Some debates never seem to get old in the HR community, and maybe which is why there have been a consistent posting of the same message on LinkedIn which apparently describes their experience with a candidate who was extremely stubborn and did not reveal the details of his present CTC.

The message goes something like this *:

Yesterday, I interviewed a candidate who got silent and refused to tell me his current CTC. 

He was rigid,  he wanted companies to see his actual worth and not take his current salary into consideration.

What is your stance on this?

And obviously, as with topics as relevant as this, people took sides and expressed about who and what they thought is the right thing to do in this situation.

Did the hiring manager have the right to ask the question? Wasn’t the candidate a little too stubborn? Could he not have handled the situation better? To reveal or not to reveal? And where to draw the line?

These are some of the many questions which come to the mind, but there are structured answers to them. And even as there has been news of a state in the US making it illegal to ask for salary history, here in India we are still struggling with the nuances of the same. 

For start, there is no legal provision which allows the hiring manager to inquire about the current salary of the potential hire, and neither one that stops her from doing so. But this has become a common practice in India and also something that many candidates detest.

Here is what the supporters of the candidates had to say

We are more than the sum of the numbers that define us

According to Randstad Workforce 360 survey conducted in 2015, half of the people said that they shift jobs because they wish for better compensation. Similar sentiments were also expressed by many LinkedIn members explaining that at times shifting jobs could be rooted in wanting to correct the compensation. But when the hiring manager asks for the current salary slip, it demotivates the employees and put in a vicious cycle which could be difficult to break for the employee and also undermines the reason for the change in job.

Short sightedness needs to go

Many of the posters also believed that it is short-sightedness on part of the employers who unquestionably demand the candidate to squeeze. Further, many pointed out that this isn’t a practice in the developed countries and is outdated, and hence needs to be dropped.

Further, often a hiring manager is given a budget and he must offer the candidate his best offer and the negotiate the best he can. Also, many big organizations have a defined structure and pay scale, and the salary offered to the employee should reflect that.

Reverse the situation

Some of the posters, and as unrealistic it might sound, also talked about what the situation where potential hire asks the manager to reveal the CTC of the outgoing employee. And if the organization would be comfortable answering such questions?

Here is what the supporters of the hiring manager had to say

The voices of the people supporting the young man were overwhelmingly more, but there were also many others who supported the hiring manager.

Belief is fine but he could have better handled the situation

Many posters also argued that though the belief is fine but the candidate shouldn’t have been too stubborn. Instead, he should have revealed his current CTC but also explained to the hiring manager why he thinks he deserves a good jump. And though this requires a little bit of risk taking ability, but it would have put the candidate in a better light and he would have appeared much more confident.

Industry benchmark

Many people pointed out that it is important for the hiring manager to know of the salaries being offered for similar roles by the competitors, and so that he can be sure such that the potential hire is neither underpaid or overpaid. And asking the current or the previous CTC of the employee is a good way to know of it.

Some hiring managers lack exposure to Indian market

There could also be some specific situations where a hiring manager might be new to the Indian market. Considering that his exposure would be low, as some people pointed out, he needs to ask the question because he needs to know that for himself. That is is the only way he could learn of the current scenario in the market.

Because this is how it is

Interestingly, many posters also thought that it was ridiculous that the candidate did not do as he was asked. One of the posters even suggested that the candidate should have been immediately hired but his salary should be variable and each month his supervising manager should suggest to the HR how much he must be given.

Why is the world making this illegal?

And though many people have not been talking about this, but the revelation of salary history often leads to the continuation of gender pay gap. And this is primarily the reason why many states in the US are considering making it illegal for employers to ask for the salary history of the potential hire. Something, that our lawmakers would want to ponder upon in the future.

What is your take on this?

Now, that we have given you enough fodder for thought, why don’t you take this platform as a medium to comment on the same. We would love to read that you have to say on this. And if, there is any truce which you could think of then nothing better than that.

Source: LinkedIn

*Log into Linked, search for the phrase, click on posts and read any of the threads you would want to.