Publications & News

What is your Salary? The big no-no in job interviews.

JR BECHTLE & Co.

JR BECHTLE & Co. – Your Strategic Partner and Advisor in North & South America.

JR BECHTLE & Co. | November 2019 | Publications

What is your salary? – The new big no-no in job interviews “Salary History Ban”

Employers used to rely on asking candidates about their salary history in order to evaluate their skill level and past job performance, to determine if the candidate is within the company’s budget, and finally to decide how much he/she should be offered for the position in question. This has usually been in the range of 15%-20% above their current base salary.

The concern about salary history is based on the notion that reliance on prior salary information contributes to perpetuating unequal pay between women and men who do the same or similar work. In order to put an end to this historic pay disparity, state and local governments are increasingly implementing laws and regulations prohibiting employers from asking candidates about their current salary.

This will require a new approach in order to be legally compliant and to keep the focus on salary expectations, as opposed to current or prior compensation. With the changing laws it becomes even more important to conduct additional research regarding compensation levels based on title, skills, qualifications, location, and overall company compensation philosophy.

In conclusion, salary questions are being eliminated from the entire hiring process, and salary history is no longer used to make employment decisions. As a result, companies are reviewing their policies and job applications, conducting audits, and training the hiring managers and all those who conduct interviews to: comply with the new laws; not discuss or release any salary information; and to research market rates based on the specific roles, qualifications, and skill levels required for a particular position.

During its 40 years of advisory and recruiting work for European subsidiaries, J.R. BECHTLE & Company has acquired a broad understanding of general market rates and the pay ranges commonly considered realistic by its internationally active clientele.

Download PDF

Testimonial Spotlight

“Happy 40th Anniversary, JR BECHTLE! The U.S. Commercial Service in Dusseldorf, Germany, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), successfully cooperated on a number of SelectUSA seminars with JR BECHTLE and JR BECHTLE Leadership attended our annual SelectUSA Summit. We highly value your service for German companies in the United States, and your decade-long expertise in tracking the right people for the right place. Thanks you JR BECHTLE all, but in particular Egon Lacher, Tom Kennedy and Susanne Lipke, for welcoming German companies in the United States and helping them succeed in this high-growth market!”
Sr. Commercial Specialist

U.S. Department of Commerce | American Consulate

Intercultural Candidate Preparation – Some Do’s and Don’ts

The special nature of our business – recruiting for firms based mainly in Europe – has required us over many years to adapt and fine-tune our “boutique” search approach to accommodate for…

The Time Factor in Recruiting – The Candidate’s Perspective

At the initial contact the recruiter will present the client (the most important part) and the position to the candidate…

Message to our Friends and Partners

I have never experienced a time like these past weeks. And I have lived through my share of difficult times: While growing up in Germany the Asian flu pandemic in 1957 as a boy in Köln (it killed nearly 2 million people worldwide)

Globalization- Turning “Us vs. Them” to “We”– part 1

Understanding the perspectives of both headquarters and subsidiaries. “The Rift” a real-life issue for many of us in the world of European subsidiaries in North America. Most importantly how to come together and find a solution to be successful.

Parent Companies Should Guide Not Dictate

The relationship between mother and daughter is often fraught with tension, as we all know. This is not very different from relationships between a German parent company and its subsidiary in America.

Salary Levels: US vs Europe – And the Winner Is…

Many European executives, used to high labor costs and the reputation that their labor markets are the most expensive ones in the world, are often surprised that the requested salary levels for U.S. employees…

Fallstricke bei Bewerbungsgesprächen in den USA

Es ist allgemein bekannt, dass Bewerbungsgespräche für Arbeitgeber einige Fallstricke bergen können. So dürfen in Deutschland in einem Bewerbungsgespräch Fragen nicht

Komplizierte Zeiten 2020

Am 11. März 2020 hat die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO, World Health Organisation) das COVID-19 als Pandemie eingestuft. Die Umstände – speziell der internationalen – Geschäftstätigkeit und Arbeit hat sich seither grundlegend verändert.

The Inability to Get Angry

My visitor from Germany is aggravated. He flew into New York from Frankfurt with a non-German airline, and his bag arrived missing a strap. It was not the missing piece of his bag that made him so upset, it was the reaction…

The Myth Of “Mobility”- What Is It Anyhow?

The question asked frequently by European companies during the recruiting process: If Americans are famously known to be highly mobile…