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Five Tips for Handling Salary History Questions

The Problem

There’s no danger in announcing your salary requirement. As a matter of fact, it’s necessary and commonly understood to be part of the negotiation process between potential employer and employee.

However, providing information about your salary history can harm your chances of employment or fair compensation for your talent. Once prospective employers know what you’ve earned in previous positions, some employers may offer you the same compensation level, slightly higher or even slightly less. Some employers may even remove you from further consideration, thinking they can’t afford you.

Once your previous salary level is known, it can be very difficult to negotiate a salary that truly reflects your talent and value. For example, what if you were underpaid in your previous position? With that salary level known, you could easily become underpaid in your new position.

Many consider their salary history to be private and confidential information. For years, it was considered rude or inappropriate to ask people about their salary — it just wasn’t done. Besides, there are many factors (downsizing, budget cuts, recession, etc.) beyond the job seeker’s control that can negatively affect salary. Therefore, a salary level does not always truly reflect a person’s employment value.

However, some employers now request this information and will actually reject applicants that don’t respond positively. So what should you do: Compromise your values or risk losing the job?

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