I know that in India, US and some European countries, it is illegal for the hiring company HR to ask the job applicant to fill up the application form, or ask for information such as what was your salary in your previous jobs, name of the company you worked for.
In Singapore, this is perfectly legal though. I feel that asking for your previous salary is a tad sensitive during the interview, especially if you did not get the job.
I remembered one interview many years ago, the director asked me for the revenue of my previous company, as they are competitors for the market.
the question on revenue of previous company is trick question. canot answer de. shows you dunno how to keep mouth shut
then like that how to know u earn how much last time to compare with how much u expected for salary in new job, how much u ask for increment into the new job...
imagine... u change job, then u ask for $1000 increment over the last job...
how to proof ur worthiness value to HR dept to hire u...?
Originally posted by hisoka:the question on revenue of previous company is trick question. canot answer de. shows you dunno how to keep mouth shut
how the hell I know the revenue of the company, I am not an accountant or financial controller lol.
the company should have an idea of how much it wants or willing to pay you, after going thru your resume. if you got experiences, of cos not offer you the pay of fresh grad lar.
Originally posted by Rednano:then like that how to know u earn how much last time to compare with how much u expected for salary in new job, how much u ask for increment into the new job...
imagine... u change job, then u ask for $1000 increment over the last job...
how to proof ur worthiness value to HR dept to hire u...?
if you go to the US for interview, u will be shocked to learn that you do not need an application form for the interview and the imterviewers are not allowed to ask you sensitive info like how much did you last drawn and things like that.
but the question is that u are in singapore now
its all about adding value to the company if u r hired...
and ur net worth to the hiring company...
If I am hiring a marketing executive, lets say the current marketing exe is earning 2.5k. if the job applicant who has many years of experience in marketing, I do not mind paying him/her 2.8-3k. that is the maximum I am willing to pay, 3k. If the job applicant ask for 4k, then I am sorry to say I can only offer you up to 3k. if the applicant does not back down, then the offer goes to the next applicant.
no point hiding, they can always call up your previous company to find out
There are many things that are different in Asia compared to the West (Europe for instance).
I don't think you should stop companies from asking where you worked previously! How to otherwise ascertain your work experience and skills / credibility?
More importantly, in some countries, employers are not allowed to request information such as ethnicity and age. The reason for it is quite sound in the sense that it can easily become a basis for discrimination even in the early stage of shortlisting.
But then again, one has to ask - does it really work? If there is racism, it merely moves the discrimination to the interview stage when they see your face. Surveys show that despite such anti-discrimination laws, many ethnic minorities still get shortchanged in not getting the job compared to the white folks. Worse, they get messed about AFTER making a wasted trip to an interview - sometimes after travelling for hours (unlike Singapore).
Think of the situation if you are the manager or business owner doing the hiring, it makes the recruitment process really tedious not being able to get as much info as early as possible, ain't it?
That's why I think that while the human rights movement started out really noble, its an argument gone stupid a long time ago... but that's another story for another day...
Originally posted by hisoka:the question on revenue of previous company is trick question. canot answer de. shows you dunno how to keep mouth shut
Well agreed.
Originally posted by hisoka:the question on revenue of previous company is trick question. canot answer de. shows you dunno how to keep mouth shut
say you sign a non disclosure agreement with your previous company so you cannot say anything related to your previous company
now you dont need to answer all those stupid question + have the bonus of seeming mysterious to your interviewers
used to work at DSO cleaning test tubes and shit but they still make me sign non disclosure agreement
at my next job, i quote the NDA with DSO and reported my previous salary as real amount +2k and they hired me at my "previous salary"
of course, having the R&D cert helps
Preternatural.stuff is quite right. There are certain Qs that needs to be answered truthfully and some Qs related to your current employer that needs to be protected, especially if it's restricted information. Because your current employer can take disciplinary action against you for divulging sensitive information, and your potential employer may also view you as "loose lips" and where does that put you?
Originally posted by Preternatural.stuff:There are many things that are different in Asia compared to the West (Europe for instance).
I don't think you should stop companies from asking where you worked previously! How to otherwise ascertain your work experience and skills / credibility?
More importantly, in some countries, employers are not allowed to request information such as ethnicity and age. The reason for it is quite sound in the sense that it can easily become a basis for discrimination even in the early stage of shortlisting.
But then again, one has to ask - does it really work? If there is racism, it merely moves the discrimination to the interview stage when they see your face. Surveys show that despite such anti-discrimination laws, many ethnic minorities still get shortchanged in not getting the job compared to the white folks. Worse, they get messed about AFTER making a wasted trip to an interview - sometimes after travelling for hours (unlike Singapore).
Think of the situation if you are the manager or business owner doing the hiring, it makes the recruitment process really tedious not being able to get as much info as early as possible, ain't it?
That's why I think that while the human rights movement started out really noble, its an argument gone stupid a long time ago... but that's another story for another day...
actually nothing wrong with those questions on previous work experience.Age is another issue depending on how old you look, but at least those people have a chance to impress the interviewers.
but I have to say for asking about previous salary, it's only to the employer's unfair advantage. What it does is really set the bar for them to cut down your starting pay. If you quote a 1 k difference in pay from your previous job, it's likely they'll bargain it down even if they feel you're worth the amount. And the 1k difference puts you on slightly weaker grounds.
Having had experience on both sides of the hiring and applying process, I can honestly say that stating salary is quite harmless and probably helpful to both parties.
In this day and age, info as early as possible is helpful to all parties. Let's not kid yourselves by saying its bad practices etc.
C'mon in many countries like in the UK / US, the big companies PUBLISH their starting pay for fresh grads, then the guaranteed increments upon confirmation, plus the 2nd, 3rd, 4th year career progression pay packet. The really good companies put it out pronto to tell the market - we are good, we pay good, come. They throw down the gauntlet to the competition as well by saying - we want the best try matching that.
The rest of the industry then takes that as a benchmark to measure themselves and to budget.
Given the number of surveys & websties that detail salaries in various industries in various levels, c'mon, dun kid yourselves by thinking your previous salary is some skunkworks top secret classified info.
Asia, including Singapore, is in a way very backward. I've seen big Singapore companies or MNCs based in Singapore do roadshows in the UK (such as in London) putting themselves forward trying to hire foregin talent. But they are unwilling or cannot even recognise that they have to be more transparent with their pay. Even though the market expects that from them cos many UK employers are like that (look at their advertisements). They come up with the usual crap like "we pay competitive rates" which piss off the people attending the talks. They merely end up sounding evasive.
Job applicants should similarly consider putting the previous and expected salary levels as your bargaining tool, its also part of the homework that everyone should do. Fact of the matter is that for the position that you are applying, unless it is a standalone position in the entire company, there is already a figure they will pay which cannot vary too much to avoid upsetting pay parity. They won't let employees talk among themselves and getting upset.
As for the confidential info thingie... NDA is always a good excuse... but you can turn it to your advantage as well. Give some hints then say I'll tell you everything only when I'm on board!
C'mon if its a listed company, its easily obtainable info. If not, it depends on the job scope you do - a tech guy can't be expected to know the financials. Sales guys would probably be expected to know how to extrapolate individual targets to team/division targets. Financial guys - fall back on the NDA excuse.
Yawn gotta koon...