Charlie Wade's Job Hunting and Employment FAQs

"This employer wants a salary history with my resume. Should I include it?"

Generally, no, it really can only hurt you. Employers aren't stupid, they already know how much they will to pay a new hire and what their range is.

Some have taken to saying to applicants that they want salary info so they can more accurately judge what the market is paying; so that's why they ask. That's just baloney. Every employer knows what the going rate is for any of their positions, anything else is just a lie. I mean, that's part of a good HR department's job, knowing what the going rates are for their employer's positions.

Say you offer your salary requirements or history. If it's too high for their tastes, adios muchacho/muchacha. If it's too low (and it can never be too low for most employers), hello low-ball offer. You can't win.

One major key to successful negotiations is knowing what your adversary is willing to accept. Giving out your salary history/requirements is a very good indicator of this. It also helps to weed out people who will most likely want too much pay, yet rarely will those people get the opportunity to say they would accept a more modest wage if necessary.

You simply have nothing to gain and everything to lose by providing a salary history/requirement. And for the right candidate, no employer is going to eliminate a candidate simply because he/she didn't list a salary on his/her resume. Any employer that does isn't an employer you want to work for anyway.

Think about this: how many employers demand that applicants include salary history/requirements, yet don't provide a salary range for the position? That alone should tell you quite a bit.

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