Salary History: How Much Should You Tell?

　　薪資歷史:我該透露多少?

　　At some point during your job search, you will likely be asked about your salary history -- how much you're making at your current job, and how much you made previously. Should you tell? Is there any way to avoid telling? And why do potential employers want to know, anyway?

　　在你求職過程中有時候會被問到薪資歷史:你當前的薪資是多少?你以前的薪資又是多少?你是否應該坦白的說嗎?是否有不用回答該問題的方法呢?總之,為什么未來的雇主想要了解這個問題呢?

　　When forming a response to these questions, it helps to understand employers' reasons for asking.

　　當對這些問題一一做出回答時,就能夠幫助你理解雇主詢問的原因了.

　　Employers tend to use your past pay as a gauge of your market value, says Richard Phillips, a career coach and owner of Advantage Career Solutions in Palo Alto, California. They also want a sense of what salary you'll be expecting. If it's tens of thousands of dollars more than the employer can pay for the position, it's probably not worth wasting your time or the employer's on further discussions.

　　Richard Phillips是一名職業(yè)教練,也是加利福尼亞州帕羅奧托的"Advantage Career Solutions"公司企業(yè)主.他說:"雇主都傾向于利用你過去的薪資作為衡量你市場價值的標準."他們也想知道你期望的薪資.如果超出他們預計為該職位支付薪資幾千美元,可能你們雙方就不用再浪費時間深談下去了.

　　"It's a way to figure out if we are all playing in the same league," Phillips says.

　　Phillips說"這是用來確定我們支付的薪水是否和其他人一個等級的方法."

　　Play Your Cards Right

　　恰當?shù)奶幚砗?

　　Of course, this information also gives the employer a leg up in the negotiation process. "We're going to play poker," Phillips says. "You're going to show every other card of yours, and I'm not going to show any of my cards."

　　當然了,這個信息也會讓雇主在談判過程中占上風."我們要開始玩撲克牌了,你要亮出你所有的底牌,而我不打算亮出任何一張牌." Phillips這樣說.

　　Because of this, Phillips recommends not offering salary history in an initial written application. If you're filling out an application, put dashes in the box for salary history, indicating that you saw it, he says. If you're responding to a job posting that says to send in a resume and salary history, just send the resume. If the employer is interested, someone will call to ask for more information.

　　基于這個原因,Phillips推薦求職者不要以書面的形式寫出薪資史.他建議說,在你填寫申請表的時候,在薪資欄劃上破折號,這樣做代表你看到了這個選項.如果你應聘的職位要求同時發(fā)送簡歷和薪資歷史,那就只發(fā)送簡歷.如果雇主對你的薪資感興趣的話,有人會打電話給你要求提供相關信息的.

　　"Then you're in a dialogue," Phillips says. At this point, instead of telling the employer your current or past salary, ask what range they expect to pay for the position. You could also offer to provide your desired salary range.

　　Phillips說"接下來就是在面試中,如果被問及此問題,不要馬上回答,而是反問雇主,他們對該職位預計支付的薪資是多少.你也可以提出你期待的薪資水平."

　　The Strategy Could Backfire

　　以上方法可能會適得其反

　　This approach does have pitfalls. First, some employers may not call, choosing instead to focus on applicants who provided the information on the application.

　　以上方法確實有缺陷.首先,有些雇主可能不會給你打電話,而會選擇那些提供了相關信息的候選人.

　　"My take on it is that if you are a qualified candidate and they are going to ignore you because you did not send in your salary history, you do not want to work for that organization," Phillips says.

　　"我覺得如果你是合格的候選人,而他們僅僅因為你沒有提供薪資歷史就對你不予考慮,那么你也不會想要在這樣的公司里工作." Phillips如是說.

　　Even if you make it to the conversation stage, simply stating your expectations may not work.

　　即使你爭取到了面試階段,簡單的表明的期待薪資可能也起不到效果.

　　Tell the Truth

　　實話實說

　　"They could say any number for an expectation," says Lori Itani, an independent staffing consultant who focuses on high tech companies. When Itani talks to candidates, she asks for their salary history. "Everybody I talk to ends up giving that information out."

　　Lori Itani是一位專門負責高科技公司的員工咨詢顧問,她說"他們可以用任何數(shù)字來作為期望薪資".在Itani和候選人面談的時候,她會詢問他們的薪資史."和我談話的每一個人最終都放棄了這一想法."

　　Itani is looking not only at whether the candidate is likely to be happy with the salary the company can offer, but also at whether the person has received raises when changing jobs. She also notes that employers can verify this information, so it's critical to tell the truth.

　　Itani想知道的不僅是候選人是否對公司提供的薪資感到滿意,還有該位候選人換工作后薪資是否有所增長.她還注意到雇主可能會去核實這一信息,所以實話實說是很重要的.

　　In the end, Phillips says, it's not usually a problem to give the employer the information. If bonuses or stock options were part of your pay package, mention this when you give salary numbers -- it could make a case for paying you more. If you know the position you're interviewing for pays less than you're making and you're OK with that, say so.

　　最后,Phillips說,這通常不是一個簡單的向雇主提供信息的問題.如果你的薪資包括紅利或者股票分紅的話,就加到你的薪水里去這通常可以讓你得到更高的報酬.如果你知道你目前應聘的職位薪資比你當前的工作薪水要低,而你也可以就接受的話,那也坦白說出來.

　　And remember that when the company actually makes an offer, you can still negotiate.

　　并且,記住即使公司開出了一份薪資,你仍然可以和他們協(xié)商的.