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Has anyone run into issues for sharing a current salary that anchors the discussion too high? I could see how an employer might pass on a candidate who's actual

by scarmig 10y ago

Has anyone run into issues for sharing a current salary that anchors the discussion too high? I could see how an employer might pass on a candidate who's actually interested in the job, just because they know they can't match what the candidate is currently making and it's likely a waste of time to spend hours evaluating someone who's making 50k more than what you could ever offer. Or is this purely theoretical and not seen in practice?

jnwatson 10y ago
For me, all the time. I've negotiated well throughout my career, so I'm above a lot of pay bands. My concern is I hope to be doing this for another 25 years...
- mi100hael 10y ago
  If you're at the top of employees, it might be time to become the boss...
  - master_lincoln 10y ago
    To fulfill the Peter's Principle?
    - mi100hael 10y ago
      Nah, I mean OP should start their own venture if they've run out of salary headroom and want more.
dhd415 10y ago
Yes, though that generally falls into the category of "problems you want to have."
suresk 10y ago
Yes, lots of times. Pay varies widely in our industry, and it isn't uncommon for a lot of companies to never pay above $X, where X is substantially less than your current salary. Earlier in my career, I was less willing to share salary information. But now that my compensation is above average, I always have the "I am paid toward the top of the range in this area, here is what I make now/would be looking for, so that we don't waste our time" conversation very early in the recruiting process and it ends up being a pretty good filter. They are usually pretty open about saying "yeah, that's more than we can offer, thanks for your time", so if it were one of the few types of jobs I'd be willing to take a paycut for, it seems like there'd be an opportunity to let them know you are open to making less and go from there.
- scarmig 10y ago
  That last bit is the tricky part, though! You don't, unfortunately, know the actual range of salaries the company is willing to pay. But if you get ahead of yourself and say that you're willing to work for less for this particularly interesting job but they're actually willing to pay more, that's potentially leaving a substantial bit of money on the table.
  - suresk 10y ago
    Well, you're only disclosing that AFTER they've decided to filter you out because your salary requirements are too high, so you aren't leaving much, if any, money on the table. Of course, it is possible they are bluffing, but given how much the market currently favors developers right now, such bluffs would rarely pay off and I'd expect them to be rare. And, it is really no different than if they'd bluffed before you went through the rest of the interview process, is it?
morgante 10y ago
It happens all the time, but I consider that a good thing. It's a waste of my time to interview with a company when the highest they'd ever pay is well short of my expectations.

by scarmig 10y ago

jnwatson 10y ago

For me, all the time. I've negotiated well throughout my career, so I'm above a lot of pay bands. My concern is I hope to be doing this for another 25 years...

mi100hael 10y ago
If you're at the top of employees, it might be time to become the boss...
- master_lincoln 10y ago
  To fulfill the Peter's Principle?
  - mi100hael 10y ago
    Nah, I mean OP should start their own venture if they've run out of salary headroom and want more.

dhd415 10y ago

Yes, though that generally falls into the category of "problems you want to have."

suresk 10y ago

Yes, lots of times. Pay varies widely in our industry, and it isn't uncommon for a lot of companies to never pay above $X, where X is substantially less than your current salary. Earlier in my career, I was less willing to share salary information. But now that my compensation is above average, I always have the "I am paid toward the top of the range in this area, here is what I make now/would be looking for, so that we don't waste our time" conversation very early in the recruiting process and it ends up being a pretty good filter. They are usually pretty open about saying "yeah, that's more than we can offer, thanks for your time", so if it were one of the few types of jobs I'd be willing to take a paycut for, it seems like there'd be an opportunity to let them know you are open to making less and go from there.

scarmig 10y ago
That last bit is the tricky part, though! You don't, unfortunately, know the actual range of salaries the company is willing to pay. But if you get ahead of yourself and say that you're willing to work for less for this particularly interesting job but they're actually willing to pay more, that's potentially leaving a substantial bit of money on the table.
- suresk 10y ago
  Well, you're only disclosing that AFTER they've decided to filter you out because your salary requirements are too high, so you aren't leaving much, if any, money on the table. Of course, it is possible they are bluffing, but given how much the market currently favors developers right now, such bluffs would rarely pay off and I'd expect them to be rare. And, it is really no different than if they'd bluffed before you went through the rest of the interview process, is it?

morgante 10y ago

It happens all the time, but I consider that a good thing. It's a waste of my time to interview with a company when the highest they'd ever pay is well short of my expectations.