On the subject of disclosing your compensation
raganwald.posterous.com
On the subject of disclosing your compensation
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Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#2There's been a lot of talk about this lately, and I think I have another vantage point on it. All this talk about "don't reveal your current salary", "hide your current compensation" is totally relaying weakness to anyone you're negotiating with. Take control of the negotiation! Be the confident person who knows exactly what they want! (Even if you don't really know that).
Right now is a great time to be negotiating for salary compared to 20 years ago - there are so many tools that give you an idea of what current pay ranges are for any job. PayScale.com for example is one tool that gives you infinite more information than people had 20 years ago. Use it!
When you apply to a job, you should already know what the salary range is going to be. Negotiation is 90% preparation before the actual negotiation. This is a huge part of it. When you apply, know exactly the range they'll be offering.
When they ask you "What's your current salary" you give them the absolute very top of the range you've found in your research (or even add another 10%). You aim for their reservation point and set a high anchor point from which negotiation can continue. Take control of the negotiation and own the process yourself. Remember, nearly everyone on this site is a skilled employee who is in demand right now.
Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#3Great advice. It took me years to learn it on my own. One thing I would like to add is there are times you have to clam up completely and refuse to give out even a range. At one of the companies I worked for, they had a weird policy of not hiring people if their new salary would exceed their old salary by more than 20%. Now, I can understand some of the reasoning behind it, but I personally find it detestable. The best policy in such a case is to either pass (which in this case would have been a shame, because the job was good in all other respects) or clam up and have them decide whether to hire you based on your merits alone.
Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#4I think if you have a feeling for what the range is, and you know for sure you are in the top of it, disclosing it is good as it establishes your value, and they are less likely to waste your time, or make a stab in the dark offer that is too low and insulting.
Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#5There's been a lot of talk about this lately, and I think I have another vantage point on it. All this talk about "don't reveal your current salary", "hide your current compensation" is totally relaying weakness to anyone you're negotiating with. Take control of the negotiation! Be the confident person who knows exactly what they want! (Even if you don't really know that). Right now is a great time to be negotiating…
That won't work everywhere. There are places where it's legal -- and even considered perfectly acceptable -- to ask for proof of your salary. In such an environment, it's a lot better to clam up and say your past salary is not relevant to what the prospective employer is going to pay you.
Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#6There's been a lot of talk about this lately, and I think I have another vantage point on it. All this talk about "don't reveal your current salary", "hide your current compensation" is totally relaying weakness to anyone you're negotiating with. Take control of the negotiation! Be the confident person who knows exactly what they want! (Even if you don't really know that). Right now is a great time to be negotiating…
I applaud the spirit of your comment, namely that the idea is to take control. My post is mostly aimed at dealing with people who want numbers as a screening question before you get down to negotiating a specific offer.
If you're a top person in great demand, you ought to be able to take control of the negotiation by saying either of the following:
a) My compensation for the past five years isn't the issue here, let's talk about what I can do for you, or; b) My compensation for the past five years has ranged from X to Y, but here's why I think Z is the right number for this job in this company.
Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#7I would go so far to say that if you use this technique and find a recruiter doesn't want to deal with that, you've just found a great recruiter filter mechanism. Move on to someone else who actually adds value.
Recruiters annoy the heck of out of me as a contractor: They claim all kinds of value when in fact they have but one thing to add: they know someone looking for a job. They add no other value to the equation (and in fact, often detract by doing horrible buzzword matching analysis to put you in front of someone). They don't necessarily know quality employers, good jobs, or even how to help get you hired. They're like real estate agents: they merely want the transaction to take place, regardless of the actual price. The difference in commission for a house that sells at a "suggested market price" and maybe, your ideal price of $10,000 higher is a lousy $400 to the agent. It's not in their interest to push that with the buyer. It's in their interest to make the transaction happen.
The same is 100% true of recruiters.
EDIT: Having dealt with many recruiters in the past, my experiences reflect what I describe above. It's possible that a shining few exist out there that do add value. If you're out there, for heaven's sake REPLY and tell us who you are. This thread would give you a deep pool of talent for sure.
Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#8[deleted]
Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#9How does this work out if you believe you are significantly under-compensated at your current job (assuming it's the peak for the last five years)?
Re: On the subject of disclosing your compensation
#10This might work fine for contractors, but it's nonsense for permanent employees.
5 years covers a range from my first graduate job to my current reasonably good mid-level salary. If I gave that range to a recruiter I'd end up at a bunch of interviews with companies all trying to offer me close to a graduate salary.