[abofh]

When you know you're above market, it's not unreasonable to disclose, knowing they'll go to your old employer and verify you are the "real" deal.

There's little that's a more powerful statement of your value to your prior employer as the salary you'd previously negotiated.

[exstudent2]

If you do that, you're only going to get an offer slightly above what you currently make. Even if you're way above market, it's worth having them make the first offer. You can potentially negotiate it well above your current compensation from there.

[abofh]

If cash is your only metric, I agree. When I'm negotiating for equity at a startup, what the "big boys" paid is a good metric for my expectations on equity+cash comp -- I understand you can't give me "big boy" cash, but "funny money" is very near free - so let's talk percentages...

[exstudent2]

I would still insist on them making the first offer. If they offer $X /year and Y% of equity in options, you can still say:

Y is going to have to come up quite a bit since X is too low.

When they make the first offer you have all the options. When you make the first offer you may inadvertently undercut yourself.

[davidgrenier]

Are you suggesting the previous employer is allowed to divulge that kind of information?

[abofh]

Typically, confirming prior salary (and if you're eligible for re-hire) is about the only thing an employer can divulge without much risk.