Salary History: How Much Should You Tell?

　　薪资历史:我该透露多少?

　　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?

　　在你求职过程中有时候会被问到薪资历史:你当前的薪资是多少?你以前的薪资又是多少?你是否应该坦白的说吗?是否有不用回答该问题的方法呢?总之,为什么未来的雇主想要了解这个问题呢?

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

　　当对这些问题一一做出回答时,就能够帮助你理解雇主询问的原因了.

　　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是一名职业教练,也是加利福尼亚州帕罗奥托的"Advantage Career Solutions"公司企业主.他说:"雇主都倾向于利用你过去的薪资作为衡量你市场价值的标准."他们也想知道你期望的薪资.如果超出他们预计为该职位支付薪资几千美元,可能你们双方就不用再浪费时间深谈下去了.

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

　　Phillips说"这是用来确定我们支付的薪水是否和其他人一个等级的方法."

Play Your Cards Right

　　恰当的处理好

　　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."

　　当然了,这个信息也会让雇主在谈判过程中占上风."我们要开始玩扑克牌了,你要亮出你所有的底牌,而我不打算亮出任何一张牌." Phillips这样说.

　　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.

　　基于这个原因,Phillips推荐求职者不要以书面的形式写出薪资史.他建议说,在你填写申请表的时候,在薪资栏划上破折号,这样做代表你看到了这个选项.如果你应聘的职位要求同时发送简历和薪资历史,那就只发送简历.如果雇主对你的薪资感兴趣的话,有人会打电话给你要求提供相关信息的.

　　"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说"接下来就是在面试中,如果被问及此问题,不要马上回答,而是反问雇主,他们对该职位预计支付的薪资是多少.你也可以提出你期待的薪资水平."

The Strategy Could Backfire

　　以上方法可能会适得其反

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

　　以上方法确实有缺陷.首先,有些雇主可能不会给你打电话,而会选择那些提供了相关信息的候选人.

　　"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.

　　"我觉得如果你是合格的候选人,而他们仅仅因为你没有提供薪资历史就对你不予考虑,那么你也不会想要在这样的公司里工作." Phillips如是说.

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

　　即使你争取到了面试阶段,简单的表明的期待薪资可能也起不到效果.

Tell the Truth

　　实话实说

　　"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是一位专门负责高科技公司的员工咨询顾问,她说"他们可以用任何数字来作为期望薪资".在Itani和候选人面谈的时候,她会询问他们的薪资史."和我谈话的每一个人最终都放弃了这一想法."

　　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想知道的不仅是候选人是否对公司提供的薪资感到满意,还有该位候选人换工作后薪资是否有所增长.她还注意到雇主可能会去核实这一信息,所以实话实说是很重要的.

　　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说,这通常不是一个简单的向雇主提供信息的问题.如果你的薪资包括红利或者股票分红的话,就加到你的薪水里去这通常可以让你得到更高的报酬.如果你知道你目前应聘的职位薪资比你当前的工作薪水要低,而你也可以就接受的话,那也坦白说出来.

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

　　并且,记住即使公司开出了一份薪资,你仍然可以和他们协商的.