Career Report March, 2006 — Issue 73

Bob Larson, CPC
Bob Larson, CPC

Disclosing Pay in the Job Search

When should you divulge your salary to a prospective employer? According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, many businesses want to know an applicants’ latest pay during the early stages of the hiring process. But that often can present a dilemma with no simple solution. If you dodge premature pay inquiries, you might be taken out of the running for being too secretive; if you divulge every cent you earn, you might risk being viewed as overqualified or inexperienced.

“There’s no way of knowing for sure if disclosing or withholding is the best strategy,” said Jack Chapman, author of Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute, and a Wilmette, Ill, career coach. “You’re dealing with potential rejection either away.”

When weighing what to do, job seekers need to use their best judgment. In doing so, experts say, it helps to take into account the desired job’s level, the duration of the vacancy, the extent of rival contenders, the scarcity of your skills and your insight about the openings’ salary.

And candid money talk with outside recruiters is almost always a good idea, the article pointed out. “Blowing off the compensation question creates bad chemistry with the recruiter,” cautioned Patricia Cook, head of an executive-search firm in Bronxville, N.Y. Thirteen times during her recruiting career, Ms. Cook has encountered qualified prospects that refused to tell her their pay. When she presented the 12 women and one man to corporate clients, none became a finalist.

Before baring your bucks to a recruiter, though, try to persuade him to gauge your worth. You might ask, “What’s the most money that my skills would command in the marketplace? If the number falls short of your latest paycheck, you can provide solid reasons why you’re not being paid more. If you appear relatively underpaid, describe hefty raises and bonuses that you pocketed during boom times. Emphasize that bad business conditions rather than individual performance were to blame.

You can also turn the tables on a nosey hiring manager, according to the article. Inquire about the budgeted salary range for the targeted spot when the salary question comes up. Say whether that range matches your qualifications and personal needs; perhaps indicate your current salary range at this point or the range you are seeking. You could also consider expressing eagerness to negotiate your next package once it’s clear you’re the preferred pick. A good “postponing phrase speaks confidence in being hired,” Chapman’s book suggests.

But this ploy doesn’t always work. A corporate trainer wanted to avoid revealing his pay when he sought employment with a New York area information-services company. “I did try to get around it by saying, ‘I’m hoping for a fair offer,’” the Long Island resident told the newspaper. He also asked about the projected pay range.

Ignoring his query, the head of training insisted on learning his current salary. He said he was paid about $114,000 a year. Offered $118,000, he requested a slightly larger sum. The concern abruptly dropped its offer. “We’re not happy you asked for more money,” one official told him. The trainer now wonders whether he divulged his compensation too soon.

Taking all things into consideration, it can still be very tempting to exaggerate your pay package. Despite the potential pitfalls they can face, numerous job seekers inflate how much they make, typically by including their bonus target and the value of perquisites, the article noted.

On the other hand, during a difficult job market, Bill Davidson actually did the opposite to land job interviews. The former information-technology director applied to be a project manager at Postini in San Carlos, Calif., which was offering $88,000 for the position. He informed the e-mail filtering concern that his last cash compensation totaled about $100,000 when the real number was $140,000.

Davidson accepted the $88,000 post; a month after he joined Postini he said he admitted his deception—without repercussions.

As a rule, though, you should never fib your way into a new workplace, the article pointed out. “People will pull offers for a clear lie about pay,” warned Lee E. Miller, co-host of “Your CareerDoctors.com,” an Internet radio show. And finding a lie about pay is quite easy. Job seekers should always keep in mind that some companies require final pay stubs or income-tax forms to verify salary.

News from BLK

We are very excited to announce that our new book, Aim, Shoot, Get Hired, is now available for purchase through our website. A compendium of the best of our monthly Career Report newsletters, this book offers valuable advice on a variety of employment topics.

On Tuesday evening, March 28th, MIS Network Associates (MNA), IT-Networking (IT NET), TENG, Monmouth Networking, Association of Women in Computing and Careers In Transition (CIT) will host a combined Recruiter Night Out dinner meeting for members, alumni, friends and guests at Villa Roberto in Rochelle Park, NJ. The Recruiter Night Out will include a dialogue with a panel of four recruiters and will be moderated by Bob Larson, president, Berman Larson Kane.

Sorry for Being Right

Well this is one incident that I wish I was wrong.

We at Berman Larson Kane https://www.jobsbl.com/ have been suspicious of the job creation numbers released over the past several months as being overly optimistic. Today’s report of a net loss of jobs in August of minus 4,000 jobs and the revision quoted in today’s WSJ seem more in line with our analysis.

Previous reports were revised sharply lower. July job growth was revised down to 68,000 from 92,000. June gains were revised to 69,000 from 126,000. The 44,000 monthly average job gain for the past three months is down sharply from the 147,000 average between January and May.” WSJ 9/07/07

As for our prediction last month of the effects of the sub-prime impact on job creation the good-producing sector was decimated with a loss of 64,000 jobs in August. And I am afraid that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The only ray of light here was in the computer sector with consulting, design, management and peripheral equipment all adding new jobs in August.

As for our micro world here at BLK https://www.jobsbl.com/ we are again going against the grain. We experienced a steady flow of orders from our clients and new assignments are ahead of 2006 for the third quarter. So again I am lost to figure out what is going on?

Two possible situations might explain these gains. Our clients are pushing for new hires before budgets evaporate or we at BLK are working a few of demand niches that continue through good and bad times. But once again we will only know if we are right when we can look once again in the rearview mirror in 6-7 months. As for now I am thankful for the moment of having wonderful clients who are keeping us busy filling their jobs.

As for my prediction of what is really going on? For some unexplained instinct I believe that we will see an increase over the dismal August number with September returning at least for a brief period to an increase job creation cycle.

This time I really hope I am right….but only time will tell.