Inflating your current salary package during an interview may be a way of bumping up future earnings, but the risk of being found out and kicked off the shortlist far outweighs the potential reward.
Debbie Goodman, MD of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters, which places many of the top executives in South Africa’s leading corporations, says: “We do come across people who try to exaggerate the value of their packages. But it goes without saying that being exposed as a liar will reflect badly on a candidate.
“In the past, many may have been able to misrepresent the truth about their current salary during the interview process, get away with it and boost their monthly paycheck and overall package. But be warned — to do this nowadays would be very career limiting, as having to produce a payslip is often a mandatory part of the recruitment process.”
Goodman points out that, at the top of the corporate food chain, a few phone calls can quickly establish exactly what a top executive in a particular industry is earning. Headhunters make it their business to have access to this kind of information.
In fact, she says, headhunters will purposefully weed out individuals who are only in it for the money.
“Moving jobs used to be mainly about getting a pay rise, but these days an increasing number of top executives are looking more for job satisfaction. At the same time, employers want to attract employees who are not looking solely for monetary reward but rather for a new challenge and career development that the opportunity offers them.
“Obviously headhunted candidates would not be expected to take a pay cut and may assume some kind of extra package incentive to move, but from the headhunter’s point of view, a move should never be motivated solely by money.
“The money-hungry types are more likely to accept counter-offers, or job hop and leave employers in the lurch when the next better-paying opportunity arises. We try to eliminate these candidates before taking a shortlist to clients, as these individuals are unlikely to have the type of staying power that ultimately serves the employer’s interests.”