On Lying About Your Salary in Job Interviews
Controversial piece in Daily Worth resulted in a lively discussion in the Bucks Blog of the New York Times: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/on-lying-about-your-salary-in-job-interviews/
The piece was written about a woman who lied about her current salary to a recruiter for a potential job, saying she was earning $5,000 more than she was.
Then, when the recruiter called to offer her the job and to let her know the employer would match her current salary, she asked for more…and got it.
Misrepresenting one’s salary while interviewing for a new job is commonplace, to be sure. I certainly understand the job seeker’s desire to receive the maximum salary offer from a new employer, and I am well aware that there is no better time to maximize one’s earning potential than when taking a new job. And in the interest of full disclosure, as a recruiter whose fee is earned as a percentage of the new hire’s salary, I don’t want to see my candidates shortchanged.
However…
We have been recruiting long enough to have developed a broad network of relationships, often with multiple members of a department within an organization. I have a pretty good idea of what you are making, what your peers in the industry are making, and even what your boss is making. I have seen it all…candidates who forget which salary they claimed to be making the last time we spoke…candidates who include the value of healthcare benefits, paid holidays, gym membership and potential bonuses that haven’t been realized in years when I ask them for their base salary…and candidates who may simply have received bad advice about career negotiations. As a recruiter, my job is to bring job seeker and employer together, so that both feel a happy marriage has been made, and neither feel unduly compromised. It is a tremendous asset when both parties lay their cards on the table. Job seekers need to be honest about what they are making, and what they are looking for, in terms of salary. If their current salary is below market, I will do my best to bring them up to a fair level of compensation. And employers need to offer compensation that is equitable for the level of talent and experience they seek.
Some of our clients ask for substantiation of your salary claim, including a recent pay stub or last year’s tax return, before extending an offer.
It’s only natural to wish to maximize your salary. But I ask candidates to look at it a different way: At what salary would you be “happy enough”? Because if you are making $100,000 and you would be happy to make a move for $115,000, but you hold out for $125,000…maybe you will get it. More likely, you may be going up against candidates that are already making $115,000, and have experience commensurate with that salary. When the client hires the more experienced candidate at $125,000 will you feel remorse at having “required” that salary?
The piece raises many interesting questions, including whether lying about one’s salary is a lie or a negotiation tactic…unethical or just a bluff…
The Daily Worth post was later retracted, under a firestorm of criticism. A host of legal and ethical issues were cited.
In the end, I see the road towards a hire much like the negotiation of real estate. Both sides want to feel that they were well represented, resulting in a fair deal. Perhaps both feel somewhat compromised, and the buyer wonders if an offer of a little less might have been accepted. The seller wonders whether they could have pushed the offer up. Neither feels bloodied and taken advantage of. All in all, both end up winners.
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