Lying to recruitment agency about current salary

R

ruthieJ

Guest
Hi All,

Has anyone inflated their salary when holding discussions with a recruitment agency in order to get more money? If so, what was the outcome?

Kind Regards

Ruthie J
 
I would think most people do this to a certain degree (within reason). It will depend on the job itself and the going salary. It will give room for negotiation at least, provided you don't price yourself out of the running.
 
when you hand in your P45 if you get a job will show if you have inflated your salary.
 
You don't need to hand in your P45 though. If you ring Revenue and ask them to issue a week 1 tax deduction card to your new employer (you need their reg. no) then they will have no idea what you had earned year to date!
 
Last edited:
You can have your P45 altered to remove past income details. And if these would be easily inferred from other details then I think that there are ways to hide these too. But it seems like a lot of hassle. Why not concentrate on what you think you are worth rather than what you are currently earning and just negotiate well rather than worrying about lying or hiding details?
 
bankrupt said:
Yes. The outcome was a large increase in salary.
Click to expand...


Can you say for sure that it was your lie about salary that got you an increased salary or could it have been that your new employer would have paid you more anyway?

Employers aren't mugs. Unless they are very small and isolated they are likely to know average salaries for their sector. Likewise for recruitment agencies. What's more is that they might know someone working with you at the moment (and be able to check if you are lying).
 
Ruth,
in 2003 I was working in a company earning 25k which was rubbish money for what I was doing, I told the agency that I was currently earning 29k and ended up with a job earning 34k so by expanding the truth a little I went up nearly 10k on my salary
 
In the past when an agency asked what I was on..I would not directly answer the question but I would say.."what I am looking for is....."...that usually keeps them quiet...The only way to get a decent salary or rate increase is to change jobs....Recommended this to a friend of mine recently and she ended up getting approx 30k MORE than what she was previously on! I would say though that she was changing country and was working in the IT industry where the variance from job to job, employer to employer and project to project can be significant.... So try to evade the question, avoid lying but be very clear and confident about what you want...
 
Sandy2004 said:
by expanding the truth a little I went up nearly 10k on my salary
Click to expand...


Ha-whatever way you look at it it's lying, and unless they tell you 'we are paying you X because you told us you are earning Y', I don't think you can assume that lying works.
 
but if I told them what I was earning I may if I was lucky got to 30k and I was worth way more than that!!
 
I would simply say these are my salary expectations, and that all they need to know. By giving them your previous salary you are making it easier for them to beat you down. Any company with any sense would see the logic in not doing that. You're being hired to be smart not stupid.
 
I habitually stretch the truth! It's part of the game! Either that, or I refuse to discuss current remuneration... It's always worked well so far, although there's always a first time that it could blow up! I reckon it's unlikely though - and if you're uncomfortable lying you could always use the line "I'm currently on x per annum, although I'm due a significant increase to y following a recent review". If they ask questions, you can always say the increase doesn't happen until March/June etc...
 
I used to work as a recruiter and used to encourage my candidates to consider their current salary + bonus+ profit sharing + and increase they would have been due (yearly increase, national wage increase). When one leaves their current company, it is possible that you could miss out on a review and therefore I think you should plan to incorporate your total comp.

Honesty is the best policy.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top