Should i lie about making less in order to get hire?

Member since: January 11, 2007
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seafood10
S Should i lie about making less in order to get hire?
my current job is an IT support analyst...providing basic technical support to traders, wealth management etc. i currently make $50k, plus $20k in bonus as of this year.

im being laid off due to new ceo management and resturing...im applying to another investment as a desktop support. i dont think i will be making this much in another firm...probably around $40k-$50k. if they ask me how much i currently make, should i lie to them and say $45k and expect they will offer $50k. once again im not sure how much they are offering..im just guessing.

so to conclude...should i lie to them im making less in order to have a good chance they will hire me. i do want to work for them since they sound like an exciting investment company. thx in advance.

Once you lie, you Willl always be known as a liar.

Tell them the truth, tell them what your salary is, but say that you are willing to consider any proposal to work with a great new company. Tell them your evaluation of their organization shows promise and you want to help build the business.

Trust me, employers love to hear this. They will think they are getting a great offer from you. If someone is paying you more and you are willing to work for them for less because you think they are great and you want to make them better, you would be a dream candidate for a young organization.

Also, email me and I wil give you ways to get back at that ***** you talked about on my questions. I know what you mean. I hate those types of lawyers.

You probably should not lie about how much you are making with your current employer because that is easily verified --

But maybe you can deflect the question - say you were paid at or above average for your position, and tell them reasons why that may have been -- example - industry you were working in, what was the term of your employment - temporary? Or full time? What were your benefits? etc. It will show your employer that you have a realistic idea of what salaries are for your position and what factors influence those salaries. And you will be communicating this without sacrificing any possible position you may have when negotiating your salary with a potential new employer.

Good Luck

PS Check out Salary.com -- they have tons of this type of information.
Also, US Dept of Labor has a web page where you can access a lot of data about salaries vs positions etc.

In a perfect world, you should not have to lie. But I have seen qualified candidates thrown out because of their expected salary so many times it makes me sick. The companies I was working at would discard them without even bothering to ask if they would work for less. If you suspect that they will balk at your previous salary, by all means follow your instinct and lie. You can always continue your job search again 6 months down the line if you feel that you deserve more. It is always better to look for a job when you are not desperate.