Application portal has a required field for current salary and the recruiter followed up asking to confirm it before booking a call. I'm underpaid relative to the market by maybe 15k, which is the whole reason I'm applying. If I answer honestly I anchor myself low. If I refuse I look difficult before anyone's met me. Is there a way to say no that doesn't cost me the interview?
Redirect to expectations rather than refusing. Something like: "I'd rather not share my current number since it reflects a role with different scope, but I'm targeting 95-105k for this kind of position and I'd expect that to be in range — is it?"
That does three things. It answers the underlying question, which is whether you're affordable. It puts your number in the conversation instead of theirs. And it hands the ball back so they have to say yes or no, which saves you both a wasted screen.
I have used almost exactly that wording maybe a dozen times and never once lost an interview over it. Recruiters mostly want to avoid wasting a hiring manager's time, not to trap you.
Asking them to confirm the band is the underrated half. You find out in one message whether the role is even worth the four rounds.
Used this nearly verbatim. She said the band was 92-112 and booked the call. All that agonising for one sentence.
Before any of this, spend an hour on actual numbers for your role, your city and your years of experience. The reason people fold on this question is that they don't have a number they believe in, so any pushback moves them. Walk in knowing what you're worth and the conversation gets easy.
This was my real problem honestly. I had a vague feeling I was underpaid rather than a figure.
For the required form field, most people put 0 or the target number rather than the current one, and nobody has ever queried it in my experience. The field exists because someone bought a recruiting system in 2014, not because a human is auditing it.
Just inflate it by 15k, everyone does and nobody checks.
Some places do check, either through a background screen or by asking for a payslip at offer stage. Getting caught lying about it is a much worse day than anchoring slightly low.
@quietmargin · 2mo ago · 2 replies
Check your local rules first. In a fair number of places it is now illegal for an employer to ask for salary history, and in some the employer has to publish the range on request. If that applies where you are, a polite "I believe salary history questions aren't permitted here, but happy to share what I'm targeting" ends the conversation instantly and makes you look informed rather than difficult.
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@blue_team_bex · 2mo ago
Worth checking whether the rule follows the job location or your location when the role is remote. It varies and I've seen people get it backwards.
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