re: Hiring company want previous W-2’s

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The last thing I want to do as an employer is to "sell a new hire" on how great the job is when their first year or two may not meet that reality. Better to know on the front end than after going through the hiring and training process


Still no reason to need previous w2's, that's a forward looking question.

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My response is relative to asking employees of a prospective company anything about the company including what they made their first year and how they have done since.

You aren't in sales, are you?
Your concerns are all about employees who are salaried or may receive bonuses and protecting some mirage of privacy.

The reality is that privacy is how an employer could potentially abuse employees and their compensation. Talking openly ensures that every salaried individual is on a level playing field.

When it comes to sales, if you want to make more then sell more. If someone is doing better than you, find what works for them and see about implementing those strategies and verbatims into your own routine and pitch. It is a complete 180 from anything that a salaried individual understands.

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They just want to verify your employment history most likely. It shouldn’t jeopardize anything for you to be honest.

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They verify my employment with the call to HR.....

It jeopardizes my negotiation power, my current employers payment plan, how it is measured, and integrity.

OP is obviously concerned he will be caught embellishing his sales history. No big deal. Just go to Office Max and buy blank W-2's and fill in the numbers you want. Problem solved.

Oh, they absolutely figure out how much money you make through your SS. They claim they ask for tax benefits but I've been told as much. And I know that GS, NT, and Citi don't generally ask.

JP Morgan's little tax form makes you fill out a form that asks all sorts of stuff you shouldn't have to be asked. "Have you ever been disabled recently"

Also, Home Depot asks and I've had some random recruiters ask. Usually I tell the recruiters no, and they tell me they just need a pin I won't forget

I think the reasons some companies do that is to see if you lied about your previous pay. I went through that about a year ago. I didn't throw out a particular number when asked about current pay (it varies due to commission), but I said "in most years I end up between abc and xyz."

After I signed my letter of acceptance (and settled on pay) I had to go through a stringent background check and they asked about previous jobs and pay. I put down my base salary with a note stating my average commission (which in some cases was three times my base salary).

The main thing is don't lie on job applications or during the interview process. It would suck to resign from your job only to be fired from your new job for being dishonest.

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I never gave them an income history. Again, this job is a 60/40 split and I have been 100% commission for basically as long as I have worked for this company for 13+ years.

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So what's the problem with providing them? I understand you can tell the to frick off, but if you want the job, why not comply? They probably want to verify their offer is fair more than they want to frick you over.

Sounds like a high paying gig. While 7yrs of W2's is a bit much, I don't see an issue with 3yrs.

Plenty of applicants lie, so they have to protect themselves too.

I've had jobs that request a copy of my H.S degree, when my job position requires a college degree.

Have you talked to anyone who works there or that's familiar with the hiring process there? Before you just up and decide to pass it up, at least ask some questions first. You don't want to find out later that it wasn't as big of a deal as you thought.

I never heard of a company asking for a potential employee's W-2s.. Not to mention, going back 7 years.. But like I said, ask questions.