Should You Reveal Your Salary in a Job Search?

[deanwebb]

Some of us posted to this question going around on LinkedIn. The short answer is "no", but here's a great article to go with that short answer.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/ask-the-headhunter-never-ever-disclose-your-salary-to-an-employer/

That article led me to this site, which looks pretty promising: http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/blog

[dlots]

I just tell them what I was looking for.

[deanwebb]

What's fun is to work in other potential offers' salary ranges, so that they know what I will seriously consider.

But, yes, a simple, "Look, I won't accept anything south of $(x) in total salary + bonus compensation" will help keep you from wasting your time and the time of others.

[icecream-guy]

salary is just one part of the total benefits package, really one would need to know the additional e.g. perks, per diem, health care out of pocket, details in the health care plan (eg HSA where you may need to put in $10K vs $2K before insurance kicks in), vacation time, sick time, company car, training benefits. bonuses, holiday parties, short/long term disability, company retirement contributions e.g. 401K,  free food in the company break room, etc.
whether the job is C2C C2H, contract, length of contract, FT hire W2 (here in US), or if it's all inclusive (no benefits), commute time, flex time, remote work, etc
.
When I'm asked, I usually give them a figure in my desired income area.."It really depends on the details of the benefits as total compensation is a package with salary as a part of that package, I'm looking for a salary in the range of 50,000,000 Naira"  ( or whatever your salary range and favorite currency are)

[Nerm]

Good blog find. I spent over 3 years looking for the role I am in now. It was a long frustrating road and one of the most aggravating problems was exactly what he is talking about. I have some awesome job hunting stories lol. From that job hunt experience I learned the following that I will always follow in the future.

1.) Never disclose your current salary. If you do their offer will be that amount + $5k almost every time even if your current salary is for a Jr role and you are negotiating on a Sr role.

2.) Don't waste time doing a bunch of interviews without at least knowing the salary range for the position. I learned the hard way that if you don't know the salary range for a job by the end of the first interview then you risk wasting your time and theirs.

3.) Don't forget that salary is just a part of compensation. The benefits package, personal time, social work environment, and even dress code can all be just as important to offer accepting decisions as salary.

4.) Get everything in writing. Even the honest that aren't out to "get you" can make mistakes and forget verbal agreements/discussions.