Should I Reveal My Salary?

In her post, Rainbow has pointed out about the sensitivity of sharing our salary with the prospective employer. As a Human Resources personnel, she is spot on. Salary is a Private & Confidential matters and not to be revealed to the prospective employers. In fact, an interviewer shouldn’t be asking how much the candidate earns even it is to be used for him or her to determine the salary to be offered.

The judgment of how much a salary should be offered to a job candidate should be based on employer’s evaluation on the candidate’s worth, as well as negotiation based on the candidate’s asking salary.

The truth about job interview is, you’ll notice most of the employers will ask about your salary even though they don’t have intention at all to hire you. It’s so unfortunate that they are a lot of trigger-happy interviewers out there in Malaysia who would ask the job candidate just about anything that passes their mind. They can even ask you to take off your clothes! You think I’m kidding, rite? Now, below is a newspaper cut running a story of a job candidate in Penang who was asked to take off her blouse. (Credit to Maverick for the newspaper cut).

It is true, job interview can give some colorful experience to some. Few years back, I also had a very upsetting experience during arranging an interview between a client and a candidate. When the candidate reached the company’s office, the interviewer called me up to say that he did not intend to interview the candidate because he is fat! The person is a General Manager for a company listed in the main board of Bursa Malaysia. After much argument, lastly I asked one of the middle level managers to interview candidate.

After the incident, I never worked for the client again, ever.

Getting back to the main issue, here are 3 tips and guides that you may find helpful in dealing with the salary question.

1. Ask yourself, “do I have a problem with it?”.

When applying for job, do you have a problem when the prospective employer ask you your salary? Understandably, some candidates feel uncomfortable, anxious or embarrassed discussing about the salary issue. Frankly speaking, I don’t have issue with it. If asked, I will answer the truth, and will not tell a lie.

Some candidates do not feel comfortable due to the reason that their asking or expected salary is way too high than the current salary. For example, their current salary is RM2000 and their asking salary is RM4000.That is considered high considering that average salary increase for new job ranges between 20%-35% (this is only average and the figure differs for different circumstances). If you feel you’re worth that much, you don’t have to be uptight, but rather be prepared with a justification. Tell them why they should pay you that much.

If the employer’s response is not favorable and both parties do not reach a mutually agreeable decision , then you can turn down the offer. (Hey, if you’re really good in what you’re doing, other companies will be willing to take you). If you hate the current job and can’t wait to go to another (which means salary won’t be the main motivation), why ask for salary too high? It is a give and take thing.

2. Never bring up salary issue unless you’re asked.

Sounds like an outdated advice, but the truth in it is still intact. That’s right, don’t bring up the salary issue unless the interviewer started it. And if you feel the question is asked too early during the interview session, or you feel uncomfortable when they pop you the salary question, you can go to the next tip.

3. Prepare to make response.

The previous advice will not be helpful if you don’t have clue how to respond when the topic comes up. You can choose to argue, you can choose to slowly revealing some range, or you can go straight to the point. If you choose to argue, do it tactfully. Don’t offend the interviewer (or the recruitment consultant). Once you offend them, you put them off, and you will not get a favorable evaluation. For example, if the question is asked to early, you can tell them,

“Don’t you think it’s still early to discuss about the salary topic? I am hoping if we can go through the important aspects like my employment history, experience and my skills before we move on to the next level.”

You can also counter the question by throwing back a question to them,

“If you don’t mind, can you tell me the range of salaries for this position?”

Otherwise, you can just state your salary to them, and ask them back their range.

“My monthly gross salary is RM4000. Can I know the salary range for this position?”

So it is a fair transaction. You tell them your salary, you get the salary range of the position.

Other posts you may want to read:

1. Oxford Interview Questions Revealed
2. 5 Common Types of Job Interviews
3. How To Determine A Problem Solver
4. Know Your Interviewers
5. Job Interview Tips- Come Early or…

Author's bio: Zul is the founder and principal contributor for the SKOR Career blog. He is the author of two books, The Malaysian Job Seeker's Dilemma and Buat Duit Tanpa Kerja Makan Gaji (How to Make Money Without a Job), available in major book stores nationwide. You can reach him at zulkiflimusa[at]gmail.com.