Revealing salary in the first round. Yay or nay?
Had the first (exploration) call with my would-be boss and HR lead to figure out which role I would fit in. Company is an MNC startup, best culture ive heard of, lots of friends working there in different verticals etc. I usually dont reveal salary this early on but it was a very quick call and they asked about it and I felt like I had to this time to not come off as a snob or stuck up.
Chances are low and I am okay pushing back but Im paranoid about getting lowballed now. Any advice on how to better my chances in the upcoming rounds? Greatly appreciate any help
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It depends on where you are in terms of the compensation spectrum. It can definitely lead to bias if your current salary is not on the higher side.
For too long, I have played this back and forth game of revealing salary and asking them for budget and frankly, it’s too tiring in Indian recruitment circles.
So, I have started just being honest from the beginning about my current pay & expectation and have seen recruiters be transparent about their budgets too. Eventually if a company has to lowball they anyway would, but I am glad that I don’t have to exercise so much cognitive effort playing this game of riddles
To whom I did not reveal my salary, none of them called back.
Its either you or someone else for them .
Yay.
Disclose your current TC and ask for their approved salary range for this role in return. No requisition is approved without an approved salary / band.
If they refuse to share it, push them once more with the explicit statement that its essential for you to know it beforehand so you know how much time, effort and priority you should build in this engagement.
Yay. People love transparent people.
Hiding salary shows you are insecure, thus could be a potential pain in ass later.
Nay, too many people do this and regret it later when they get the lowballed offer
It isnt about lowballing. In a country where you have billions of people, its easy to get someone else. Its always better to discuss about the salary in the first call for quicker closure, either they would take it forward because they have the budget or close it there itself because they dont ( usually folks dont call back if you arent in budget )
If someone's current salary is very low as compared to market standards for the profile and looking to switch. Then should he tell his expectations if asked?
Telling expectations is ok. Telling low ctc will be a bad move. Lie if asked about previous ctc ! (But never in written)
I don't think there is anything you can do now given you have already told them your salary, and ideally you had to at some point.
So rather, i would suggest just do some thorough research here and on fishbowl with peers in same company and designation about what range to expect. That way you know what is the ideal range, and if they come back with lowballed offer, you can make a point that it seems too low as per what you know of company standards without taking any names.
In Investment banking, i dont think it can ever work if i don't reveal my salary in the first call from HR to understand the match for profile, and no matter how much you ask, they won't tell you their range.
So the only option is what i said above, research and find from peers.
🙏🏽 thank you very much
