Should I insist on not revealing your salary requirements?

Question

I've heard the following advice blog posts (e.g. https://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/) about job interviews (my paraphrase):

As a job applicant, you should not reveal any kind of salary requirement or expectation. The potential employer has to offer you a salary, and if they don't, insist on it as hard as you can, even threatening not to accept the potential job offer.

The reasoning behind this advice is that once the employer is close to offering you a job, they have invested too much into getting you on board that they will not turn around this late just because they want to hear the applicant's salary expectation first. So they'll offer what they can reasonably pay, and will not try to bargain much. In contrast, if the applicant reveals their salary expectation, they will usually account for some room for negotiation, and thus the employer will haggle.

(Side note: The same advice would usually apply for previous salaries, not only for salary expectations. For example, I've been told to disclose my current salary by a head hunter, claiming that this is industry standard. See Is it wise to release your current income if what you expected is twice as high as your current salary?)

I'm wondering whether this advice is good. In most of my applications during my professional life, I've tried to follow it half-heartedly. Always, the employer or head hunter asked upfront, or very early. Trying to decline to answer would usually not be accepted. In one case, the HR person told me that I would not see the next round if I didn't answer the question. So I did eventually. Should I really insist harder? Is this really HR & head hunters trying to barter me down? Or will that make stand out as a really goofy candidate?

Probably, this is related to the industry and the region, so let's say IT in Germany (or Europe).

Answer 1

I've heard the following advice blog posts (e.g. https://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/) about job interviews (my paraphrase):

As a job applicant, you should not reveal any kind of salary requirement or expectation. The potential employer has to offer you a salary, and if they don't, insist on it as hard as you can, even threatening not to accept the potential job offer.

Like all those "negotiation tactics" it's just bunch of nonsense because there is no singular "negotiation strategy" or "tactics" that will lead you to increased results, anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something.

You are worth what you can get out of the market, and it's easy to validate - you go and ask everyone for 100k, and if you don't get any offers you are likely asking too much and need to lower your standards. And same if you are getting tons of serious interest, the price could go up. That's about as much of concrete and maybe-universal truth as there is to it.

If you are seriously interested in learning how to negotiate, pick one of the many books on the subject written by actual experts and well reviewed by others. If they start with some "you must" and immediately follows with "have open mind and actually listen to the other side", it's wrong, as negotiation is a dance where every side must try to step into rhythm, not try to fit arbitrary bounds.

Answer 2

So, there are elements of truth to this advise, but there's a lot of Nuance to cover.

I'll start with the elements that are true - if I go in to an Interview and ask for a Salary that is in the 95th percentile for the position I'm interviewing for - that is likely to be a turn-off to potential employers.

Now, if I go through the whole interview process, they like me, I crush the technical interview, I demonstrate the value that I can bring to the company - they're now invested in hiring me, and then I let them know I'm looking for a salary in the 95th percentile because of XYZ - it's harder for them to say no at that point.

However, Harder does not mean impossible. There may be 2-3 good candidates in the wings, they could have a strict budget etc. etc.

I think better advice though is this:

Do your research for the region, role, experience etc.

Rather than playing negotiating games, I've found that the best results are when you have done the prep work: 'This is what the market is paying someone with my skills and experience in this area - I'm looking for a salary in this bracket XYZ'

Some companies will immediately cease negotiations at this point, some will use the lowest figure - but this is why it's a negotiation. You want to maximize your earnings, they want to maximize their return on investment.

Answer 3

Should I insist on not revealing your salary requirements?

I would avoid any job postings that could potentially put you in this situation.

If the job posting doesn't list a salary or salary range, I would not apply. Transparency and honesty is important when looking for a potential employer. If a company refuses to disclose what they're willing to pay up front, that is a huge red flag.