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New employment laws go into effect in some states and city's where employers are not allowed to ask you how much you made at your last job. These new laws are suppose to help to equalize the pay gap between men and woman.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Yet even in places with this law, employers can ask for the salary requirement. We do, and I have rejected people that answer with $80-90k when the opening is only in the $50-60k range. One of my best people put down $20/hour, I gave her $25, and a year later promoted her. I don’t see how this law makes any difference, though. When you know the previous employer, the job title, and years there it’s pretty easy to figure out what someone made without asking them and most exaggerate anyway.
One thing I can't stand is when employer won't say what the pay scale is for the job until get to interviews find out it's way below what I was making. One employer did that to me once I basically told them they were idiots for wasting my time to their faces they should have told me when I asked about it when scheduling the interview taking time off from my current employer.
More transparency in the job description would help cut down on frivolous applications, but employers think this undermines their negotiation leverage, so they don’t provide it. It’s a real PITA and waste of time to get to the in-person interview stage to find out you want more than they want to pay for the position. Some hiring teams are getting better at discussing this during phone interviews in my experience.
If refuse to disclose at least a pay scale I just tell them I can't waste my time interviewing either they tell me or I will just cancel. Typically if they are trying to hide those facts probably an employer or manager who is dishonest person trying to trick someone into a low pay scale I would not want to work there anyway.
If refuse to disclose at least a pay scale I just tell them I can't waste my time interviewing either they tell me or I will just cancel. Typically if they are trying to hide those facts probably an employer or manager who is dishonest person trying to trick someone into a low pay scale I would not want to work there anyway.
Your job pool would be *extremely* limited then, at least in white collar corporate America, where salaries are rarely posted.
I agree, though, the whole thing stinks. Would love it if there was transparency up front with, at a minimum, a pay range. But the reality is companies want to pay you as little as possible so they don't play their cards first. My goal was to always try and get them to state the range first....BEFORE I give my desired salary....but not always possible, especially with online applications that require you to input that information up front.
For payscale, I just check Glassdoor and salary sharing threads on Reddit. Third party recruiters have no problem throwing out numbers.
I have worked in corporate for nearly 15 years. I agree with other posts, corporate america typically does not offer numbers. When that rare one does say yes, it may not be a great salary. All your options are exhausted at that point.
Yet even in places with this law, employers can ask for the salary requirement. We do, and I have rejected people that answer with $80-90k when the opening is only in the $50-60k range. One of my best people put down $20/hour, I gave her $25, and a year later promoted her. I don’t see how this law makes any difference, though. When you know the previous employer, the job title, and years there it’s pretty easy to figure out what someone made without asking them and most exaggerate anyway.
it makes a difference bc they cannot judge your salary / worth upon what you have made previously.
So for example, if I make $80k and I ask for $95k, with the old law they could say "that's a $15k jump, no way, you made $80k, we'll offer $85K"... it's a way to low-ball you by justifying it based on your previous salary.
I have worked in corporate for nearly 15 years. I agree with other posts, corporate america typically does not offer numbers.
That's why the unspoken rule of not asking about salary at an interview is ridiculous. That should be the first question you ask. Why waste your time and the interviewer's time, as well as hassling your references, if the proposed salary is unacceptable?
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