When is a High Salary a Liability?
A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal highlighted an issue that we have had to deal with from time to time.
This is not unique to digital marketing, but certainly relevant to it.
The question of “What was your last salary?” frequently emerges early in the interview process, as a way to determine that neither hiring company nor job seeker invests too much time on an exploration that cannot lead to a happy conclusion. However, it can be a real issue for unemployed job seekers that were previously commanding a substantial salary. Even if the job seeker just wants to be employed once again, and is willing to be flexible in terms of salary expectations, there is a perception that if they “settle” for a lower salary they will not be happy for long.
From the job seeker perspective, many would simply like the opportunity to determine for themselves whether they would be satisfied with a pay cut – especially when compared to unemployment!
I have also worked with job seekers who were currently employed in lucrative roles, where they were not happy. They had to convince me that they were truly prepared to take a cut in compensation for a new opportunity that paid less, but offered other things that offset the decrease in pay, such as less travel, work/life balance, or the opportunity to work in a less chaotic environment. While I would not mislead a client if asked outright what the candidate was making, I have said things along the lines of “Joe is seeking a salary in the $100k range”. (Never mind that Joe was currently making $150k).
It’s an issue that we usually do not think much about, since most job candidates are seeking to increase their income as much as possible.
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