Question:

Many employers and recruiters are asking for a salary history to accompany my cover letters and resumes. How do I write a salary history?

First Answer:

While many employers do ask for a salary history or salary requirement, it is generally not a wise idea to provide them with this information, as it can immediately put you at a disadvantage. In my experience, salary histories are often used as a screening tool by the employer, and you could be eliminated from consideration simply for overstating (or understating) your compensation requirements.

Could you be eliminated from consideration for NOT providing your salary information? In extreme cases, possibly, but in most cases, you will still be considered a viable candidate even if you don't provide this information. If the issue is of extreme concern to you, address it in your cover letter with a statement like this: "In terms of salary requirements, I recognize that flexibility is essential and would be open to negotiating a compensation package appropriate for someone offering my talents and expertise.

-- Rene' Hart, Resumes for Success!

Second Answer:

Employers ask for salary information in one of three ways: current salary, salary requirement in the job they're hiring for, and salary history. They want this information to (a) conduct a salary survey without paying for it, at the expense of applicants who provide information that can be used to exclude them from consideration; (b) figure out how to "price" the job they are trying to fill, by getting applicants to reveal information that reduces their ability to negotiate; (c) determine how cheaply they can hire you (d) determine that you make or want too much money to be considered for this position OR that you make too little to have held a responsible enough position to have the level of competency required.

Notice what these motivations have in common: none of them works for you and all can work against you! Robert Manning, in his book 99 Minutes to Your Ideal Job, provides the results of a national survey of recruiters and employers he undertook: 85% of those deciding which appplicants to pursue, even when they run an ad specifying they will only respond to candidates who provide salary information, are lying. Why? Because their job is to find the BEST possible candidate, not the CHEAPEST, and if they throw away the resume of a perfectly qualified candidate because that applicant didn't provide salary information, they might lose that BEST candidate to a competitor. So, if you can tolerate that 15% of employers will throw your resume away if you don't provide salary information, vs. the high probability that providing the information means you are either unjustly excluded from consideration OR will leave money on the table by pricing yourself prematurely, the consensus of the career management professionals is to IGNORE this request. Do not say "salary is negotiable": they knew that.Just be silent on the issue; the strategy is "let them fall in love with you first."

If you ignore the advice and insist on answering the question, the best way to provide salary history if yours is progressive is to do it in percentages:

• Current job: 15% increase when promoted in 1998
• Previous job: 12% increase when the company average was 5%
• First job: 10% increase based on six months' superior performance.
• Hired at 10% over initial offer due to relevant experience in a summer internship with a competitor.

If your salary history does not demonstrate exceptional progression for exceptional performance, but has been sub-par due to external conditions, say so:

• Current job: increase in responsibilities (10 accounts added to 25 base) without increase in compensation due to depressed market for XYZ tires in 1999.
• Previous job: union position with contractual raises of 4% unrelated to individual performance
• First job: commended for superior performance during a wage freeze due to industry contraction.

Last choice: If against all advice you choose to provide your salary history in dollars, use approximate numbers: "Hired into first position in the mid thirties, promoted to low forties two years later, current salary is in the low to mid fifties." Or to further obfuscate your answer, use total compensation (salary, cost of benefits, tuition reimbursement) instead of salary, especially for positions with a base plus commission or performance bonus.

You get the picture: the salary history question in part is asking, how have your previous supervisors rewarded your performance so I can deduce how good you are? With supply and demand driving compensation today, only a few old-world-of-work employers want salary history to figure out the "15% increase to leave your current job" formula.

One last word of advice: never lie about your salary, because offers are often contingent upon salary verification. Yes, your current employer will require your permission to release it, but if you refuse, the prospective employer will infer you have something to hide. No one wants to hire a liar.

-- Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City.

Third Answer:

This is a sticky issue that has a variety of opinions attached to it. The discussion may create more heat than light.

As I see it there are three options:

1. Ignore the request/demand but expect to have it repeated should your experience and background be of interest to the hiring firm. If your history does not mesh with the needs, not following the instructions is one more reason not to consider you.
   
   
2. Give them the information. It can be included within the body of the resume adjacent to the individual employer in the employment history section. Alternatively, a seperate sheet carrying this information can be added as an addendum and labeled with your name, a page number and "addendum" as the heading.
   
   
3. Stonewall them with a polite paragraph in you cover letter that may say "In response to your request for a detailed salary history: Your firm is a recognized leader within the field of _XXXXXXXXX_and has a reputation of favorable employee and salary management. In this arena of fairness, may I suggest this issue be addressed within the context of our interview". You are acknowledging their request, stroking their egos and telling them that you recognize this may be a way of qualifying candidates. You are also saying, "I'm willing to discuss the information but only if I am in serious consideration for the position.

-- Robert C. Resch, Career Center, Triton College.

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