Andy Lester's book "Land The Tech Job You Love" (http://pragprog.com/titles/algh) covers this topic in exactly the same way. I highly recommend this book.
It's excellent advice, and it really is important to keep in mind - some companies use this information not to just lowball you, but to ensure they stay "with the market" in their salary ranges.
Consider the salary a secret of your employer. You can give a range, but never tell anyone what you make right now.
You can give a range, but never tell anyone what you make right now.
Instinctively, I have a hard time giving out a range too. Mostly because I would tend to give a range centered around what I'm making, which I feel beats the purpose of not revealing the amount. Shifting the range to be on the higher side feels like lying or something.
Let's say I make $100k. Saying "I make between 90-120k" feels wrong to me, because I instinctively think to myself "well, this is technically true, but what's the point of giving a range if it's not accurate?" And even suggesting 90 would feel like a bad idea because I wouldn't want less either…
The other part is how wide should the range be? Too narrow or too wide and it's really useless.
Divulge the salary number at the high end of what you want, inclusive of the value of all benefits. State that you are more than willing (hoping, in fact!) to reduce the raw salary number in exchange for a supportive culture with good people, meaningful work, and productivity-enhancing benefits.
It's not a lie and it gets you exactly what you want and need.
If they want to know what you are making now, you are making exactly what you stated above.
Since there's no way for an employer to compare their culture/benefits to another company's, it is logically unsound for them to consider your past paychecks. Remind them of that.
The other simple approach is to say, "You know better than I what your organization can do with my talent. I want to work were I am most effective. The salary and work product your company offers is my best way to estimate my impact."
Oh I'd say make the range start at a couple thousand more than you really want, and make the top more than that. If you give a number first they're going to try to go down from there so you want to start higher. To get what you think is fair you have to pad the low number.
But make sure you are realistic. What are your peers making? What's the going salary, not only in your field, but your area?
But if you can, get them to move first. It might get awkward but they are the ones that know how much they can pay.
My Dad's old rule was this: "You can afford a house that is two times what you make, gross, in one year. So if you make $80,000, you can afford a $160,000 house. If you want a bigger house, ask for more money."
Just be sure you're worth it. There's no shame in being good and getting a fair pay for it. The right company would probably still be getting a bargain :)
Houses were cheap in your Dads day/country!
Here in New Zealand average house costs are about 9.5x average wage. I think the average New Zealanders wage would make a US woman feel good.
Sources: http://stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/Income...
It's excellent advice, and it really is important to keep in mind - some companies use this information not to just lowball you, but to ensure they stay "with the market" in their salary ranges.
Consider the salary a secret of your employer. You can give a range, but never tell anyone what you make right now.