Going through an interview process and a company asked how I much I get paid. Since I’m in between jobs and freelancing I gave a lowball estimate cause I legitimately have no idea how much I’ll make this year, it could be double if not triple what I wrote down.
Do you know why they would even ask this? Would it be a good idea to reach out and say “btw I’ll probably make more than that but I wanted to be conservative!” Or something? I have money saved up to make the move to Japan but that kind of caught me off guard.
by agarijones
4 comments
They’re asking because they want to see how little they can get away with offering you. Next time do not lowball yourself.
Usually it’s used to justify paying you less than what you’re worth. They’re basically trying to make sure your salary expectations are in the same ballpark as what they’re prepared to pay you. If you’re asking for a number that’s too low it could also imply that you’re not on the same page with the prospective employer about what the job is going to be.
In general go high and then add a nice bump on top of that. Too late now I guess, so just remember that for next time.
A Japanese here. It’s a normal question being asked during an job interview and I’m kinda shocked it isn’t in other countries.
I usually answer this question without lying because you have to submit 源泉徴収票 which reveals how much you made in your previous job when you sign a contract after getting hired.
I agree it should be much better if job seekers wouldn’t need to answer this question honestly and just shy away from it.
To be fair the American company I work for asked me this and I was FURIOUS but there was nothing I could do, they wouldn’t proceed without knowing my current pay and bonus.
Wow, the job offer was 1% more than my current salary. How on earth could they have done this so accurately ?? It’s a mystery ….