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

　　重要的事情说在前面：任何一个告诉你可以躲开薪水历史问题的人很有可能在给你推销某件东西。

　　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.

　　而实际情况是，有时候你就是对这个问题扭扭捏捏——也就是你想保持求职优势的时候。

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

　　但是，这不意味着你就要把薪水定价直接说出来。

　　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.

　　你可以尝试把招聘主管的注意力转移到将来的发展，而不是过去的状况上，而这就是你所希望的。

　　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.

　　如果你参与过面试，就会了解为何不该当场把薪资历史和潜在薪资范围都告诉对方了。这样会限制你的空间，要么给一个让你退出竞选的价位，要么损失你所不知道可能获得的报酬。

　　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，这些过失就会累积起来。假设在每次工资谈判，你所损失的薪水幅度是每年5千美元，那么一辈子就可能累积损失成千上万了。

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

　　下面有几个应对薪资谈判的方法，以此让你避免直接回答薪资历史的问题：

　　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.

　　你甚至还不用踏进面试室应付关于薪资历史的问题，因为许多公司就把它放在前面，也就是网上求职的阶段。若想逃避回答这个问题，那就把当前收入/收入需求这一栏保留空白。如果这是必填项，那就输入一个“-”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.

　　这有点像下赌注，但额度很小。如果你资历丰富，大多数招聘者最低限度都会来电确定你的收入期望是否在公司的预算范围内。然后，即使你最后不得不被迫说出价格，至少仍有一个深入了解这个职位的机会。

　　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.

　　如果因为没有填写表格的这一栏而把你拒之门外，那就得问问自己，你是否还乐意为这么一家公司卖命：让你陷于劣势之中，还不给你机会收集信息以便报出更合适的薪资范围。

　　2.Turn the question back on the recruiter.

　　2.把问题丢回给招聘经理。

　　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.

　　你正准备面试的职位有其相应的薪资预算——所有放心好了。如果招聘经理询问你的薪资历史，那就先问问他们预算是多少吧。

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

　　谈判专家Katie Donovan在PayScale所出版的《薪资谈判指南》中预设了一个这样的场景：

　　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.

　　你很可能会听到这么经典的对话：“恩，我不想浪费你的时间。了解你的薪水幅度能让我确定我们是否在薪资问题上达成一致。”正如我在人力资源公司工作的第一天所了解的，每一份工作都需要进行审批和资金预算。那么你的回答应该是这样的：“恩，我想这个职位已通过审批并经过资金预算了。那么请问本职位的资金预算是多少，以便告知我们是否达成一致了?”许多招聘经理都会回答这个问题，那么你就可以继续谈论自己的条件优势了。

　　3.Come prepared with questions about the job description.

　　3.面试前准备好关于职位描述的提问。

　　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.

　　虽然你不希望这么快就闪烁其词，那你就应该在面试前预设好薪水范围，但更重要的是，你还要准备好关于职位和职责的问题。

　　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.

　　为什么?因为你不能为了弄清楚获得工作后该做些什么，而只关注职位头衔或甚至认为清单里的职位描述很重要。不同公司的职位头衔都不一样。这家公司的职位名为社交媒体专家，那么就是另一家公司的市场推广部实习生。想要了解更精确的范围，你还得清楚你在这个职位应该承担哪些职责。

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

　　4.范围围绕工作，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.

　　当你了解了这份工作的职位要求，你就能够把这些信息运用到资料收集当中，并推算一个更合适的薪水幅度。请记住：你过去赚了多少真的不重要。重要的是你能为雇主做什么事情，以及于当前、于将来的价值是多少。

　　5.Reframe the question.

　　5.重新组织问题。

　　"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."

　　“当面试官提问你薪资历史的时候，你最应该做的就是把问题重新组织，成为你所期待的薪资范围，”Alison Green，在《美国新闻与世界报道》的Ask a Manager博客中写道。“毕竟，这个问题更贴切!比如，‘我正期望达到$45,000与$55,000之间的薪资水平。’在某些情况下，雇主们都能接受这个回答，那么对话就可以继续了。”

　　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.

　　如果这也不奏效，Green建议你回答：这是一个私密的问题。她表示，唯一决不能做的就是说谎。招聘经理只需要问你两个关键问题就能发现你在说真话还是撒谎了。

（编辑：何莹莹）