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<!doctype html><html lang=en><head><meta charset=utf-8><meta name=mobile-web-app-capable content="yes"><meta name=viewport content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1"><title>What is Your Current Salary? - Adam Drake
</title><meta name=description content="Adam Drake is an advisor to scale-up tech companies. He writes about ML/AI/crypto/data, leadership, and building tech teams."><link rel="shortcut icon" href=https://adamdrake.com/static/favicon.ico><link rel=authorization_endpoint href=https://indieauth.com/auth><link rel=token_endpoint href=https://tokens.indieauth.com/token><link rel=me href=https://github.com/adamdrake><link rel=stylesheet href=https://adamdrake.com/css/style.min.css crossorigin=anonymous media=screen><meta property="og:url" content="https://adamdrake.com/"><meta property="og:title" content="Adam Drake"><meta property="og:site_name" content="Adam Drake"><meta property="og:type" content="website"><meta property="og:description" content="Adam Drake is an advisor to scale-up tech companies. He writes about ML/AI/crypto/data, leadership, and building tech teams."><meta property="og:image" content="/static/images/twitter-card.jpg"><meta name=twitter:title content="Adam Drake"><meta name=twitter:description content="Adam Drake is an advisor to scale-up tech companies. He writes about ML/AI/crypto/data, leadership, and building tech teams."><meta name=twitter:card content="summary_large_image"><meta name=twitter:image content="/static/images/twitter-card.jpg"></head><body><header><section><div class="header flex row"><div class="header__item flex row"><a id=site__name href=https://adamdrake.com/>Adam Drake</a></div><div class="flex row"><nav aria-label="page menu" class="flex row"><ul role=menubar class="flex row"><li role=none><a class=sidebar-nav-itemmenu__item href=/ title>Latest</a></li><li role=none><a class=sidebar-nav-itemmenu__item href=/about.html title>About</a></li><li role=none><a class=sidebar-nav-itemmenu__item href=/cases.html title>Case Studies</a></li><li role=none><a class=sidebar-nav-itemmenu__item href=/contact.html title>Contact</a></li><li role=none><a class="sidebar-nav-item activemenu__item" href=/posts.html title=Posts>Posts</a></li><li role=none><a class=sidebar-nav-itemmenu__item href=/press.html title>Press</a></li><li><button class="subscribe subscribe-btn">
<a href=https://www.digitalmaneuver.com/#/portal>Subscribe to newsletter</a></button></li></ul></nav></div></div></section></header><main aria-role=main><section><ul id=feed__ul><li class="feed__li h-entry"><div class=feed__content><time class="hidden dt-published">2016-05-05 00:00:00 +0000 UTC</time><div class="flex properties__row"><div rel=author class="flex left p-author h-card hidden"><img class=u-photo src=https://adamdrake.com/static/images/adam_drake_240.jpg alt="Adam Drake" id=author-img><div><p rel=me class=p-name id=author-name>Adam Drake</p><p class=properties>May 05, 2016</p></div></div><div class="flex right properties"></div></div><article class="md p-summary e-content"><h1 class=p-name>What is Your Current Salary?</h1><p>I’ve probably hired hundreds of people in my career and I also do a
fair bit of mentoring for new technology professionals, especially new
Data Scientists and Data Engineers, Software engineers, and similar
roles. One thing that often comes up is looking for new jobs and how
to go about that process. For more junior candidates especially, you
are at risk of getting asked a very dangerous question; What is your
current salary? It’s a horrible question, and should make you pause
for a moment and consider if you really want to work for the kind of
company that would ask it.</p><h1 id=know-your-worth class=anchor-link><a href=#know-your-worth>Know your worth.</a></h1><p>One thing I always advise people, before they start talking with
new employers, is to know their worth on the open market. Market
salaries are your most important piece of information in any job
search. Companies spend obscene amounts of money buying salary data
so they can have a general idea of what they’ll have to pay to acquire and retain talent.
They already know this information, in great detail, and if you choose
not to come prepared with this information as well then they almost
certainly will take advantage of you.</p><p>If you are sensitive about
talking to friends in similar roles at similar companies about
salary data, simply ask for ranges. If you don’t have friends doing
similar work at similar companies then you need to address a more
basic problem, the fact that you don’t have a professional network.
Perhaps I’ll write about this at a later time. You can also look
online as there are many websites which post salary data by occupation
and sometimes even on a per-company basis. There is no excuse for not
knowing this before you start looking and in fact you should know it
at all times.</p><p>Always know your worth and set that as your desired
salary. Never settle for what you <em>think</em> you’re worth, but rather demand
what the market will support (or more if you can prove you bring a greater than average market value).</p><h1 id=anything-you-say-can-and-will-be-used-against-you class=anchor-link><a href=#anything-you-say-can-and-will-be-used-against-you>Anything you say can and will be used against you.</a></h1><p>Sometimes during the recruiting process it can be helpful to know a candidates salary, but it’s more of a passing curiosity than a hard requirement. When a potential employer asks about your current salary in a persistent or inflexible way, it is almost
certain they plan to use that information against you. The reason is
that most companies who are going to offer a fair market salary (or
ideally some percentage over the median market salary) will already
have a budget for the position and will simply make the offer. The
only reason they would need to know your current salary is if they are
either paying below market and are trying to screen you out, or if
they are willing to pay market salaries but want to pay you less if
they think you’ll take it. The only solution is to outright refuse to
provide any information on your current compensation.</p><p>Many HR people
or recruiters will try a lot of deceptive tactics to get you to
disclose your current salary, like saying they have talked with other
people in the company doing similar jobs so they have some example
salaries but if you tell them your salary they can make sure you get a
fair offer. This is a lie and a trap. A fair offer is median market
or more and they don’t need to know anything about your salary or the
salary of anyone else in your current company in order to make that
offer. Remember, they <strong>already</strong> purchased the salary data and/or
know about market rates. Don’t let them trick you.</p><h1 id=why-do-they-do-this class=anchor-link><a href=#why-do-they-do-this>Why do they do this?</a></h1><p>To cheat you out of money. <em>Having a budget limitation</em> or <em>not
wasting your time</em> is no excuse since they can just simply be
honest about the maximum they’re willing to pay. The
position is already budgeted, remember?</p><p>People typically don’t leave
jobs unless they’re getting about a 20% raise from their current
salary. Companies know this so they will ask for your current salary
and then make an offer that is around 20% higher than that
regardless of the market rate for your role. From the company
perspective they are saving money so they are happy to rip you off.</p><p>That being said, if they’re giving you a 20% raise and it’s still
under market then you need to take responsibility for your own career
path and consider if the company and role you currently have is worth the discount against your market value. See <em>Know your worth</em> above.</p><h1 id=how-do-you-respond class=anchor-link><a href=#how-do-you-respond>How do you respond?</a></h1><p>Be honest. Tell the person that you are aware of your market rates
and you are sure that the company will provide you with a fair offer.</p><p>Another point to mention is that it’s not relevant what you’re
leaving, but what you’re going towards. People change jobs
for different reasons, and depending on the stage of their career it
may be worthwhile to take a pay cut for a fun challenge or pay raise for more cash but less fulfillment in other areas. The
compensation you’re leaving does not necessarily matter when it comes
to the compensation you’d be willing to accept.</p><p>Most companies will
drop the topic at this point or tell you that they can’t proceed
without you disclosing a number to them. This is either a bluff or
they’re serious and you don’t want to work for a company like that
anyway.</p><h1 id=what-if-you-are-currently-paid-above-market class=anchor-link><a href=#what-if-you-are-currently-paid-above-market>What if you are currently paid above market?</a></h1><p>This can work to your advantage. Be honest about the fact that you know you’re being paid well above market, but that you like the role, company, culture, products, or whatever other reasons are causing you to consider making a move and for a lower salary. I almost never advocate such a change for someone early in their career, but some opportunities could call for it.</p><h1 id=what-if-they-keep-pressing class=anchor-link><a href=#what-if-they-keep-pressing>What if they keep pressing?</a></h1><p>Again, be honest. Tell them you are uncomfortable with their
pressure and you have already explained your perspective. Add that
since they aren’t respecting your boundaries you are not as able to
trust them since they are clearly the only side which will benefit
from discussing that topic. Be firm. Redirect the conversation to
cultural topics at a company which would continue pressing for such
information. Make them explain to you why they have a good working
culture yet press employees to put themselves in disadvantageous
positions. Tell them you aren’t sure you want to continue with the process due to concerns about the culture.</p><p>You always maintain the power to walk away.</p><p>If they’re talking with you
and you’re a tech person then they need you a lot more than you need
them. Don’t forget that.</p><p>Many thanks to <a href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugeneyan>Eugene Yan</a> for his extensive feedback and perspectives on this post.</p><a class=hidden href=https://brid.gy/publish/mastodon></a><a class=hidden href=https://brid.gy/publish/twitter></a><a class=hidden href=https://fed.brid.gy/></a><data class=p-bridgy-omit-link value=false></data></article></div><div id=webmentions></div></li></ul></section></main><hr><footer class="flex col"><section class="footer-bio content"><p><strong>Adam Drake</strong> leads technical business transformations in global and multi-cultural environments. He has a passion for helping companies become more productive by improving internal leadership capabilities, and accelerating product development through technology and data architecture guidance. Adam has served as a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow and is an IEEE Senior Member.</p></section><button class="subscribe subscribe-btn">
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