Should You Provide a Salary History?
By Sally
McIntosh, Advantage
Resumes
Salary
data is considered by many to be exclusionary. That means it
will be used to eliminate you from consideration - unless
you are underpaid and applying to a new employer who wants
to underpay you. If you make too much, then he will think
that you would be unhappy with his company. If you make too
little he will undervalue your claimed experience and
skills. If you used to make more than you do now, he will
think you are a poor risk. If you are comfortable providing
salary information then give it but if you are not, you are
not alone.
Remember,
too, that your salary is confidential information. Many
people may see that information prior to the hiring manager
and you may never be called for an interview; yet, many
people now know how much you are paid.
Something
like this works...Salary history is confidential information
to be supplied in the interview - or - I have always been
paid a salary commensurate to the job I have held. I assume
you will do likewise.
If
you feel that you need to provide salary information this is
how you figure it out.
You
have to add up your total compensation package of cash and
extras. There is a difference between take home pay and a
total compensation package.
Take
your base pay + estimated bonus + next raise (if soon) + the
value of your extras (company auto plus mileage per year +
matching contribution to company sponsored retirement plan +
life and health insurance + any other company compensation
or benefits) = Your Compensation Package.
Give
your salary history on a separate sheet of paper or in your
cover letter, but never in the résumé. No matter what an
employer asks for, you can always give him less. Some people
give information only on their last job or the last ten
years. Normally salary tables give each employer's name,
followed by your title, dates of employment, and ending
salary:
XYZ
Company, Denver, Colorado, 1990-1998 Store Manager Salary:
$47,000 plus incentives and bonus
Another
way of handling it is to say something in your cover
letter:
Base
salary was in the mid-40s, plus a good benefits package and
bonus – amounting to considerably more.
|