First things first: anyone who tells you that you can always dodge the salary history question is probably trying to sell you something.

重要的事情說在前面：任何一個告訴你可以躲開薪水歷史問題的人很有可能在給你推銷某件東西。

The reality of the situation is that sometimes, you just can't wriggle out of answering this question — not if you want to stay a viable candidate for the job.

而實際情況是，有時候你就是對這個問題扭扭捏捏——也就是你想保持求職優勢的時候。

But, that doesn't mean that you should name your price right away.

但是，這不意味著你就要把薪水定價直接說出來。

You might be able to get the hiring manager to focus on the future, not the past, and that's what you're hoping for.

你可以嘗試把招聘主管的注意力轉移到將來的發展，而不是過去的狀況上，而這就是你所希望的。

If you've ever participated in an interview process, you know why it's a bad idea to name your salary history or potential salary range right off the bat. It hems you in, either pricing you out of contention or costing you money that you didn't know you could get.

如果你參與過面試，就會了解為何不該當場把薪資歷史和潛在薪資范圍都告訴對方了。這樣會限制你的空間，要么給一個讓你退出競選的價位，要么損失你所不知道可能獲得的報酬。

Over time, these missteps can add up. If you miss out on $5,000 a year every time you negotiate salary, it could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime.

久而久之，這些過失就會累積起來。假設在每次工資談判，你所損失的薪水幅度是每年5千美元，那么一輩子就可能累積損失成千上萬了。

Here are a few ways to conduct your salary negotiation so that you avoid directly answering the salary history question:

下面有幾個應對薪資談判的方法，以此讓你避免直接回答薪資歷史的問題：

1.Be willing to enter a blank.

1.甘愿留白。

You don't even need to set foot in the interview room to confront the salary history question; many companies put it right up front, in their online application process. To get around this, leave the current salary/requirements box blank. If the field is mandatory, enter a dash or 0.

你甚至還不用踏進面試室應付關于薪資歷史的問題，因為許多公司就把它放在前面，也就是網上求職的階段。若想逃避回答這個問題，那就把當前收入/收入需求這一欄保留空白。如果這是必填項，那就輸入一個“-”或“0”。

It's a bit of a gamble, but a small one. If your qualifications are good, most recruiters will at least give you a phone call to determine if your expectations are in range with their budget. Then, even if you're eventually forced to name your price, you'll at least have a chance to find out more about the job first.

這有點像下賭注，但額度很小。如果你資歷豐富，大多數招聘者最低限度都會來電確定你的收入期望是否在公司的預算范圍內。然后，即使你最后不得不被迫說出價格，至少仍有一個深入了解這個職位的機會。

If not answering that question on an online form knocks you out of contention, you have to ask yourself if you'd really be happy working for a company that insists on putting you at such a disadvantage, without even giving you the chance to gather enough information to name a more appropriate salary range.

如果因為沒有填寫表格的這一欄而把你拒之門外，那就得問問自己，你是否還樂意為這么一家公司賣命：讓你陷于劣勢之中，還不給你機會收集信息以便報出更合適的薪資范圍。

2.Turn the question back on the recruiter.

2.把問題丟回給招聘經理。

There's a budget for the position for which you're interviewing — count on it. If the hiring manager or recruiter asks you for your salary history, ask for their range instead.

你正準備面試的職位有其相應的薪資預算——所有放心好了。如果招聘經理詢問你的薪資歷史，那就先問問他們預算是多少吧。

In PayScale's Salary Negotiation Guide, negotiation expert Katie Donovan suggests a potential script:

談判專家Katie Donovan在PayScale所出版的《薪資談判指南》中預設了一個這樣的場景：

You may hear the classic, "Well, I don't want to waste your time. Knowing your pay helps me determine if we are in the same compensation ballpark." As I learned on day one while working at a staffing firm, no job is truly open without approval and a budget. Your response should be, "Oh, well I assume this job has been approved and budgeted. What's the budget for the job and I can let you know if we are in the ballpark?" Many recruiters answer this question and you can move on to your qualifications for the job.

你很可能會聽到這么經典的對話：“恩，我不想浪費你的時間。了解你的薪水幅度能讓我確定我們是否在薪資問題上達成一致。”正如我在人力資源公司工作的第一天所了解的，每一份工作都需要進行審批和資金預算。那么你的回答應該是這樣的：“恩，我想這個職位已通過審批并經過資金預算了。那么請問本職位的資金預算是多少，以便告知我們是否達成一致了?”許多招聘經理都會回答這個問題，那么你就可以繼續談論自己的條件優勢了。

3.Come prepared with questions about the job description.

3.面試前準備好關于職位描述的提問。

Even though you're hoping not to blink first, you should come prepared with a salary range in mind — but more importantly, you should come with questions about the job and its duties.

雖然你不希望這么快就閃爍其詞，那你就應該在面試前預設好薪水范圍，但更重要的是，你還要準備好關于職位和職責的問題。

Why? Because you can't go by job title alone, or even necessarily the job description in the listing, to help you figure out what you'll be doing all day if you get the job. Job titles vary considerably from company to company. One company's social media guru is another's marketing intern. To figure out an accurate range, you need to know what will be expected of you in the role.

為什么?因為你不能為了弄清楚獲得工作后該做些什么，而只關注職位頭銜或甚至認為清單里的職位描述很重要。不同公司的職位頭銜都不一樣。這家公司的職位名為社交媒體專家，那么就是另一家公司的市場推廣部實習生。想要了解更精確的范圍，你還得清楚你在這個職位應該承擔哪些職責。

4.Bring a range that focuses on the job, not on your history.

4.范圍圍繞工作，而不是薪水。

Once you know what the job entails, you'll be able to include that information in your research, and come up with a more appropriate range. Remember: it doesn't matter what you've earned in the past. It matters what you can do for this employer, and how much that's worth now and in the future.

當你了解了這份工作的職位要求，你就能夠把這些信息運用到資料收集當中，并推算一個更合適的薪水幅度。請記?。耗氵^去賺了多少真的不重要。重要的是你能為雇主做什么事情，以及于當前、于將來的價值是多少。

5.Reframe the question.

5.重新組織問題。

"The best thing you can do when an interviewer asks about your salary history is to reframe the question into what salary range you're seeking," writes Alison Green of Ask a Manager atU.S. News. "After all, this is the more pertinent question! For instance: "I'm looking for a range of $45,000 to $55,000." In some cases, this answer will be accepted and the conversation will move on."

“當面試官提問你薪資歷史的時候，你最應該做的就是把問題重新組織，成為你所期待的薪資范圍，”Alison Green，在《美國新聞與世界報道》的Ask a Manager博客中寫道。“畢竟，這個問題更貼切!比如，‘我正期望達到$45,000與$55,000之間的薪資水平。’在某些情況下，雇主們都能接受這個回答，那么對話就可以繼續了。”

If that doesn't work, Green suggests saying that you keep that information confidential. One thing you should never do, she says, is lie. Hiring managers have only to ask for your W-2s to find out whether you're telling the truth.

如果這也不奏效，Green建議你回答：這是一個私密的問題。她表示，唯一決不能做的就是說謊。招聘經理只需要問你兩個關鍵問題就能發現你在說真話還是撒謊了。