Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with hr and salary

How to not give myself away to HR?

foxy_hedgehog — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:09:48 -0800

Interviewing for a new job. HR has asked- in writing (email) - for current salary (which is low, in part due to location in low-cost-of-living state) and salary expectations. Because they want this in writing, it doesn't seem like I can obfuscate with the kind of answers that are usually suggested for in-person interviews. Any suggestions? Details within. I currently make about $60,000 in a job based in an area with a very low cost of living. The new job is an academic executive directorship at a law school in an area with a high cost of living, and I'd like to make at least $80K. I don't feel I can tell them either of these details straightforwardly without either lowballing myself or eliminating myself from consideration as too pricey. I'd greatly appreciate your help in how to reply.

How do I handle the salary question when you're on the other side of the table?

LongDrive — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:05:09 -0800

There's been a lot of talk on the green about handling the salary question when you are the interviewee/candidate, which I have personally found helpful on many occasions, but now I'm on the other side of the equation, and would love to hear best practices on how to handle the situation and try to gauge a potential employee's salary expectations. My business is in a very niche industry which makes it very difficult to gauge what industry standard is. We only employ around 4-5 people, all who started out very junior and have moved up salary-wise in a very organic fashion. I'm now in the position where I have to hire someone who is a bit further along in their career to fill a vacancy left by one of those now mid-weight employees.

Furthermore, this is only the second time we are actively hiring someone, as previously it was a very casual process where people just sort of found us at the right time, they stated their salary expectation, and we found the money to make it work.

With this new appointment, I am fielding candidates from very diverse backgrounds. With some, by the nature of their CV and/or specific past employers, I can gauge where they would fall. Currently with our budget, I could only really afford what we paid the person who recently left, which was a figure that only came after two raises in the course of a year. Ideally I would want to start them on the same salary as the last employee and eventually raise them to the same level and beyond.

(tl;dr)Putting aside things like benefits, both hard and soft, are there any tactics that you have personally used as a recruiter or employer to gauge a potential employee's salary expectations before numbers are discussed in detail?

On the flip side, are there any situations where you as an interviewee/job candidate felt comfortable disclosing this figure?(tl;dr)

There are millions of scripts and methods for being on the other side of that conversation and how to deflect those questions, but are there any strategies that can be used to get this information in a way that is respectful to all parties involved?

My gut tells me simply to state simply what I said above, in terms of like, "This is what we paid the last person after a year and I would be looking at a similar figure once you are fully trained", however I am nervous that the figure might be too low for some good candidates, hence wasting everyone's time, and on the flip side, I don't want someone to accept a figure that they aren't truly happy with for the sake of getting the job, and therefore having to manage the resulting feelings/performance issues that usually crop up with that. (Also, I should add that many candidates are coming to us via word of mouth, and not through a formal advertisement, so there isn't the opportunity as such to state what the salary range is)

I'm fully aware this is going to be a slightly contentions question, but I like to think that my heart is in the right place. If I found out the range of one of my preferred candidates was lower than what I paid the last person, I would still offer them the higher amount.

Anyway, thanks MeFi! Look forward to your feedback :)

HR from potential (new) employer is asking for 1) references 2) salary history. This is post interview which took place nearly 2wks ago.

ezekieldas — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:47:18 -0800

HR from potential (new) employer is asking for 1) references 2) salary history. This is post interview which took place nearly 2wks ago. I don't think this scenario is in the advice book...

HR from potential (new) employer is asking for 1) references 2) salary history. This is post interview which took place nearly 2wks ago. My experience is that refs are fine at this stage, I do ask "I understand that you are asking for references as you're prepared to make an offer correct?" and the answer is "yes." However, per 2) salary history. I am in the habit of not disclosing and since I've done hiring and had staff in the recent and distant past I've been asked, or told, words to the extent of "our payroll is not public information. Please don't disclose." Also, I've read many, many articles regarding the question of salary expectations and history. At this point I have successfully turned the question around numerous times acquiring a range for the employer's posted requisition. Also, I feel the question posed at initial phone calls is not in regards to a job but more HR research.

Anyhow, I'm half-hearted about this particular organization. I felt the discussion regarding the above was solicitous and aggressive (numerous attempts to get me to reveal salary _history_ from former employer). I defended my position with grace and with courtesy but was wondering if I'm irrationally sandbagging.

My question(s) then: 1) Am I being unreasonable? I really feel it's a disservice to former employers to reveal too many internal details 2) Should I just quote a range and say this is what I hope the offer defines? I feel the upstanding fine and professional organization should be the one to state the figure. This is also what all the seasoned job hunting advice notes.

Lastly, I suppose I'm not asking yes/no advice simply for this instance (which I may very well pass up). I'd like to know how those of you better with negotiation would deal with this.

Fighting for salary re-negotiations

Tequila Mockingbird — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:03:03 -0800

I've been learning new skills at my company that are far outside of my current job description. I've long ago realized that there's going to be a need for someone to take on these responsibilities beyond the one person we have now. And the time seems to be approaching! Please help me work through this and nail the salary re-negotiations. (This is a small company of 9 people, they've let everyone but the very bare essentials go. We're in a creative industry.)

The second set of responsibilities is crucial for our company to continue functioning, and the main employee who does this stuff is going to be out of the country for a while. (How that person hasn't had extended illnesses or vacations in all this time is mindboggling.) I've talked to our HR/office manager two weeks ago, mentioning the fact that I'd love to take this on but would need fair compensation. And I've already proven myself capable, the company knows I can do this.

So here's the thing: next week we might have a need for me to start doing this second job, and I haven't heard anything back about my promotion. I think I'm being reasonable when I consider it as such, as it's a huge jump from my position and I would continue doing my original job. Plus the new position would involve working with heavy/fragile/expensive equipment and occasional travel, both in and outside of the country (USA). It's a big change from what is essentially a desk job. And I don't want them to think I'll happily smile and take the first number they throw at me, just because "emergency" work came up and I wouldn't want the company to suffer, now would I?

Some relevant information:

* 3 years of employment here
* No annual reviews, raises, or bonuses in that time
* All equipment I'd be working with is proprietary stuff that we developed in-house, taking weeks to learn and weeks more to use unassisted
* I'm the best they've ever had at what I currently do, working at the efficiency of 2-3 people
* But I'm badly underpaid for this, others in the industry are making 30-50% more. (Ouch!)

So, how hard do I push for that minimum 20% increase I want? How do I be that iron fist in a velvet glove I've always wanted to be in negotiations? I know it's too late to bring up being underpaid, but I know it and they know it, and I want to stand up for myself and fight for a fairer salary with this change.

Please throw tips at me! How can I best be firm without holding the company hostage and burning myself? Any guidance, with wording or other things, would be appreciated.

HR wants my salary info

timnyc — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:49:09 -0800

Tell them my salary or politely decline? On Friday, I learned about a job opportunity though an ex-colleague who would be my new boss. This person told me they're eager to fill the position and asked what salary I'm looking for. I ducked the salary question and, at their urging, applied online yesterday. Today I get a one-sentence email from an HR rep asking my current salary. I know salary negotiation has been covered on AskMeFi before, but I haven't seen this particular variation. No interview has happened. Doesn't salary talk usually happen later on? I have no idea how much this position pays, benefits, etc.; it could be better or worse than my current gig. The prospective position is grant-funded with a City agency. (Side question: are grant-funded positions risky?)

Is this job a good deal?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:08:39 -0800

I'm very far down the road in an interview process for an internal position. I have some doubts. Help me decide if they are rational or fear based. I have been interviewing for a position within my company that would require me to move divisions and work with a group of people I do not know as well. (unknown factor) Overall I think the new division is more in line with my long term career goals and the people *seem* great (big plus), yet the position itself is lateral and more of a "stepping stone" to the next job I *really* would want.

The usefulness of this stepping stone has varied with prior employees in this kind of job - the job requires more exposure to senior level management which can lead to great opportunities, or no opportunities depending on how you use it. (another highly unknown factor) It's not a guarantee of a step up overall, but if I do well could lead to truly great and wonderful things for me in an area of the company I feel more passionate about (big plus). It requires a 2 year commitment (minus for me). Additionally, the opportunity would almost certainly pay less and the title would (at best) be the same (minus).

The hiring process for the new opportunity has been bizarre. I originally applied over 3 months ago. I have had about 7 interviews with various people, and it has been down to two final candidates for about a month. Apparently they are having a really difficult job deciding between us. (my ego is reacting to this one).

HR wanted to talk to me about salary before extending an offer, and actually offered a bit of an ultimatum - asking me to tell them immediately if the money wouldn't work "so you can be taken out of the process." The money is fine (not exciting for me), and the overall expected value of my current salary is better.

I'm good at my job and like the work. Some of the people drive me nuts, but I'm not sure that would change anywhere. In my current position I am very well respected, a high performer, and I have the sponsorship of my leadership in terms of opportunity and visibility. I have been promoted three times in the last four years. However, I've hit the ceiling in my division and there is no immediate room for the next promotion. I love the company but am willing to leave for a better opportunity.

If I stay in my current job I probably will be opportunistically looking for something new. My current job feels really good to me right now, but I am not sure if that is fear of the unknown speaking. I feel like my upside in staying with my current job is that I could interview for a higher level job either within the company or outside it freely, whereas I'm facing a two year commitment at the same level if I move to the other division.

Basically, my short term life will almost certainly be better in my current job, while my long term (2+ years) prospects are likely better in the new job.

Emotionally I've been on a roller coaster about it. The interviews have largely made me excited about the people, the division, and my long term prospects. The dealing with HR/comp/long time line has been unbelievably frustrating and annoying.

Right now my gut is telling me to say no to the job (or hope they don't offer it) and keep looking for something that makes me excited more than 50% of the time. Of course, my gut may be informed by my wallet, my ego (really, you can't decide between two people in less than a month!?!?) and my fear of the unknown. What do you think as an outside observer?

It's not you, it's your salary expectations.

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:05:21 -0800

I was turned down for a job. The reason given was that they couldn't match the salary range that I could get from other jobs. Is this a common "polite lie" among employers or is this the actual reason for me not getting hired? I interviewed with a company, and as far as I could tell, it went well. I seemed to connect, and there were no major gaffes or stumping questions.

The next day, I was informed that I had good experience but that they thought about it, and they couldn't pay me what other employers would.

The thing is, a whole week before the interview, they asked what my salary was so you'd think they'd be able to figure it out right then and there. However, at the interview, I did let them know about another offer I had which was about 10% more than my current salary. (They asked if I had other offers.)

I'm thinking that if they were really interested in me and were strapped (this is a small company), they'd just match my current salary and hope for the best. So, I'm guessing that this is just the polite "reason" they're giving.

Can anyone confirm that this is a typical employer way of letting people down easy? What's the likelihood that I really was turned down for money reasons?

Asked for too much at job interview - help!

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:24:01 -0800

I just asked for too much at a job interview. Did I screw up? I just went through a day long set of job interviews meeting with 8 different people and having absolutely fantastic response from everybody. When the salary discussion came at the end of the day I overshot by a lot and am feeling awkward and unsure. I don't know. Some friends are saying that everybody overshoots and to not freak out about it - but my fiance went apeshit and thinks I've sabotaged things by asking for too much. Unfortunately I won't hear more back until Monday but I hate festering over the weekend and wasn't sure if there is some type of message I should sent to the main interviewee some sort of 'I realized I asked for too much.' verbiage. Thanks for your help!!