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Comment by fr0man | Hacker News Reader

It's very common. The purpose is really twofold: they want to make sure they aren't going to waste their time hiring you for a $15/hr job when you've made double that for the last 5 years and are likely to leave when something better comes along, and also to give them a leg up in the salary negotiation/offer phase. I've read advice articles saying not to answer the question, but when we were hiring people, refusing to answer would have been a HUGE negative.

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> but when we were hiring people, refusing to answer would have been a HUGE negative.

that is really rough, though. it makes it difficult for people to jump out of their salary bracket if they basically got the shaft with their previous employment. especially in a tough economy.

one of the (many possible) reasons why people leave their former employment is because they feel underpaid, and to use that underpayment as a measurement on what to offer them next seems at least somewhat unfair.

Very very true. But they put it there to benefit themselves, not the applicant. It sucks, but if they try to use your salary history to lowball you, that's when you negotiate. I'd just explain I felt I was previously underpaid and that the offer is too low. Of course, then you run the risk of not getting the job at all.

i understand the purpose, of course. but if i were job hunting, unless there were something special about a particular job, i wouldn't even bother to negotiate with them if they low-balled me. i'd just move on.

and thus, the employer loses out on talent unless they're providing something special on their own. its more lose-lose.

of course, unless you're not looking for talent, and you're looking for someone who would be okay with taking a job under market.

> it makes it difficult for people to jump out of their salary bracket if they basically got the shaft with their previous employment.

Nobody is forcing you to tell the truth - after all, they have no way of finding out anyway.

I've had jobs ask for pay stubs.

It might be country/industry dependent then.

I've been working as a programmer for 9 years now and had 5 jobs during that time - out of all interviews I've went to throughout the years only one interviewer ever (fairly casually) asked me what my previous salary was.

Because I felt like I was under-payed in my previous job I told him I earned 2k more a year than I actually did and asked for a salary that was 7k a year more than that sum.

He eventually gave me a slightly lower offer for 5k more than my supposed previous salary (and 7k higher than my real previous salary) but I ended up going for another company altogether.

IF they find out somehow, though, providing false information on an application/resume is grounds for termination almost everywhere.

even if you do manage to lie successfully, it still makes a tough situation. you might over-inflate your salary and discount yourself as a potential hire altogether.

i know a guy whose first job as a high school intern paid more than most people's career salaries do. and once he got out of that job, he could never get another job at any place that asked for previous pay rates. he earned too much previously, and not even retail work at the local mall would hire him. he kept getting told that his previous salary was too high and they couldn't afford to hire him. he eventually stopped reporting that job experience altogether.

And it's a required field so there's really no way for me to not answer.

I always answer with the salary I want to be paid for the job. Let them know up front where I expect the salary to be.

That is a mistake when they later ask you to bring in a recent pay stub.

No legitimate employer would ask for paystubs from previous jobs.

Indeed, and you can avoid the ones that do this by never divulging your salary history. You definitely don't want to lie about something that can be so easily checked.

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