Job interview - salary question

daz.rathbone · 25 Jun 2010 at 12:57

I've worked through all my IT roles (engineer/UNIX etc) from about £8k upto £50k, and there's some good and bad advice in this thread.

Personally, I've *never* mentioned salary in an interview unless asked (which has happened occasionally). Usually this is handled afterwards if the interview leads to either 2nd interview (possibly with HR or a CBI), or during a formal offer. It's at this point that any negotiations should take place.

It sounds as though you've done your research well, but ideally either your CV or (even better) any agency you are using should be setting your salary expectations accordingly.

As someone who now employs a number of people in IT roles, I'd be quite happy for the odd question about salary in an interview, but I certainly wouldn't be expecting any negotiation to be taking place. Wrong time and place imho.

Best of luck with it.

toshj · 25 Jun 2010 at 12:58

Pudney@work said:
Do you mean the company wouldn't have a leg to stand on? If so during the probationary period they don't need a leg to stand on, they don't even really need a reason. Hell, even before the first year is up a company can quite easily get rid of people for no real reason. Employees' rights before then are pretty much nil.

this is pretty much spot on. i suppose it might come down to us recruiting into a more defined and regulated industry.

i'm 100% certain (and correct) that in that the industry I headhunt for, that if you lie or over-inflate your salary during the interview stages then you will be let go during your probationary period if they find out. i'm pretty sure they could sack you after your probation period as well, as in your contract it states that all the information you provide must be 100% correct to the bedt of your knowledge.

if i wanted to offer someone a base salary of £30,000, and the guy tells me he's already on £30,000 and I end up offering him £40,000, if i then found out he was initially on £25,000 i'd fire him on the spot and i'm sure a great deal of companies would do.

turbotoaster · 25 Jun 2010 at 13:02

i love this, all you guys are actually gonna tell your new employer your actual wages with your p45.....come on think about it, the p45 is the only thing with those details on, why in the world would you give it to your new employer so he could possibly pull you up on it.

When they ask for it, ask to fill a p46 in, its not rocket science, ive done this before when i didnt want them to know about my previous earnings.

Thought this was obvious to everyone

daz.rathbone · 25 Jun 2010 at 13:03

Sorry, my above reply was late... that will teach me to read page 2 of the thread

Sounds like it went well, so hope things work out for you.
Incidentally, the questions around bad experience, or something negative about you are almost ALWAYS asked. From an IT/engineer viewpoint I always mention paperwork as a weakness, but one that I'm aware of and actively monitoring - that's they key, they want to see awareness of any weaknesses and to know that's it's something you are actively working on.

Morba · 25 Jun 2010 at 13:21

toshj said:
this is pretty much spot on. i suppose it might come down to us recruiting into a more defined and regulated industry.

i'm 100% certain (and correct) that in that the industry I headhunt for, that if you lie or over-inflate your salary during the interview stages then you will be let go during your probationary period if they find out. i'm pretty sure they could sack you after your probation period as well, as in your contract it states that all the information you provide must be 100% correct to the bedt of your knowledge.

if i wanted to offer someone a base salary of £30,000, and the guy tells me he's already on £30,000 and I end up offering him £40,000, if i then found out he was initially on £25,000 i'd fire him on the spot and i'm sure a great deal of companies would do.

employers need to offer money based on what they feel someone is worth, not what their previous salary is.
Sacking someone due to your own failings as a manager is poor

toshj · 25 Jun 2010 at 13:47

Morba said:
employers need to offer money based on what they feel someone is worth, not what their previous salary is.
Sacking someone due to your own failings as a manager is poor

who sad that the person would be sacked due to your own failings? the person would be let go due to lying about their previous salary. like i said, acceptance of lying about one's salary probably changes from industry to industry. i mentioned that i would let the person go, and that's purely down to me not being able to trust them as an employee if they're lying before they've even got the job.

Morba · 25 Jun 2010 at 14:39

toshj said:
who sad that the person would be sacked due to your own failings? the person would be let go due to lying about their previous salary. like i said, acceptance of lying about one's salary probably changes from industry to industry. i mentioned that i would let the person go, and that's purely down to me not being able to trust them as an employee if they're lying before they've even got the job.

Rubbish. Inflation of salary is like white lies on cv.
You wouldn't like some one getting one up on you.

If you felt the person was worth what you are paying them then what does it matter?

In your scenario, if the person said they were on £25k you would have pushed for £30k salary. If they rejected you wouldn't up it £10k, it would be 2 or 3.

The negotiations are where employers try to get you for as little as possible.

toshj · 25 Jun 2010 at 14:47

Morba said:
Rubbish. Inflation of salary is like white lies on cv.
You wouldn't like some one getting one up on you.

If you felt the person was worth what you are paying them then what does it matter?

In your scenario, if the person said they were on £25k you would have pushed for £30k salary. If they rejected you wouldn't up it £10k, it would be 2 or 3.

The negotiations are where employers try to get you for as little as possible.

that's cool and all, i suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree. like i mentioned earlier in the post, i've worked in recruitment for a while and know that (if they find out) companies do fire people for lying about their previous salary, but i suppose your opinion is equally as valid and proven.

Jez · 25 Jun 2010 at 16:24

turbotoaster said:
i love this, all you guys are actually gonna tell your new employer your actual wages with your p45.....come on think about it, the p45 is the only thing with those details on, why in the world would you give it to your new employer so he could possibly pull you up on it.

When they ask for it, ask to fill a p46 in, its not rocket science, ive done this before when i didnt want them to know about my previous earnings.

Thought this was obvious to everyone

This is where i am very much struggling to understand the issue here.

edscdk · 25 Jun 2010 at 16:32

Morba said:
Rubbish. Inflation of salary is like white lies on cv.
You wouldn't like some one getting one up on you.

I think I'd draw the line a a lie on a CV,

It might be a small lie as far as you are concerned but someone else may think otherwise...

I can see people getting sacked for lieing on their CV, but not for adding a few K to their sallery...

Pudney · 25 Jun 2010 at 16:44

Morba said:
Rubbish. Inflation of salary is like white lies on cv.
You wouldn't like some one getting one up on you.

If it helps I've seen someone be fired for putting that he "left" a job when in fact he was "dismissed". That was all they needed for firing.

LiE · 25 Jun 2010 at 16:48

I had this question asked of me yesterday at my interview. It was strange because I was approached by them, and I'm quite cosy in my current job. When asked, I told him I didn't know what to expect in terms of salary, but obviously was looking to progress financially. Awaiting my offer

randomshenans · 25 Jun 2010 at 17:33

toshj said:
that's cool and all, i suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree. like i mentioned earlier in the post, i've worked in recruitment for a while and know that (if they find out) companies do fire people for lying about their previous salary, but i suppose your opinion is equally as valid and proven.

You are like your name, you talk tosh! What industry is it that you "own" your headhunting company?
I think you'll find it's very hard to get rid of someone, unless they are in their probationary period as it slants down on the side of the employee quite heavily in general.

Hell, a couple of grand inflated salary to get you both to feel like you've got a deal is a small price to pay to stop paying your % that you guys charge.

Before you ask I have a background of headhunting in Oil & Gas, Pharma, Engineering, Manufacturing and Nuclear, so have been there. Would be curious to know what company you supposedly run?

Glaceon · 25 Jun 2010 at 17:37

When will people realise that everything is about money and you shouldn't have to feel like scum asking how much the job pays, or wanting a higher salary. All this "you should want to do the job" malarky is annoying. People can want to do the job and want to get paid well, too.

sanaxe1 · 25 Jun 2010 at 17:38

If they ask they just be blunt and say how much you would like if they agree then is when the real negotiation comes in and you try and get paid in gold coins.

Kill_Phil · 25 Jun 2010 at 17:48

dont even mention money unless they do. you will come across as purely money motivated. if they offer you the job thats when negotiation on wage starts. because if they have taken you on its clear they like you, so they will more than likely be happy to negotiate a wage within reason

gambitt · 25 Jun 2010 at 18:58

toshj said:
if i wanted to offer someone a base salary of £30,000, and the guy tells me he's already on £30,000 and I end up offering him £40,000, if i then found out he was initially on £25,000 i'd fire him on the spot and i'm sure a great deal of companies would do.

It makes no difference what the person used to make. If you hired him at £40,000 then you obviously think he's worth that much to your company. If anything it would reflect badly on the manager for trying to rectify his "mistake".

Finally, nothing like this is normally put down in writing. Most of the time it's a case of a conversation that goes something like "I need to be earning X amount to pay my bills/support my family" not "I used to make X amount so now I want more". What that person used to make is none of your business. Would you fire someone if they told you their monthly outgoings were higher than really are as well?

Morba · 25 Jun 2010 at 19:00

Pudney@work said:
If it helps I've seen someone be fired for putting that he "left" a job when in fact he was "dismissed". That was all they needed for firing.

That's far from a little lie though

turbotoaster · 26 Jun 2010 at 04:30

Jez said:
This is where i am very much struggling to understand the issue here.

the thing that makes me laugh about ocuk forums are some people are so honest and niave, i suppose there are a lot of younger people on the forum so they havent had time to experience a lot of how the real world works yet

digipeep · 26 Jun 2010 at 04:48

" I would like a bit more than I am currently on (17.5k) as now have a years more experience (two and half years in IT) plus my degree"

Start contracting. It's a waste of time being employed in IT. 17.5k with a degree is a joke, Tesco pay's that rate for full time shelf stackers.

Seriously with 2 years industry experience and a degree you should start look initially at contracts around £30 an hour. Then build yourself up from there.