Should Your Divulge Your Salary History?

Posted by in Human Resources


 



You’re unemployed and you really want that admin job. But the form you’re filling out asks for your salary history. Should you fill it in? Ignore it?  Many of today’s job applicants simply ignore this question. Others who do fill in a number will typically give themselves an automatic 10 percent salary boost from what they are currently earning.  HR people will often take this boost into account.

 

From what I’ve read, employers shouldn’t be asking you about salary history. It’s just another way they can corner you into a less than advantageous negotiating position. Your salary history is none of their business. It has absolutely no bearing on your ability to do the job.  If you’re dealing with a computerized form that won’t let you leave the salary history question blank, simply type in “confidential” or “negotiable.”  If that doesn’t get you to the next copy block, type in all zeros or a salary range. 


The point is, the salary for any particular job should be based on the value your specific experience, skills and education can bring to the position. It should be a measure of how much you can contribute to the bottom line, not what you earned at your last job. Besides, it’s really the employer’s or HR department’s job to assess you as a candidate and determine your salary, that’s what they’ve been trained to do. A company that turns away talent just because they won’t provide a salary history is not one you want to work for anyway. These employers will always be “grinding” you down when it comes to raises, bonuses and other perks. 


Classified ads that ask for salary history are like poker “tells” that say, “I’m more interested in what I have to pay you than what you bring to the table.” These employers are bargain hunters. They’ll point to industry salary surveys, HR charts and graphs that will typically put you at the lower end of the salary scale. Skip them, for if you send in your resume without a salary history, it’ll probably be round-filed. 


HR departments are notorious for asking the salary history question. It’s part of their “square pegs, round hole” training. Don’t fall for their “we need to know where you fit” argument. Simply state that your salary is negotiable and give them a range you’d be willing to accept. If you can’t agree on a salary range, it’s pointless to continue the interview. Today, more than ever, companies need top performers, not warm bodies earning mediocre salaries to fill key positions. 
 
 
 
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  • Alex Kecskes
    Alex Kecskes
    Thanks for your comments, Constance.  I wish you the best of luck in your career.
  • Constance R
    Constance R
    Thank you for this Great advise. I completely agree with you 100%. And as you mentioned many employers feel that have a right to ask this personal information. It truly is not for the applicants advantage to give this information period. They use you as lab rats for their own purpose, benefit and knowledge. That is the only purpose. They will tell you what they will pay you regardless. I have heard this till Im sick......  
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