unsucessful due to current higher salary?

missyp123

is this allowed?
Job interview went fab, had a call back sying i would be great at the job (all relevant skills etc).
however when it came to current salary it has been questioned could i afford it??? i have explained reasons why im happy to have a drop in wages etc etc.
Just so shocked it can be a no because they dont think i can afford such a drop:mad: surley thats my business?

any experience on this?

p00hsticks

Why did you tell them what you were currently earning ? Like you say, it's none of their business ! If they'd asked me I'd have said that it was a confidential matter between me and my current employer.

heretolearn_2

Unless there is a concrete reason why this new job would be worth taking a drop in salary - chance to change career, reduced hours compared to current job, fantastic training opportunity, cuts your commute from 3 hours a day to 30 minutes a day thereby improving your quality of life, etc - then most employers are going to assume that really you are just taking it as a stop gap until you find a job that pays what you are used to earning.

Who honestly wants to take a pay cut for the same sort of work?

True, it may just be that you are unemployed and so want a job and are willing to take a drop - but there's always going to be an unsaid 'for now' attached to that.

From our experience, it has never worked out well when we've taken on someone on this basis. They have either !!!!!!ed off ASAP (literally within days in a couple of cases as soon as they got a better offer) or not really put their all into their job as they felt underpaid, and we've ended up having to get rid.

InsideInsurance

Not really, if you look at the motivational theorists they have salary as being a significant hygiene factor. In other words if you are overpaid it doesnt motivate you much more than getting what you think a reasonable salary is but to be underpaid massively demotivates you.

It costs company a lot of money to hire staff/ lose staff and they dont want to hire someone today who will leave in 4 months time because the salary isnt enough. It could be a literal affordability or can be a more general what you're worth element.

It is rare for people to be happy to drop their salary, why are you happy to take the cut?

Proc

p00hsticks wrote: »

Why did you tell them what you were currently earning ?

Maybe they asked? Although OP doesn't have to tell them his salary he chose to which is probably the more sensible decision.

OP they might think that you're maybe being forced out of your current job? Not many people leave from one job to another on a much lower salary unless they're pushed. I'm not saying that's the case, I'm just saying that may be how they view it and they have every right to not offer the job.

Or maybe they're just spineless and instead of saying "we don't like you, we don't think you're right" they just want to find a weak excuse.

But to answer your question: yes this is allowed.

missyp123

thank you all for your input and thoughts.

I do feel that they may be thinking this (that i wont stay), and have made it clear this is not the case.
this is a department i would love to work for and have the scope to progress further in my carrer.
I am not at the top in my current role, however in this climate there is no chance at all of any higher jobs becoming available and possible closure has been roumered for a while.
I saw this job and felt like i owed it to myself to try.

they did ask, i wish i didnt tell them now, im so gutted:(

InsideInsurance

Did you know the salary range they were looking at paying?

One option is to always answer what you're earning with what you'll require them to offer and avoid the comparison aspect.

The other option if you know your stepping down your money is to admit that you are marginally above the range they are a looking up but because of A, B, C, D, E, F & G you are comfortable with this. The bigger the gap the more this is the better answer than actually saying what your salary is/was

CapJ

missyp123 wrote: »

thank you all for your input and thoughts.

I do feel that they may be thinking this (that i wont stay), and have made it clear this is not the case.
this is a department i would love to work for and have the scope to progress further in my carrer.
I am not at the top in my current role, however in this climate there is no chance at all of any higher jobs becoming available and possible closure has been roumered for a while.
I saw this job and felt like i owed it to myself to try.

they did ask, i wish i didnt tell them now, im so gutted:(

I think the strong point is that you are in your current job so less likely to be a stopgap. The fact they asked instead of saying no means you are in with a good chance. In that situation I would ask, but if the candidate gave a good answer and everything else fitted I wouldn't hold it against them (especially if currently employed).

Joe_L

InsideInsurance wrote: »

It is rare for people to be happy to drop their salary, why are you happy to take the cut?

Do you have any evidence to support this?

I've taken drops in salary a few times. If the right job comes along and I see it as engaging my interest more than the job I have, I take it. As long as I'm earning enough to support my lifestyle, it's a logical move. As it would be if I took a job with a less arduous commute, more congenial working environment, or any number of other reasons.

Alas, it's a facile and avaricious world we live in that prospective employers cannot grasp the concept that there's much more to life (and work) than how much you earn and that a person's value is not tied to his final salary.

missyp123

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Did you know the salary range they were looking at paying?

One option is to always answer what you're earning with what you'll require them to offer and avoid the comparison aspect.

The other option if you know your stepping down your money is to admit that you are marginally above the range they are a looking up but because of A, B, C, D, E, F & G you are comfortable with this. The bigger the gap the more this is the better answer than actually saying what your salary is/was

yes i knew of the salary and this was also conformed at interview.

missyp123

Joe_L wrote: »

Do you have any evidence to support this?

I've taken drops in salary a few times. If the right job comes along and I see it as engaging my interest more than the job I have, I take it. As long as I'm earning enough to support my lifestyle, it's a logical move. As it would be if I took a job with a less arduous commute, more congenial working environment, or any number of other reasons.

Alas, it's a facile and avaricious world we live in that prospective employers cannot grasp the concept that there's much more to life (and work) than how much you earn and that a person's value is not tied to his final salary.

thank you, this is how i feel and i hope they believe me!