Hi experts, I'd really appreciate your suggestion. After rounds of interviews, I finally got the offer, but now I need to provide my “salary proof".
The twist is that the company does not know that I have left the firm, and I was “counseled out” and thus got zero bonus. Can you help me with 2 questions please:
- If I say that the bonus was zero due to the company's underperformance (which is true - we had firm-wide unpaid leave), would this be skeptical? Is it common that consulting firms do not give out any bonus if the company is struggling / underperforming?
- I'm planning to give the salary proof of my “first 3 months” after I joined. The rationale is (1) The company only needs 3-month proof (2) I can say the later months were impacted by tax factors, e.g. after tax amount fluctuates every month. Is this appropriate? Or, can I propose to show them the offer letter with the monthly base salary on it?
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Thank you Dennis, very helpful indeed. Just to clarify, when you say show them the "offer letter", do you mean show them every page of the offer letter (plus my signature)? Not sure whether confidentiality is something that I should be concerned - is it okay to show my previous firm's offer letter to a direct competitor? Thanks!
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I personally never had to show a “proof of salary” so there is that. But if you must, then I would just pick the page with the excerpt that shows your role title, base salary and bonus range. That should be on page one in many cases. Take a screenshot of it or something - I wouldn’t send the full contract
Thanks Dennis, really grateful for the suggestion. Final question - you've mentioned offer letter + pay slip of first 3 months are sufficient. But in case they ask what I got for bonus this year, should I say I didn't get any? Is it possible to say that, the offer letter stated bonus is 20% but at company discretion, so it is confidential to share the specific amount. Does it make sense to not sure the bonus amount due to confidentiality?
I actually don’t know why they would inquire about the specific bonus amount you actually received last time. That’s a bit intrusive. And it is not needed just to gauge your compensation package as a whole for their own purposes of extending a competitive offer to you. If push comes to shove, you can say that your bonus was within the range specified in your offer letter - which is not a lie.