Salary question

[maggiethecat]

I'm applying for new job and recruiter won't say how much they're paying, saying it's linked to experience, but has asked for my salary.

Any HR people out there know how it works? Do you just determine salary according to applicant's current salary and perhaps add a bit extra for enticement/depending on urgency?

I expect that could lead to people doing similar jobs being on a wide range of salaries though

I have done a lot of hiring in different organisations (private sector, multinationals) and it is not normal to know or provide the salary before interviewing. I would have a ballpark though and the recruitment agent would know this and use it to ensure the candidates’ expectations are in it.

Once ready to make an offer, no the candidate’s current salary isn’t really a factor. More important to get the correct balance amongst their new peers, subordinates and managers and allow for their own level of experience and skills.

I regularly recruit as a hiring manager, and I will always have a ballpark in mind.

I usually find out what the applicant is on, then they're told whether its massively under or over what we have in mind. I'm much more worried about people who earn over the ballpark - I don't want to waste time interviewing people who won't take the job (unless they're clear in advance that they are looking for a step back or whatever). But I'm very happy to interview someone who deserves a step up or who is currently in a poorly paid sector.

Then the salary is determined by what we think they're worth - clearly their expectations and the difficulty of filling the role are taken into account.

It means there is a wide range for apparently similar jobs, so we keep a very close eye on gender and ethnicity pay gaps to try to make sure we're not having untoward affects.

It seems very common these days. I would tell the recruiter what your salary expectations are, rather than your current salary.

just checking back in, thanks all for your comments.

was just on phone with another agent who asked for salary so it does seem common. @LadyDanburysHat - will tell them what I'm expecting rather than current salary.

Do some research tell them what you're expecting for the role and your, which may or may not be in line with your current salary.

...and your experience
Thank you, phone

We have a salary in kind and we ask about expectations before we interview - price to high and we won’t proceed - no one wants to waste their time

I won't apply for jobs seriously without location and salary

I'm not going for jobs that pay 20kpa, and I'm not going for jobs that pay 120kpa

You can't always tell salary, because some of the lower end roles expect the moon and stars for 18kkpa

@Atalantea

I won't apply for jobs seriously without location and salary

I'm not going for jobs that pay 20kpa, and I'm not going for jobs that pay 120kpa

You can't always tell salary, because some of the lower end roles expect the moon and stars for 18kkpa

^ this

It's an incredibly confusing state of affairs. It can be very difficult to know what some roles are going to pay because employers have completely unrealistic expectations and want to pay peanuts.

I also stopped applying for jobs that didn't state salary. It's one of the reasons I now work for the NHS.

I was made redundant from an admin role a few years ago and looking for a new admin type job was so difficult. Admin is a massive umbrella and can be the most basic tasks for so little money or PA type job for a fairly decent salary. I ended up guessing from the job description if the salary might be any good.