An unfortunately common job interview question is, âWhat is your current salary?â
This puts applicants in an awkward position. If theyâre seeking a new job, chances are that theyâre not too happy with their current salary and donât want to use it as a baseline. Furthermore, they could be being underpaid in their current position and hope that a new role will pay them a wage more in line with market rates.
Some states and cities have even outright banned the questionâand yet, applicants will occasionally find themselves having to give a response to this peculiar query.
So how does a job applicant resolve this? TikTok user @legzeii has an answer: lie.
The creator has previously posted other videos relating to workplace issues. In this video, which has garnered over 391,000 views since it was shared Friday, @legzeii writes, âWhen they ask you âwhat is your current salaryâ and you bump it up by 10K cos they never check anyway.â
@legzeii thatâs sensitive information #legzeii #officelife #work #9to5 #corporate ⏠RealestK Toxic â RealestK
As one might expect, career advisors suggest that one does not lie about their salary.
However, many also note that an applicant doesnât have to discuss their previous salary at all, instead countering with their own expectations for the role.
âBoth [Career Coach Theresa] Merrill and [talent acquisition manager Lauren] Neves recommend doing your research and knowing what the range is for similar roles,â reads an article in Forbes. âRemember that the company has budgeted for this role, so itâs OK to turn the question back around and ask, âWhatâs the salary for this job?ââ
âIf you get to the point where you feel you must give them something, provide a rangeânot a hard number,â Merrill tells Forbes.
That said, many users in the comments section noted that theyâve found success using @legzeiiâs advice.
âI did that after researching average prices,â shared one user. âGot myself a 25% raise when I started.â
âI did this as an experiment and while making $65k,â recalled another. âI interviewed at a place I was gonna go to. Asked $90k, offered $85k + extra week [vacation].â
âI did this years ago and went from 18k to 30k in one job move,â stated a third.
However, others claimed that this doesnât always work out as planned.
âI get asked for a payslip all the time??â wrote a user.
âThey will ask your [references] as well,â added a second.
The Daily Dot reached out to @legzeii via email.
