kentb@uo-vax1.UUCP (04/15/84)
Observation: It seems to me that employers hold all the cards when it comes
to asking that hard-ball question, "What were you looking for in terms of
salary?" I end up asking for what I think is the high end of the going
market rate, but the information I have is all vague hearsay, with no
particular substance to it. For whatever reason, there seems to be an
unwritten taboo against discussing the details of job offers. Since this
can only benefit employers, I ask the following...
Question: How much information is it appropriate (ethical, right, ...) to
reveal about a job you have been offered? To whom should this information
be told? Is it alright to give the name of the company involved, or should
just a general description of kind of work and location be used? Where did
this silly distaste for publishing this kind of information come from?
Answers to the net would probably be appropriate.
TIA
Kent Beck
{tektronix | hp-pcd}!uoregon!uo-vax1!kentbtjj@ssc-vax.UUCP (T J Jardine) (04/19/84)
"Observation: It seems to me that employers hold all the cards when it comes
to asking that hard-ball question, 'What were you looking for in terms of
salary?'"
Whenever I have been asked what salary I am expecting for a position, I have
responded by saying that the salary should reflect the value of the position
to the company, and since only they can decide what that value is, they
should make me an offer based on that value. Sometimes it is hard to
convince the interviewer that this is a firm decision, but it has always
worked. If they don't believe that they can offer you a salary in this manner,
that is an early sign of trouble brewing.
"Where did this silly distaste for publishing this kind of information
come from?"
The distaste for publishing salary information is most probably derived both
from a desire for personal privacy and the employer's desire to maintain
peace in the workplace. It has been felt, and rightly so to some degree, that
people would become concerned over how much others were making and that this
would become a source of contention. Some of the companies that let workers
'vote' on the salary increases of other employees have proved that this is not
always the case.
Ted Jardine
--
TJ (with Amazing Grace) The Piper
...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!tjjal@ames-lm.UUCP (Al Globus) (04/20/84)
A head hunter gave me a great line to use when they ask you how much money you want. Just answer: Make the most aggressive offer you feel comfortable with and I will accept it. (or something along those lines). Of course you have to be willing to bear the little white lie about acceptance.