Providing Your Salary History
Is My Salary History Any of Their Business?
Many employers obviously think that your salary history is their business,
but there are varying opinions about whether or not it truly is.
Oddly enough, it's illegal for U.S. employers to ask you certain personal
questions; yet, they get away with poking their noses into your income, something
so personal that you might not even share it with your best friend. Go figure.
Unfortunately, there are no labor laws that deter
employers from demanding your salary history or recent paycheck stubs. So, the
less employers are challenged in that arena by job applicants, the more they'll
try to get away with poking their collective big nose where it doesn't belong.
Most employers offer competitive salary ranges, by referring to salary data
that they purchase from research companies. So, employers already know in advance
what range they're willing to pay you for the job you do, whether or not you
provide your salary history.
Even so, according to Joan Lloyd, employers (and recruiters) ask for your salary
history anyway, just so they can determine if you are even in the right ballpark.
In other words, she essentially take sides with employers; but, she still suggests sidesteps
to comply without locking yourself in.
Meanwhile, The Headhunter takes different stand, by indicating that your salary
history is none of an employer's business, period. Subsequently, he suggests how
to avoid such requests in the first place and if they happen anyway, ways to
tactfully sidestep them.
If you think that your salary history is confidential or has little to do with
what you're worth on a new job, then
consider trying the sidestep techniques suggested by the experts. (See the samples
linked below for letters that employ similar techniques.) But, be aware that
you might limit your job opportunities by not complying 100 percent.
On the other hand, also be aware that employment is a two-way street. If you
prefer not to work for nosy employers who overstep their bounds, exercising tactful
sidestep techniques is one way to screen them, just as they use your salary history
to screen you. Surely, all but the most naive or self-righteous employers know
that requesting your salary history is at least a heck of a lot to ask, if not
a blatant invasion of your privacy.
So, if your resume and cover letter shine,
and employers are truly interested in your skills and honestly willing to pay
you what you're worth, then they'll likely overlook the fact you didn't comply
100 percent. If not and they insist on seeing your complete salary history anyway,
it could be a sign that unwarranted demands will continue on the job.
If you think that your salary history is an employer's business or
if you simply don't want to risk losing even one job opportunity, then whether
or not to provide it is a no-brainer; that is, unless you don't know how to do
so. For help, see the samples linked below.
Salary History Samples
For samples from the Web, see Salary
History under Letters.
Included are links to free
salary history samples that you may download or copy right from your
screen, courtesy of TechnicalJobSearch.com. Sample letters that attempt to
tactfully sidestep salary history requests are provided too.
See also Salary
Requirement Letters for samples of same. This link is also provided
on all of the pages linked in the paragraph above.
Providing Your Salary History
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