Why do employers ask for current salary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Corporate recruiter here - we ask because we have to reference a salary point to know if it makes sense for budget of role to consider you. If you make over my budgeted salary range there's no sense in continuing the conversation is there? I also need to get an idea of your experience in market - on a deeper level if the recruiter is highly experienced - your salary allows me to figure out if you developed your career track well. There's a lot of people who do weird things - I get a sense for how well you've managed your decisions and why you opt for the positions you have - it provides me Intel on your professional acumen. Usually not a big deal unless you are more C level though. You have to tell your recruiter - I categorically will not work within uncooperative candidate. It's interview 101 that you let me know where you are in comp. it does not mean I'm gonna low ball you - it's totally relevant info for an employer. Some people get way too weird about it thinking they can negotiate on the back end but nobody wants to waste their time. I get if you work directly with a small biz owner but I'm talking about corporate F500 co.

I hope you do realize you are part of the problem in perpetuating the gender pay gap. Let's focus on paying what the job is worth

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2016/04/29/how-the-whats-your-current-salary-question-hurts-the-gender-pay-gap/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They also don't want unhappy new hires who will hop to a new place for more money. So if they're offering (budgeted for) substantially less than what you earn, they're going to be concerned you won't be happy.

That's a load of crap. Tell me what you are offering and allow me to be the adult and decide whether I will be happy.

They do not care about happiness. When they are asking this upfront, they are getting salary information for a lot of people - not just the one they are hiring. This is highly valuable information on what each of their competitors is paying. It also gives tremendous bargaining power when making an offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Corporate recruiter here - we ask because we have to reference a salary point to know if it makes sense for budget of role to consider you. If you make over my budgeted salary range there's no sense in continuing the conversation is there? I also need to get an idea of your experience in market - on a deeper level if the recruiter is highly experienced - your salary allows me to figure out if you developed your career track well. There's a lot of people who do weird things - I get a sense for how well you've managed your decisions and why you opt for the positions you have - it provides me Intel on your professional acumen. Usually not a big deal unless you are more C level though. You have to tell your recruiter - I categorically will not work within uncooperative candidate. It's interview 101 that you let me know where you are in comp. it does not mean I'm gonna low ball you - it's totally relevant info for an employer. Some people get way too weird about it thinking they can negotiate on the back end but nobody wants to waste their time. I get if you work directly with a small biz owner but I'm talking about corporate F500 co.

I hope you do realize you are part of the problem in perpetuating the gender pay gap. Let's focus on paying what the job is worth

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2016/04/29/how-the-whats-your-current-salary-question-hurts-the-gender-pay-gap/

I agree. The PP's rationale for asking for current salary is outrageous. There are myriad reasons why someone might not have significant salary progression or promotions or is underpaid. You tell the applicant how much you're willing to pay (a range), and the applicant can decide whether or not the salary works for her or him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They also don't want unhappy new hires who will hop to a new place for more money. So if they're offering (budgeted for) substantially less than what you earn, they're going to be concerned you won't be happy.

That's a load of crap. Tell me what you are offering and allow me to be the adult and decide whether I will be happy.

They do not care about happiness. When they are asking this upfront, they are getting salary information for a lot of people - not just the one they are hiring. This is highly valuable information on what each of their competitors is paying. It also gives tremendous bargaining power when making an offer.

Do you actually interview for roles without asking for the range upfront?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Last week someone asked what I was looking for and I told them what I currently make. They immediately shifted the offer to part time, which did wonders for keeping me interested.

Just another reason why you don't tell them how much you make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
PP, if you don't voluntarily disclose your salary to a potential employer, does the interviewing progress?

I've never had a potential employer disqualify me for not disclosing my salary. It's really not that difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if women are more forthright in general and that is why they are paid less, what sort of verbal response do male candidates get that also net them a higher offer?

We simply don't tell them upfront how much your making. Nothing puts you behind the eight ball in negotiating and limits your potential salary gain like voluntarily telling them what your current salary is.

It is that simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I agree. The PP's rationale for asking for current salary is outrageous. There are myriad reasons why someone might not have significant salary progression or promotions or is underpaid. You tell the applicant how much you're willing to pay (a range), and the applicant can decide whether or not the salary works for her or him.

This "corporate recruiter" like to pollute the salary negotiating threads with her bullying about bullshit like "interview 101." You NEVER, EVER tell a potential employer what you are making. PERIOD.

[Anonymous]

Having gone through this process as both and employee and a manager, I try and avoid corporate recruiters at all costs, because they will do everything in their power to fuck up the process.

I wrote my PhD dissertation in hiring contracts and understand that contracts are a multidimensional negotiation, of which salary is only one component. Anyone who focuses on salary is fundamentally incapable of doing their job since they don't understand the many issues of hiring. For example, at the beginning of my career, I took a below-market-salary job at the federal government because I knew that they would give me access to proprietary data and pay for a lot of programming training in SAS, C++, and SQL. I then leveraged that into talking to several other private companies (where I'd met the recruiters at conventions) that paid me three times as much. If they had ever asked me what I had previously made at the Fed, we would have both known that they were full of shit and not serious about the job. The point is that, in any negotiation, salary is only one component. I regularly consult for doctors on stats projects for free because I want them to get the best possible stats advice on medical cures. I regularly chars companies $600/hr for advice on how to run "data analytices" on their databases. Giving a salary is meaningless and totally uninformative from my perspective, but I know that unimaginative corporate recruiters demand it. I usually just list my highest number to not jump ship. If they can't meet that, then there's no point, and you're under no legal obligation to list your actual salary.