Should You Ever Lie About Your Salary History?

Today’s post is written by Anum Yoon, a fellow personal finance blogger. Enjoy!

Honesty is the best policy, even when it comes to job interviews and salary negotiations. It might be tempting to tell a new employer that your previous wages were a few thousand higher than they actually were in the hopes of scoring something even better. In the long run, though, that might not be the best idea.

Business relationships are built on trust. If get caught lying, that damages your professional relationship with your future employer, who’s likely to take back the job offer. If your employer doesn’t check in on your past salary until after you accept the offer, they may look into it later and end up firing you when you’ve already resigned from your previous job.

And it’s very likely this will happen.

Lying May Backfire

Salaries are of course listed on tax forms, which means they’re easily verified. Former employers, if they’re listed as references, are often more than happy to disclose that information, or at least give a ballpark figure. If you fabricate your salary history, what else might you be lying about or hiding?

It’s true that some hiring managers use this information to screen candidates and figure out if the company can either get away with paying low or just not considering a candidate who would have to take a pay cut. While this is unfair, you can usually work around it. Few people would really insist you disclose that information after you politely say once or twice you’d rather not say, but if it comes to that, you might want to consider whether that particular job is really worth it.

Some managers are using automated systems to determine salary nowadays, but that doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate a bit. No matter what, your best bet is to stay honest and use some key tactics in order to secure a higher salary.

Here are some ways to be a good negotiator instead of straight up lying.

1. Use Active Language

Instead of saying, “I was the manager for an ad campaign,” say you managed it. Active language—you did something, vs. were something—makes you seem more energetic, more likely to take initiative, and worth the higher salary.

2. Redirect the Question

If you feel sharing your current salary with a potential employer is embarrassing or might undermine your chances at a better one, you don’t have to disclose it. Just say something like “I/my previous employer would prefer to keep that information confidential, but ideally I’d like” and name your amount. That way, you can still leverage your experience and knowledge for the best salary without having to lie about what you’ve been paid in the past.

3. Use Facts

If the industry standard is higher than you’ve been paid previously or you feel your track record merits better pay, be prepared to show that. Use concrete examples of your above-average performance, such as the number of sales you closed in a month or projects you completed in a week, to give strong evidence of your worth.

4. Give a Specific Salary Range

If you’d rather name a range instead of your previous salary, that’s totally fine. Just don’t make the gap too big, because then the employer might pick the lower end of your scale. Giving them numbers no more than ten thousand apart is usually good enough to make you feel like you’re getting paid what you’re worth while giving the employer some choice as well.

Negotiate, Don’t Lie

Negotiating is never a bad thing. Most employers know to expect it, so as long as you remain professional and polite, you can have a productive discussion you’ll both feel good about. It’ll give you better results than lying, and you’ll have the added benefit of not stressing about when you’ll get caught.

Have you ever lied about your salary history?

Anum Yoon is a personal finance blogger who loves sharing her hard-earned insights about money management. She leads a green and eco-friendly lifestyle in an effort to contribute to the sustainability movement, as well as to reduce her budget. You can read her updates on her blog, Current on Currency.