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Oldest comments (33)
Personally, I don't even think that's a question they should be asking. In my last interview, I was asked the question but I really didn't reply :)
I kind of just swung around and luckily for me the recruiter was ok with me doing that and just continued. Was the right move though because I am pretty certain I would have been offered a lower rate if I had given out that info.
Avoid if possible, if you can’t maybe tell them the salary you believe you should be earning.
No. Rather, if their offer is too low, just tell them it's to low.
You can say, sorry, I can't disclose that information.
Otherwise they can use the info to tone their proposal down.
I never share that info with recruiters or even if I'm being interviewed I don't answer that question because, and excuse my brashness here, it is none of their business.
No. No. And not at all. :)
I don't think you should. If they demand it, then tell them no thank you and hang up.
Something similar was asked a while back, there were some helpful answers in that post:
Why do recruiters ask for current salary?
Cristiano Almeida ・ Apr 16 ・ 1 min read
My rule of thumb is to only start discussing minimum salary-requirements if you're moving on to an in-person interview: basically, why waste the drive and the PTO to be interviewed if there's no possibility that they're going to meet your salary minimums.
No no no. It's even illegal to ask in a lot of states in the US. I know it is here in Washington at the least. Check in with regulations in your area and know your rights ahead of time.
Some other good responses:
"I'd rather not share that right now, I'd prefer to focus on the value that I can add to your company and this offer"
"I have an ethical concern with disclosing how my current employer compensates their employees, so I can't share that information with you"
The last one I would withhold unless they're being pushy, since it can come across overly strong in certain situations. It's a great one though, since the recruiter would have to knowingly ask you to compromise your ethics to get you to respond, and if that's the case that would be a good sign to look elsewhere.
I am not aware of any law prohibiting recruiters from asking your current salary in Washington state. (Perhaps you mean DC, but just throwing this out there.) California definitely made the question illegal since it unfairly disadvantages women who are typically paid less than male counterparts in the same role. All states should adopt such legislation.
Never!
The company has already much more information about the market that you have.
The single information they lack is "what is the minimum amount of money is this person ready to work for".
Release this information early in the process and you are basically trying to strike a deal naked.