He revealed only one trick to use during the interview process, but it is very important and is probably one of the easiest and most important things you can do to establish your personal well being. He said that when you are asked to reveal your previous salary, that you should never tell the HR manager how much you actually made but inflate it by $10,000, because they are not going to go and research that anyway. This is especially true if you are having to relocate to somewhere more expensive, and may not be effective or even realistic to inflate this amount if you are staying local. Personally, I used to have a moral disagreement with this tactic, and have even mentioned, in my book, that an old friend used this strategy. Recently, though, I have read articles on glassdoor where very high-ranking individuals consider this when they are looking to change jobs and inflate their previous salary, in hopes of getting that from their new employer. After hearing this from the colleague today at work, then I have now come to realize that this is an essential method to negotiation, instead of just being a liar. Through all of my fairly-recent job interviews, I have noticed HR managers getting upset when you try to ask for more money than you are currently making, and they try to argue that if you move to a more expensive area then it will cost you the same as any other area, regardless of how inexpensive your recent area had cost. I feel this must be because they are anticipating job applicants to lie about how much they previously made and do not want to give them one more cent than that amount, since it is an inflated "raise" anyway.
Remember, this is intimate advice straight from an HR manager's mouth. No matter how much you may read on hiring websites about being honest in your interview or that if you lie about your salary then you may get caught, don't believe it. Most companies don't even want employees sharing with each other their own salaries. This is because it creates more problems for the company when those same employees get upset, smart, and start asking for more fair pay. At the end of the day, a salary is extremely arbitrary and subjective anyway. The company rarely pays the most talented employee the most based solely on their talent.
I recently worked for Microsoft and the most talented employee on the team, who was writing tutorials for other employees and taking on the most high-profile work, was actually getting paid the least of any of the other team members. He drove in a modest and junky car and had a defeatist attitude and felt that "that's just the way the world works and it sucks." A more junior member on the team was making almost $20,000 more than him, just because he had the courage to ask for more during his interview and was stubborn and was not going to settle for less, and he bench-marked his estimate with someone else who worked locally.
The trick is, you have to be completely nice and politely while rejecting HR's initial salary offer and also stand firm to how much you are willing to be paid. If you start getting defensive and try to argue a point, they will think you are too aggressive and instantly not give you an opportunity. This is why lie/inflating your salary is so important: because you will still come across as seeming nice and not have to worry about fighting too hard for an actual salary that you deserve and they will think that they are able to low-ball you without you taking their wallet from them.
I hope these anecdotes really open your eyes and motivate you to not just accept the first offer that is dropped into your lap by HR. They are professionals and making you feel like they are really paying you the most they possibly can and that it is actually painful to them, but don't believe it. Think of them as used car sells people. If HR is telling someone they care about to "inflate", then they should not get defensive when everyone else does it also. It is the way to make the most of your career and will allow you to have a more enjoyable lifestyle.
-Ken
