Will they get salary history information?
Can My Employer Find Out How Much You're
Making? I've often been asked whether employers will be able to find out
about past salary. Unfortunately, the person is often planning to inflate
their past earnings when talking to an employer, and doesn't want to get
caught.
As I discuss in
Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute,
the best strategy is not to reveal your past salary or salary expectations.
Sometimes, however, you may encounter an employer who insists (even then,
you don't have to comply. Again, my book discusses this in depth). Some
people recommend inflating your salary to get a higher offer, but I
disagree.
Many times, people can see
through it. Even though the employer may not guess that you are distorting
the truth, he or she may well find something bothers them about their
conversation with you, even though they can't put their finger on it. Even
if you get away with it, it starts the employment relationship off on a
dishonest note. With that said, an employer may in some circumstances find
out.
Generally, employers are
reluctant to share much more than dates of employment and your title
(???****). Most will not share salary with another employer. However, there
are companies that belong to a consortium that do share such information
with each other. Some companies may ask you to sign a statement giving them
permission to verify everything on your resume. If so, you can include a
request that they not contact your current employer. Such a request is
usually respected.
For higher level
positions, employers may request that you share your tax statements with
them. They want to verify that you are not lying to them. You won't know at
the beginning of the interview process that they'll do that; so if you don't
want to get caught in a lie, don't lie in the first place.
Complying
with their request would obviously expose your deception and torpedo your
chances of being hired. By refusing, you risk being rejected because of your
refusal. They may believe you are deceiving them. My advice is to keep your
salary information to yourself whenever possible, and to tell the truth.
