I recently had a recruiter reach out to me for a new role with a salary range of £70-80k. During our initial call, I panicked when asked about my current salary and mentioned that I was in the £60s, even though I actually earn £54k. Now, the recruiter has asked me to email him my current package, and I'm feeling anxious about it. I know I shouldn't have misrepresented my salary, but I'm concerned that if I disclose my actual salary, it will expose my earlier mistake and potentially anchor my expectations lower than the role's budget. I'm qualified for the position, and the recruiter initially approached me based on my CV, so I want to navigate this carefully. I'm considering a few options: should I just come clean and explain that I misspoke during the call, stick with the £60s figure, or decline to disclose my current salary altogether and focus on my expectations for the new role? I'm particularly interested in advice from UK recruiters or hiring managers about whether current salaries are typically verified and if refusing to disclose could cause issues. I’ve been reading some comments suggesting that I should focus on what I'm looking for rather than my current salary, as it really isn't relevant to the new opportunity. I want to make sure I handle this situation in a way that doesn't undervalue my worth.