Salary: HR asked me, and I caved

["Beth Kane" <kanerb -at- concentric -dot- net>]

After I stated in a Techwr-l message last week that "you don't have to tell
them" your previous salary, this happened to me today:

HR person at co. where I interviewed last week:
"I have all the information I need from you except your previous salaries --
you left that blank."

Me: "Yes, I  consider that information confidential, and I'd like to talk
about salary during negotiation."

HR: "But I cannot process your application any further unless you at least
tell me the salary you had at the last two companies you worked for. I will
not call the companies you worked for and try to verify the figures -- so it
would remain confidential. I will only verify that you worked there. I'll
just take your word on the salary amount."

Oh, those HR people are so tricky!
Even after soaking up all the advice about this situation, from Techwr-l and
from employment books I'm reading, I wound up caving in and telling her the
exact annual salary I was paid at my last two companies. Luckily, my last
two salaries were not bad.

Beth Kane
Senior technical writer, Tucson
kanerb -at- concentric -dot- net



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