4 ms·

>> ”What is your previous salary?” is employer-speak for “Please give me reasons to pay you less money.” Answer appropriately. What is the proper approach to

by ycapply2011 15y ago

>> ”What is your previous salary?” is employer-speak for “Please give me reasons to pay you less money.” Answer appropriately. What is the proper approach to answering this question?

cperciva 15y ago
"My previous salary is not relevant to the value I would add to your company." Or just cite an NDA (real or imagined); most employers will back off immediately at that point since (a) they don't want to be accused of inducing you to break a contract, and (b) they probably don't want to hire people who break NDAs lightly.
mahyarm 15y ago
'It was pretty good.' 'High, Whats your salary?' What I said is pretty tongue in cheek, but being vague in a way that hints that it compensated well can work.
Sukotto 15y ago
What the others in this thread said. If that doesn't work, be prepared to give a range of "total comp" where the low end is base salary and the high end is the total cost of all your benefits + salary + bonus
patio11 15y ago
"You're better situated to judge my worth to your company than I am. What do you think I should be paid?" Counter with better offer. My other stock answer: "As a matter of professional courtesy, I decline to comment on specific policies of previous employers. You should appreciate this, after all, someday someone will be asking about yours."
- bmccormack 15y ago
  EXCELLENT suggestions. I'm 100% positive that being blindsided by the "previous salary" question cost me thousands of dollars when negotiating for a previous job.
ananthrk 15y ago
Whenever a question on salary negotiation appears on HN, I am reminded of this old comment from mahmud : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1475678 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1475678
jacquesgt 15y ago
I typically answer with a range where the lower end is the amount of money I'm hoping to make and the high end is $5k to $10k above that. Then I add on, "but I'm getting great benefits, so that would have to be factored in as well." My current salary doesn't really figure into my answer.
Swannie 15y ago
One caveat to the replies here, is not to price yourself out of the role. If you're dealing with someone smart, they will want to negotiate benefits early in the process, rather than later - exactly because of the reasons in the article. If this is early stages of the hiring process, then just move the discussion on, "It's OK, but other things are more important to me than salary..." then ask a question about something you are interested in - vacation days, free lunches, opportunities for travel, whatever. If you do disclose numbers at early stages, and your number is over budget, to the point where it will need the approval of senior management, then you'd better hope you're #1 on their candidate list by a good margin. No one wants to go to senior management, cap in hand, to ask for a budget extension for someone they've not yet worked with. It's too big a risk unless your reputation precedes you.

>> ”What is your previous salary?” is employer-speak for “Please give me reasons to pay you less money.” Answer appropriately. What is the proper approach to answering this question?

cperciva 15y ago

"My previous salary is not relevant to the value I would add to your company." Or just cite an NDA (real or imagined); most employers will back off immediately at that point since (a) they don't want to be accused of inducing you to break a contract, and (b) they probably don't want to hire people who break NDAs lightly.

mahyarm 15y ago

'It was pretty good.' 'High, Whats your salary?' What I said is pretty tongue in cheek, but being vague in a way that hints that it compensated well can work.

Sukotto 15y ago

What the others in this thread said. If that doesn't work, be prepared to give a range of "total comp" where the low end is base salary and the high end is the total cost of all your benefits + salary + bonus

patio11 15y ago

"You're better situated to judge my worth to your company than I am. What do you think I should be paid?" Counter with better offer. My other stock answer: "As a matter of professional courtesy, I decline to comment on specific policies of previous employers. You should appreciate this, after all, someday someone will be asking about yours."

bmccormack 15y ago
EXCELLENT suggestions. I'm 100% positive that being blindsided by the "previous salary" question cost me thousands of dollars when negotiating for a previous job.

ananthrk 15y ago

Whenever a question on salary negotiation appears on HN, I am reminded of this old comment from mahmud : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1475678 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1475678

jacquesgt 15y ago

I typically answer with a range where the lower end is the amount of money I'm hoping to make and the high end is $5k to $10k above that. Then I add on, "but I'm getting great benefits, so that would have to be factored in as well." My current salary doesn't really figure into my answer.

Swannie 15y ago

One caveat to the replies here, is not to price yourself out of the role. If you're dealing with someone smart, they will want to negotiate benefits early in the process, rather than later - exactly because of the reasons in the article. If this is early stages of the hiring process, then just move the discussion on, "It's OK, but other things are more important to me than salary..." then ask a question about something you are interested in - vacation days, free lunches, opportunities for travel, whatever. If you do disclose numbers at early stages, and your number is over budget, to the point where it will need the approval of senior management, then you'd better hope you're #1 on their candidate list by a good margin. No one wants to go to senior management, cap in hand, to ask for a budget extension for someone they've not yet worked with. It's too big a risk unless your reputation precedes you.