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March 1, 2009
Question: You advise that job candidates should not divulge their salary history to an employer. I'm a recruiter, and I think that's the worst advice you could give a prospective candidate.
When it's time to fill out the application, they must disclose their current or past pay anyway, so why withhold it? Besides, playing the money game just wastes time. Salary history is needed to determine whether a person's salary fits the employer’s salary range. It has nothing to do with the value of the candidate, as you suggest. What do you say now?
Answer: I don't agree with you, and nary a reader who has written to me about this does. There is no law that says anyone "must disclose their current or past pay" on a job application.
This is an old game for many employers who use salary history to determine (and limit) a job offer. But the interview and selection process is all about determining the value of a candidate. If an employer can't figure out the candidate's value with respect to the job without relying on the person's salary history, then the employer needs a different kind of help.
Because the employer invites the candidate, the employer should provide a salary range so the candidate can decide whether it's worth interviewing for the job. What does it matter what the person makes now or made last year? What matters is whether the person can do the job and is willing to do it for the stated range, and what value the employer places on the work the person can do.
When you’re shopping for a car, the salesman tells you the asking price to start the negotiations. He doesn’t ask to see your checkbook balance so he can set the price accordingly.
What you're worrying about is a bad old habit and a sales technique, not a necessary step in hiring anyone. It doesn't matter that lots of companies do it. It's wrong, and it reveals a lack of sophistication on the part of the employer.
THE HEADHUNTER TIP
Remember when Harrison Ford faced a bad guy in one of the Indiana Jones movies? He declined to compete.
Instead, Ford changed the rules of engagement. He whipped out his sidearm and blew the sucker away. The lesson? Never compete by using common tools when you're job hunting; you'll probably lose.
In today's world of resume scanners, key words and database-driven hiring, everyone is using the same weapon: a resume. They are competing with others on the same level.
Do you want the job? Then rise above the common competition and use the best tools you can. Marshal your talents and sidestep your way past the human resources equipment. Blow away the competition. Go straight to the manager who needs your help and talk directly. I didn't say it was easy.
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