Soldato
Inflate it, of course. Always.
Do you lie when asked what your current salary is in an interview?
- Thread starter dalehitchy1
- Start date
It depends on the industry in all honesty. Most couldn't care less and won't properly undertake the candidate due diligence. In the industry I headhunt for, I've seen individuals sacked once their new employer finds out they've lied on their joining forms.
Deleted member 651465
D
Deleted member 651465
This. Whenever asked I talk in terms of package because the salary is only one component and a job with a great pension, benefits etc is worth more on top of that flat salary.
Associate
I find it better to ask at the beginning the salary range for the job; it saves wasted time and disappointment later.
Weirdly I had an employer offer more than I'd said I wanted when they asked me, wasn't complaining about that
well fortunately they probably worry about 'internal equity' or whatever HR buzzword they give it now, they'd probably have had more to give if pushed too
this is why ideally you don't want to give a figure first (whether your current salary/total package or expected salary) - unfortunately it can be difficult to avoid doing so
P45 thing shouldn't matter unless:
-You've told a massive fib that is easily identifiable (e.g. "I'm on £80k/year" but your P45 says you've only earned £20k 6 months into the tax year).
-You have applied for a job subject to stringent background checks or is highly regulated
-You are extremely unlucky
In most cases a small inflation of say 10-15% can probably get lost in the noise, especially if you have accrued untaken leave which will be paid out as cash (so your pro-rata YTD earnings are higher). Remember that if an employer has gone through the whole recruitment process, selected you as the best candidate and got you on board they will not want to rip all that up and start again. If you get called up on it you could perhaps work in some guff about how you included bonus in the figure (regardless of whether you were actually likely to receive one or not).
In most cases I seek to deflect discussion away from an outright discussion of current salary and focus on what I believe would be a fair rate based on the role, market rates and my experience/qualifications.
One thing I find interesting is some jobs don't advertise or discuss working hours early in the process which can play an important part in appraising a package. The difference between say a 35hr week and a 40hr week is around 15%. So when moving to a job with longer hours you need a rise just to break even (all else being equal).
For additional comments I posted a similar thread about five years ago: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18335821 .
-You've told a massive fib that is easily identifiable (e.g. "I'm on £80k/year" but your P45 says you've only earned £20k 6 months into the tax year).
-You have applied for a job subject to stringent background checks or is highly regulated
-You are extremely unlucky
In most cases a small inflation of say 10-15% can probably get lost in the noise, especially if you have accrued untaken leave which will be paid out as cash (so your pro-rata YTD earnings are higher). Remember that if an employer has gone through the whole recruitment process, selected you as the best candidate and got you on board they will not want to rip all that up and start again. If you get called up on it you could perhaps work in some guff about how you included bonus in the figure (regardless of whether you were actually likely to receive one or not).
In most cases I seek to deflect discussion away from an outright discussion of current salary and focus on what I believe would be a fair rate based on the role, market rates and my experience/qualifications.
One thing I find interesting is some jobs don't advertise or discuss working hours early in the process which can play an important part in appraising a package. The difference between say a 35hr week and a 40hr week is around 15%. So when moving to a job with longer hours you need a rise just to break even (all else being equal).
For additional comments I posted a similar thread about five years ago: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18335821 .
To answer the original question I will give total compensation if I give a figure at all. At the end of the day it's not salary but the amount of money I will actually be earning that I care about so I need to make sure the new salary is at least as my previous package in case there is no opportunity to increase my earnings above baseline with my new employer. At the end of the day your P45 includes overtime, bonuses and unused holiday which will boost your apparent salary if the new employer bothers to scrutinize it.
As I was made redundant after 4 months this year and paid in lieu for 5 weeks my P45 shows over a 30% increase in salary.
Any decent company does not release salary information like that. Especially when it's someones line manager giving the reference who has a rapport with the former employee...
As I was made redundant after 4 months this year and paid in lieu for 5 weeks my P45 shows over a 30% increase in salary.
Any decent company does not release salary information like that. Especially when it's someones line manager giving the reference who has a rapport with the former employee...
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There is no obligation to give a reference and certainly not to give salary information. Just because someone asks, does not mean they are entitled to an answer. Your previous wages are not relevant to your future wages from any legal stand point.
To add if a prospect employer in an interview takes issue with your unwillingness to disclose your previous salary, then to me that is not a good sign and I would suggest you look elsewhere. I'm at a position in my career where I lay out the terms on which a conversation about a role starts, but even when I wasn't I guarded my earnings very closely and sold my value to the business, not my previous salary.
This x1000, if they are demanding your salary it suggests they just want to drive you down to the minimum amount they think you'll accept instead of paying you what you are worth based on your skills, experience and contribution to the business. Such an employer is not going to get you anywhere in the long run.
That doesn't happen in a large company though.
Recruitment teams and payroll teams are even likely to be in separate offices. Thus the recruiter would actually have no idea.
If the salary is already increased, then i see no reason to lie. However if your current salary is within the boundary, then sure, but don't be silly adding on 10k as they'll know you're lying.
When i was asked for my current job, it was actually coming up to my annual payrise for my previous job, so i added on what i would have potentially got for my payrise, and used that as the current salary. Didn't receive any objections btw.
Hah no wasn't who you're thinking of there
Kind of worked out the other way, to put me on what I wanted they had to go higher on their end it seems.
The role had people at many different bands doing performing at different levels, I was one of the very few that was at my particular banding (at the high end) so definitely wasn't a 'salary equality' thing.
Anyway agree it can be tricky not to disclose, as I really wanted the role I just said what it'd take to get me, everyone was happy
Payroll will need to know how much you have earned in order to correctly calculate your tax.
It might get missed in larger companies, it might not. Just seems ridiculous to me to even consider doing it. If you want a higher salary just ask for it.
I often do to recruiters as previously had them moan about the increase i asked for in a new role. I had worked for a company for 2.5 years with no pay rise and passed quiet a few exams so my current salary wasn't a true reflection.
No. I tell my interviewer that it's in my contract of employment that my salary is confidential and I'm respecting my contract.
I agree re: lying and if you feel the need then I think it is better to simply avoid revealing current compensation if at all possible.
However the idea of just asking for a higher salary might work with some employers it certainly doesn't necessarily with others - for example some may well have policies re: % uplift they'll offer (or perhaps require the hiring manager to get approval if he wants to offer more). In some cases hiring manages simply don't want to fell like they're paying 'too much' for a candidate and so do base an offer around the candidate's existing compensation.
It is interesting to see this question get asked on linked in or quora and see the convoluted reasoning espoused by recruiters to justify it. Dubious arguments about how it is in their interests for the candidate to get the highest salary possible and how they want openness and honesty.
I've just had this situation myself. A role has come up at a competitor company that I am qualified for and have the exact skill set they are looking for. Looking at similar jobs this should be a 35-45% pay rise for me. So I decided to play it safe and put on my real salary rather than lie but I know if I get the interview I think I can convince them I'm worth it. If not then next time I'm playing a little looser with the truth
You'll just go on the standard tax code until HMRC tell them what the correct code is. Then it'll sort itself out and you'll still pay the right amount of tax.