frequently asked questions about

Q "Divulging salary history"
I am in the process of looking for a new job. One of the things I frequently see in various advertisements is a request for salary history. I am hesitant to give out my salary history because I am looking for an increase in salary. Also, I am not sure how to include salary history. If I provide a prospective employer with this info, do I include it on my resume or in the cover letter?

A  You've brought up one of the more serious flaws in the Employment System.

Employers have no business asking for your salary history. It's confidential. It has nothing to do with hiring you. Imagine what they'd say if you asked to see the history of salaries they've paid for this job over the past ten years. Or, if you were to ask the manager what his current salary is. Sorry, Mr. Manager, but what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

The excuse employers make is that your past salary helps them determine your experience level, it pegs your value, and it helps them establish a new salary for you.

Hogwash. By that logic, they don't need to interview you. All they need is your salary history and you're off to the races. By using the figures other employers have used, they'll know what their job is worth and what you are worth. And they'll win the lottery, too.

Salary is a judgment of value. It's incumbent on an employer to figure out what the job he wants done is worth, quite apart from who you are, what you've done, or what you've been paid before. In the interview, the employer factors in his judgment of how you would contribute to the success of that job. That's how an offer should be derived. It shouldn't matter what you were making at your last job, especially in a world where 17-year-olds who were earning five bucks an hour flipping burgers last year are earning $40k this year designing web pages, and where $100k executives are seeking $50k sales jobs.

Bottom line: when you divulge your salary history, you put yourself in a corner that's very difficult to negotiate your way out of.

Here are my suggestions about how to deal with the "salary history" problem.

Skip the classifieds.
The ads are the subtle beginning of an employer's effort to gain an edge in negotiations. If you're dealing with ads, you're made to believe that if you don't submit all the information that's requested, you won't even be considered for a job. And know what? That's true. How do you deal with this? Don't respond to the ad at all, because your resume and application essentially go to resume jail -- in some personnel jockey's drawer.

Don't be afraid of forms.
If you must fill out a form, list your salary as CONFIDENTIAL, to be discussed only with the hiring manager. (Alternately, cross out the "salary history" title on the form and replace it with "required salary range".) If a company insists on your salary history to determine where you'll fit, they should divulge your boss's salary so you'll know where you might "fit" in the future. (Funny how this logic works once you think about it.)

Deal with managers directly.
Ask The Headhunter is devoted to teaching people how to control the job search, not how to follow some administrator's "processing rules". If you're going to divulge your past salary at all, gain an edge in the process. There's nothing wrong with saying to a personnel rep, "My salary history is confidential, and I will discuss it only with the hiring manager." Could it jeopardize your chances? Sure. If you don't want to rely on "chance", don't talk to personnel jockeys.

Lead with your requirements.
What does your past salary matter if you won't accept an offer below $X? (Understand that this cuts both ways: you've got to be willing to figure out what your abilities are worth.) If you decide to divulge what you've earned in the past, do so by firmly stating that your current salary is one thing; your required salary range is another. This is how you level the playing field: by getting them to divulge the range they're willing to spend. If there's no agreement on the range, you probably don't want to interview. Don't feel you're "pricing yourself out" of the job by doing this. An employer knows what range she can pay; you're not going to materially change that by "avoiding the salary discussion until you can impress them".

There is no pussyfooting around on this subject: When you provide your salary history, you give up your negotiating leverage.

If this sounds extreme, consider how you're going to feel when you're offered less than you want and you've already spent hours of your time in interviews, and weeks waiting for an offer. It's a simple fact from the world of behavioral psychology: the more the employer puts you through, the more likely you are to rationalize accepting a low offer. (The phenomenon is referred to as "cognitive dissonance".)

Now let's get to what's really troubling you: all employers seem to require salary history at some point or other. How can you buck that? You stand up for what's right. To steal a little from Arlo Guthrie, imagine if 10 people a day refused to provide salary info. Then 50 people, then a thousand people a day, all challenging employers to figure out for themselves what a worker is worth before hiring them. The world will change.

Any company that rejects a good candidate because he or she refuses to divulge salarly history isn't a very smart company, and certainly not a competitive one.

You will clearly need to make a judgment about each situation as it arises. This need not be an adversarial approach: you'll find that many managers will respect your position if you present it candidly, then immediately turn the discussion to how you can help the company be more successful and profitable.

Making an issue of salary history does not require being rude or presumptuous. It requires that you be polite and firm.

But, don't be afraid to make an issue of it if it's important to you. It may cost you some opportunities, but you've got to draw a line for yourself.

Best wishes,
Nick Corcodilos
Ask The Headhunter

NOTE: For a more detailed discussion about this topic, and for advice about how to get past this awkward question without upsetting an employer, please see the article Keep Your Salary Under Wraps.

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