr salary history at the time of an pre-screen interview.
We get the salary info from them for a few reasons. First, to find out if they are making more at the current job then they probably dont want this one. Second to determine if in the past they have left a higher paying job for a lower one. This is important if we want to seriously consider then for a job that pays less than they make now.
The main reason we don't give out salary info is b/c our positions are assigned a salary grade level. Each level is about a 40k range. A candidate can be given a job offer anywhere within that range. Also the manger can move up or down 1 grade level DOE. So if we told the candidate a range that is no indication of where the heck the fall in that range. 40k is quite wide.
Lastly, I do want to note that when we ask candidates salary history we always ask them to break out base and bonus. When we ask for the salary requirements of the role they are interviewing for we ask for base and do inform them if this role has an applicable bonus and if it is weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.