You should also understand that the recruiter or hiring manager knows exactly why they ask that. It's not like it is a secret that answering it gives them an excuse to pay you less.
Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
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Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#12> How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
Say you're under a salary NDA?
Although this mightn't be the best answer to the question, answering with a figure, made up or not, might help you in some way.
> Living costs
Well this is none of there business and is a signal of sorts. But that said it's an intriguing question if they are not in the 'stay far away' category.
Firstly the interviewer might just be a nerd with bad people skills/inexperience in interviewing (Assuming you're in IT)
Secondly maybe the company is very serious about work life balance rather than hard cash.
I'd be asking why they want to know living costs and why as an employee it's important for them to know. Then politely declining or continuing depending on how you feel after a conversation.
But this is an out there question you can't prepare for, next time it'll be something else weird. Everything is easy in hindsight.
The salary question is more common.
Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#13At this point in my career I start all head-hunter conversations with "I work 100% remote as a W2 employee (not contractor) with full benefits. I travel 1 - 2 weeks a year, work 40 hours a week, and make $x. If you can meet or beat that let's keep talking, otherwise thanks for your time." It keeps the conversation short which is nice for both me and the recruiter. And if they have something interesting to say then I…
It's taken me a while to learn this direct, cut to the chase, approach when it comes to recruiters. Huge time saver!!
Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#14You should also understand that the recruiter or hiring manager knows exactly why they ask that. It's not like it is a secret that answering it gives them an excuse to pay you less.
It's a way to avoid offering more than the bare minimum it takes to get you to take the job.
Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#15>> "the employees of this company don't care about how much money they get paid"
More for you, then!
Seriously though, that's always an uncomfortable question when it comes up.
Before accepting my current job, I was interviewing at another place. When asked, I kept my current salary private and was honest about my reasons: "I'd rather not disclose that, because it puts me in a bad situation when it comes to salary negotiation."
They responded with something along the lines of "Once an offer goes out, we don't negotiate beyond that. We try to pay employees what they're worth and we think we do a very good job of making that evaluation before hiring into our team."
Note that what they said seems like they gave me an incentive to offer a number. But read a little more closely and note that this really isn't the case.
I reminded the HR rep that the job listing had a salary range posted, and if any offer was outside of the "very high end" of the range, then I would likely to decline. Once a company makes a decision to hire you, they want you. If they aren't willing to negotiate a salary beyond an initial offer, then good luck negotiating a raise.
In my case, I had 2 more interviews (one via phone, one in person) before I decided that the company wasn't a good fit.
Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#16>> "the employees of this company don't care about how much money they get paid" More for you, then! Seriously though, that's always an uncomfortable question when it comes up. Before accepting my current job, I was interviewing at another place. When asked, I kept my current salary private and was honest about my reasons: "I'd rather not disclose that, because it puts me in a bad situation when it comes to salary ne…
I did one more than that. I lied.
I'm not saying that this works all the time or that it's ethical, but sometimes it can result in a significant pay rise.
Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#17I use one of two responses depending on where in the interview process I am. 1) Early in the interview process I respond with: "I’m sure we’ll find a number that works for both of us, but for now, I want to make sure it’s a good fit."[1] 2) If it is during a final round or they are offering the job, I like to turn the question on the interviewer and ask: "What is the salary range you have in mind for this position?"…
Why are employers (generally) so inflexible with their salaried offers? I've been offered jobs where I really wanted to work, and they wanted me. They offered me 60% of my market value because that was all that was in the budget. If they had let me take Fridays off (for my own consulting work), I would have been fine with this, and they would have been ahead (paying 60% for 80% of my time).
It's such bullshit. Hiring sucks.
Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#18I've seen the living cost question a few times today here on HN, and I've never seen that before. Is this a thing these days or is it specific to the startup culture perhaps?
Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#19I awkwardly said "I would prefer not to disclose that."
I later (after I joined) asked the recruiter about it and she told me that sent a message to her that I was either overpaid or underpaid. The offer (after some negotiation) came in 20k higher than my previous salary.
Re: Ask HN: How do you politely refuse to disclose previous salary information?
#20Are most of their employees younger?
"Disclosing that information could only result in neutral or negative outcomes for me. It is not logical for me to behave in such a manner. Do you generally hire people that make illogical decisions?"
If they're asking you for detailed salary information like that the answer to the above question is going to be yes regardless of what they say. Don't accept that kind of abuse of information asymmetry. If they behave that way during the hiring process, imagine how they will behave once you have committed to the job. Find a better place to work IMO.
The government publishes transparent salary information for over 800 types of jobs, segmented by state. http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm