Disclosing Salary History

I’m in the last interview stages with a company and I’m not sure how I should best answer the below question:

“Can you offer some idea of base + bonus or other comp for the past 2-3 years, and also confirm your expectations for a new role?”

Why does what I made 2-3 years ago matter if this is for a new, higher-level role? Can I respectfully decline to answer that? Also, why do they always ask about bonuses? In my career we may get a bonus at the end of the year depending on the health of the business but it’s not significant — just a few hundred. 

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Get a Job in a New City

“After many years of being in the work world (I’m 39), I decided to make a career change a few years ago and go back to school, full time, for a year. I’m single (no hubby, no kids), so it was no problem for me to move literally across the country to a much smaller city to attend university. I moved from Toronto, the largest city in Canada, to Victoria, BC, a city on Vancouver Island (approximately 90 nautical minutes northwest of Seattle).

“I loved island life so much I ended up staying in Victoria for almost two years. I only moved back to Toronto because the job market in Victoria is small – and is even smaller during a recession. I’ve been back in Toronto for about 9 months and found my current job only 2 months after arriving, but I, surprisingly, miss Victoria and would love to move back. The only deal-breaker is I will never move there without having a job first, my finances won’t let me do that again.

“Are companies now willing to use Skype, MSN Messenger, etc. to interview people who aren’t local?”

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I’m a twentysomething who has sworn off college…

I’m a twentysomething who has sworn off college and 9 to 5’s and doing everything society’s way. I have a real mind for business and have an awesome idea for a new website. The idea is to create a live community, a craigslist or Brazen Careerist even for [culturally aware types] across the nation, a site complete with a message board and a calender for user submitted events. I really think there’s a need for this, and feel it would do really well upon launching. I probably shouldn’t have told you all of that but I’m confident you won’t steal my ideas.

So the question is money. I have this great idea, and I assume I need investors. Where do I find them? What should I say to them once I do find them? I’ve read some articles on your blog and made some headway but still feel a little, foggy.

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