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To all HR people on the board, does previous salaries make an impact on a job offer. I have jobs in the past that have rather low base salaries but had incentives and perks added to it, that would add an extra 10-15k on the salary but I didn't have a chance to put that on my resume.
If my past salaries does have an impact on what the salary that I am getting presently getting offered? If it does, should I make the incentive and perks info available to the company that is offering me a job?
I do look at previous compensation. If it includes commissions and bonuses, they are certainly taken into consideration. Things like 401K and health insurance I dont' care about--they are standard.
I won't low ball someone, but if someone has been making $40K and the salary range for the position is $40K to $70K, I'm most likely not offering them the top dollar. I figure that someone's income should be relevent to their education and/or experience, and if they are currently at $40K, they are probably one of the less experienced people I'm looking at for the job.
So why should I pay them the salary level reserved for a true "rock star" with tons of relevent education and experience? Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but I'd generally offer them 10-20% more than they are currently earning, unless for some reason they are currently earning way below the typical salary for that position. And then that would be a red flag they should offer and explanation to before I have to ask.
A good example would be someone who has kids where they were allowed to telecommute to be home in the afternoon when their kids came home from school or daycamp in exchange for being on the lower end of the payband for their position. A work/life compromise.
Not in HR, but I can tell you what our hiring practices are like. They absolutely take your previous salary in to consideration. HR has "rules" about how much they would be willing to bump up a salary for both internal and external candidates.
I have actually witnessed first hand someone refusing a position because of salary and HR turning around and offering a less qualified candidate more money because they happen to be making more money that the first person. It's enough to make you want to bang your head against the wall.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Not HR, but I can tell you my company places ads that says something like "past salary required" or "resumes without salary history not considered". I've learned two things:
1) whoever reveals past salary is ALWAYS low-balled. And they never catch up b/c salary increases are based on percentages. On the other hand, if their past salary is higher than what the current position pays; they don't get a call back at all b/c they are "overqualified". I've never seen a situation where revealing salary info helped a candidate. Ever. But it sure does help the hiring company.
2) they hire whomever they want. If they see a resume that catches their attention, but is missing salary hx, they still interview the person.
Each company has -- or doesn't have -- guidelines pertaining to pay and offer practices. I help my clients with the design of salary administration programs. To answer your question. It is a very good idea to make the compensable details within your "Total Reward Package" available to a potential employer when you are at the point of a serious offer. If you are simply at the interview phase and you are completing an application, indicate your base annual rate and add "+additional incentives."
There have been times in my past corporate role that we have required a candidate to provide a copy of the W-2 or other documentation as confirmation of bonus/commission/etc. so you should be prepared to respond to requests for evidence of additional comp.
I don't always ask for salary history, but I do for some jobs. Those with a really broad salary range for example. I'm not wasting my time with applicants who are used to making $120K when my top range is $90K.
When you are job hunting you should be doing your own market research to get a base line of salaries in your field. salary.com, payscale.com etc. This should be your gauge. We have all worked for an employer at one point or another which has lowballed the market and we didn't know any better at the time. I never ask for past history (3+ yrs ago) as it is irrelevant to the current market. I am in HR corporate as a hiring authority.
When you are job hunting you should be doing your own market research to get a base line of salaries in your field. salary.com, payscale.com etc. This should be your gauge. We have all worked for an employer at one point or another which has lowballed the market and we didn't know any better at the time. I never ask for past history (3+ yrs ago) as it is irrelevant to the current market. I am in HR corporate as a hiring authority.
Yes, I did do the market research and the job offer I received is about 10k lower than the base line of salaries in my field and in this part of the country. I think it might have to do with my last position, the base salary was low, but it had some bonus, but even with the bonus, the salary wasn't high as it should have been. But I loved what I did, but with a family now, I can't do it because it requires a lot of time away from family because of constant travel and its not a stable career. It was coaching college athletics.
Yes, I did do the market research and the job offer I received is about 10k lower than the base line of salaries in my field and in this part of the country. I think it might have to do with my last position, the base salary was low, but it had some bonus, but even with the bonus, the salary wasn't high as it should have been. But I loved what I did, but with a family now, I can't do it because it requires a lot of time away from family because of constant travel and its not a stable career. It was coaching college athletics.
You might consider a counter offer. It could mean they pull the plug on you, but they might also come back and agree to your request. (I've done both with candidates. My most recent hire countered and we split the difference. But I really wanted that candidate.
On the other hand, a candidate countered last spring--I was on the fence about them to begin with--and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. (That said, they also countered for a LOT more than what they (or anyone) was worth.)
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