4 ms·

There's an important distinction here though. This isn't a discussion about disclosing salary requirements, it's a discussion about disclosing previous salary,

There's an important distinction here though. This isn't a discussion about disclosing salary requirements, it's a discussion about disclosing previous salary, presumably so the company can make you an offer only marginally better than that. That's a big problem if you're already underpaid.

beachstartup 11y ago
huh? what distinction? who says you have to tell them the truth? obviously if you make 40k you're not going to be competent enough to jump to 200k, but if you were making 150k and ask for 200k, just tell them you were making 190 before. who cares? when it comes to this kind of topic on HN, sometimes i feel like i'm taking crazy pills.
- encoderer 11y ago
  Yeah, just lie, who cares? ... If you want $200k but are making $150, just say you are looking for a salary around $200k. If they ask again how much you make presently, you can say "I negotiated my present salary years ago, it's not relevant to the value I provide now, I'm sure you understand". I'm not going to be pushed into lying and making things up out of expediency. YMMV.
  - beachstartup 11y ago
    i engage people with my own self expectations in mind. i believe that's what makes me an effective leader. i could be wrong. i have not, and i would never in a million years ask someone what they currently make. why would i ever do that? what's the point? you might as well ask them about the size of their genitalia. the range of bullshit answers you will receive, even from the lowest level of positions, just means you're only fooling yourself if you ask these kinds of questions. just ask for what they want. lying about that won't benefit them, it will only benefit me.
    - encoderer 11y ago
      I really do agree with you. But somewhere in my late 20's I made the conscious decision to acquit myself with honesty as much as I possibly can. If you find the question so outlandish why not just say "I'm sorry, I don't find that question appropriate."?
- grecy 11y ago
  The reason you're a co-founder is because you take risks and are willing to push the limits of what's socially acceptable, and have face-to-face discussions about personally-difficult topics. Most engineers want to "stay within the rules", which is why they get walked on. (I'm not for one second saying you do that, personally)
  - beachstartup 11y ago
    well, no. the reason i'm a co-founder is because i want to make a shitload of money. pushing social boundaries is practiced by all sorts of different people.
    - grecy 11y ago
      True enough. Pushing social boundaries is typically not practiced by engineers.
HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
So you refuse the offer! I've been in the position where I was underpaid to the point where the next job almost doubled my salary. When asked, I told them what I had been making and what I expected to make. They hired me. I would have refused any offer less than I was asking for. Lesson learned: if they want you they will pay at least market rate. I also "negotiated" (negotiated, hell. I just asked for it) a raise well above what they offered a year later at my first review.

beachstartup 11y ago

huh? what distinction? who says you have to tell them the truth? obviously if you make 40k you're not going to be competent enough to jump to 200k, but if you were making 150k and ask for 200k, just tell them you were making 190 before. who cares? when it comes to this kind of topic on HN, sometimes i feel like i'm taking crazy pills.

encoderer 11y ago
Yeah, just lie, who cares? ... If you want $200k but are making $150, just say you are looking for a salary around $200k. If they ask again how much you make presently, you can say "I negotiated my present salary years ago, it's not relevant to the value I provide now, I'm sure you understand". I'm not going to be pushed into lying and making things up out of expediency. YMMV.
- beachstartup 11y ago
  i engage people with my own self expectations in mind. i believe that's what makes me an effective leader. i could be wrong. i have not, and i would never in a million years ask someone what they currently make. why would i ever do that? what's the point? you might as well ask them about the size of their genitalia. the range of bullshit answers you will receive, even from the lowest level of positions, just means you're only fooling yourself if you ask these kinds of questions. just ask for what they want. lying about that won't benefit them, it will only benefit me.
  - encoderer 11y ago
    I really do agree with you. But somewhere in my late 20's I made the conscious decision to acquit myself with honesty as much as I possibly can. If you find the question so outlandish why not just say "I'm sorry, I don't find that question appropriate."?
grecy 11y ago
The reason you're a co-founder is because you take risks and are willing to push the limits of what's socially acceptable, and have face-to-face discussions about personally-difficult topics. Most engineers want to "stay within the rules", which is why they get walked on. (I'm not for one second saying you do that, personally)
- beachstartup 11y ago
  well, no. the reason i'm a co-founder is because i want to make a shitload of money. pushing social boundaries is practiced by all sorts of different people.
  - grecy 11y ago
    True enough. Pushing social boundaries is typically not practiced by engineers.

HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago

So you refuse the offer! I've been in the position where I was underpaid to the point where the next job almost doubled my salary. When asked, I told them what I had been making and what I expected to make. They hired me. I would have refused any offer less than I was asking for. Lesson learned: if they want you they will pay at least market rate. I also "negotiated" (negotiated, hell. I just asked for it) a raise well above what they offered a year later at my first review.