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By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
These days, you have to answer the questions in two ways–one for states where it’s an illegal question and the other for states where is still legal.
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Is it weird to ask about previous salary on an application? I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I coach people on workplace issues and that can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading, being more effective in the work environment as overall. And someone asked me this question and I have to answer it in two ways.
The first one is there are certain places in the United States where it’s illegal to ask this question. You cannot ask about current salary. They can ask about desired salary.
You obviously are not in a part of the country where this is an illegal question. So, with that, is it weird? Not weird. Why do they do it? Simple.
Many organizations are looking to economize and they have the information about what they’re prepared to pay and you don’t. And even with a range, you don’t know whether they’ve set up a system where they try to limit the percentage increase over your current salary that they’re going to offer. So, understand, for example, I had a client some years ago that tried to hire people for four percent increases.
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It didn’t work for very long but they tried to cap it and the way it worked is they would make the offer for a four percent increase. When it got turned down, someone would panic. They’d run up to the executive comp person saying we really need this person for an assignment and we need approval above the four percent.
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Notice what they’ve done is create some hedge in there but the goal was to try and get some people for a four percent raise. They got quite a few at a four percent raise and this limited their financial exposure. For you, that doesn’t serve you.
You always want to be in the position where you have information, too. So, if you’re filling out an application, avoid the question about current salary. Answer the one about desired salary.
They will probably come back to you and ask you about your current salary. You can answer it or not. Understand, if you don’t, they may respond as a number of my clients used to do and say, we need this information.
The interview is going to come to an end. It’s that simple. And, for you, if this is on applying for a job and you’re not on the interview, you can fill in the field and say we can discuss in person.
So, that’s a smooth way to handle it. Answer the one about desired compensation and work from there. I’m Jeff Altman.
Hope you found this helpful. Visit TheBigGameHunter.us where I have much more there on the blog. You can also schedule different types of coaching sessions with me as well as a free discovery call.
Lastly, if you’re watching on youtube, click the little icon in the lower right so you can subscribe to my channel be notified whenever I release something new. Have a great day and take care.
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