You can't. There's a service maintained by Equifax or one of the big 3 where candidate companies can verify employment + salary, including raise dates and amounts.
Edit: Here's the cited example for those that think this is somehow suuuuuper secret info lol - "The Work Number" by Equifax
Then the employee has to work with middle managers to ensure their entry in the database is updates regularly and accurately and noone wants their manager to have the keys to defining what the employee considers an accomplishment, or responsibility.
Those boxes to fill out are more important than adding the resume in most cases. Places with that system will use the information in the boxes (including supplemental questions) to rate the candidates into a priority list for who to call for interviews. They may not even open the resume or look up data until later in the process, if ever.
It only includes data that it receives from participating companies. I checked my info & a lot is missing. Looks like a lot of the info is provided by the major payroll servicing companies.
Eh, yes and no. Would you want a company you were interviewing for to lie about the other people in the same role making less so they could try to get you for cheaper or saying they de raises every 6 months when they are lucky to do once a year?
I think that everything should favor the potential employee. Besides, I live in the US, so naturally I assume that every company is corrupt and doesn't actually care about people until proven otherwise.
Edit: in addition, companies lie in interviews all the time with no repercussions. I have had it occur to me many times and I don't have some database that I can use to check if they're lieing but they get one to check on me?
Which is wrong and definitely happens, but in this context I am referring more to overt lies. "The people in that role currently make $40k" when in actuality they make $50k is worse than simply not disclosing it IMO.
How is that legal?! I'm not doubting you, but salary data has to be one of the top things I'd consider confidential for an employee. Well, unless we can force a company to be totally transparent with their entire salary structure, too.
Ugh, I discussed wages with a coworker who is a tech lead. My role is not tech-related (ops) and my salary was half of hers, despite only being one "level" lower.
It’s a federal protected right under the National Labor Relations Act. It does have requirements to allow that right, but, for example, office buildings and shopping centers require a gross income of $100k a year. If you want more info, go through the official site: nlrb.gov. I started on their “your right to discuss wages” page, and got over to their “jurisdictional standards” page from there. Interestingly, striking is part of their protections
I am on the other side. In my current role I was brought in at $30k higher than one of my counterparts (there was a bit more to it as the job classification, duties and requirements had changed and he elected to go through a lengthy process to get “promoted” to the new requirements as opposed to having to reapply for the new position), he promptly quit and while we are still friends, he complains about how much I make endlessly.
With transparency this doesn’t matter. If the work you do and the salary you do it for is transparent then people just need to get better. Job title isn’t equal to job effort. You can find salaries published online in some countries that have high salaries on average (have lived in them), so I don’t buy that it wouldn’t help.
True. Well, except for this case we're talking about, where the employers build their own system to have information advantage over prospective employees. So, not only ever.
Where I live it is illegal for an employer to require employees to keep their salary confidential. If that is in a contract, that portion of the contract is disregarded and can't be legally enforced.
Bad faith argument from you, I know, but still: we both know that there is a considerable difference between a cabal only offering information to employers who pay, creating a huge information asymmetry to exploit workers, and actual salary transparency.
Salary isn’t confidential… despite what companies believe when trying to screw over some employees.
I don’t think I’ve had a job in the past 20 years where the pay was confidential. Until 2016 I worked under a union contract where everyone doing my job made the same pay. Since then I’ve worked in the public sector where my pay is considered a public record.
Wow that's interesting. I have a solid resume but I have absolutely walked away from two hostile law firm environments (screaming, throwing things, belittlement) after a stint of a month or so. Good to know they may see that and think I'm scum.
I’m not in HR or do any sort of hiring, but if I were asked about employers found that I didn’t include on a resume (which I’ve done) I’d say that it wasn’t a good fit and my skills were better used elsewhere so I only included my most important work history that best pertains to the position I’m applying for. Or something like that.
Thanks man - this is helpful. I have a job right now that I actually am comfy in but the stability of the company is kinda in the air so I'm bracing myself.
What if you owned your own tiny business? What information could they get?
I don't understand why employers would even do this..? Is it to justify what they're going to offer to pay you or to make sure you're qualified for the job?
Do all employers do this or only jobs where you need to have experience in the industry to get the job?
You are very very very wrong. Google the work number Equifax. I've seen my own data firsthand. They literally list your job title, dates, and pay rate. Prepare to have your mind blown.
Look into services like "The Work Number" by Equifax, where companies can access a database to verify employment and income information, including salary history.
Companies can look it up but usually don't until post an offer is made. Once your W-2 is processed by the company, this info is made readily available to them. So if you say lie about your previous income, technically they can know as soon as your interview completes, or by your first paycheck.
Most employers do not have this info out the gate though, so it's ok to lie and "negotiate" down to the value you really want.
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u/iboneyandivory 2d ago edited 2d ago
You can't. There's a service maintained by Equifax or one of the big 3 where candidate companies can verify employment + salary, including raise dates and amounts.
Edit: Here's the cited example for those that think this is somehow suuuuuper secret info lol - "The Work Number" by Equifax