Historical Dollars

  • Comments posted to this topic are about the item Historical Dollars

  • I wouldn't put a salary history for two reasons:

    1. A $100K salary is a LOT different in Seattle or San Francisco as opposed to almost any other place in the world (like where I live now);

    2. I here, quite often, "You make good money for Roseburg," and I wouldn't want my (lower, relatively) salary used to judge my skills (the cost of living is quite low here).

    So long, and thanks for all the fish,

    Russell Shilling, MCDBA, MCSA 2K3, MCSE 2K3

  • I recently read a pretty good article on this topic (which I can't locate now, of course).

    The summary, basically, was to try to avoid divulging the information. If you're put in a position where you can't advance in the process without doing so, you should negotiate in exchange for the information a commitment to move to the next step in the interview process.

    TroyK

  • Never.

    I've been consulting for over twenty years. I always bring new skills and knowledge to each assignment. That has value.

    What I learned with a previous employer is a gain to the new employer. Additionally, I invest in my self by attending user groups, seminars and other forms of training on my own time and at my own expense. That has value.

    Geography is not considered in determining my rate. I've worked on both coasts and in between as well as internationally. I have a base rate and an occasional adjustment for locale.

    Salary history shows that you’ve either kept up with inflation or you’ve changed jobs frequently. If the new employer is interested in experience and quality work they should pay the price.

  • Salary history? You live and learn. I never actually knew this was something anyone did.

    For me, I wouldn't let my prospective employer know my last salary, let alone a full history of all of them. If I'm going for a new job, it's because it's got significant differences to my previous one, and I don't want the value of what I'm going to do calculated based on the value of what I used to do. And yet that's the way employers want to work it; look at what you were earning in your last job, add an acceptable percentage and then use that as a starting point for salary negotiations for the new job. Dodgy if you ask me, and something I avoid.

    Semper in excretia, suus solum profundum variat

  • If the job advert specifies a salary (or salary range) and you apply for the job, then that means you are prepared to work for the salary. Irrespective of what your last/current salary is.

    As Steve mentioned, if the new salary involves a big pay cut, that may indicate you are desperate for work, and will quit as soon as a better offer arises. But "we are all individual", and could well have very different reasons for taking the pay cut.

    I have provided salary info on a job application, but only where the Employer specifically asked for it. And I think I would refuse to provide it now.

    Coincidentally, I was recently looking for work in Germany, and the vast majority of job adverts did not give a salary, not even a salary range. That made applying for jobs tricky, as I've always used the salary on offer to judge the level of candidate the Employer is looking for. I'm sure we've all seen the job advert for a database programmer with admin skills, plus ASP.NET, JavaScript, XML, etc, all for a salary of 15K.

    In my current job, I am also not allowed, by company policy, to reveal my salary to anyone.

  • I don't post a salary history, but always get asked what I currently make when applying for new jobs. I always hesitate in telling potential employers, because it might be a job I really want, but would be a cut in pay from my current job, which is my option to take, but as someone else mentioned, might turn off the new employer.

    As a contractor right now, I specified up front my hourly fee, and if I were to go back to permenant employment, I would find out their salary range, instead of telling them what I make.

    Amy

  • Only if requested/required. Never on my own initiative. I think it hurts your ability to negotiate.

  • I don't volunteer a salary history because I don't want that to be the main consideration before I even get to the interview. I consider my last salary irrelevant in computing my next salary, as far as the new employer is concerned. I expect to be paid what the market says is fair for my skill-set and experience and every situation is a bit different. If asked what I will accept for compensation, I have always worked out a range ahead of time, with the bottom of the range being around what I expect. There was a time when I was timid about asking for much more money, afraid I would ruin my chances for getting the job, and of course, never had higher money offered to me. After seeing people who couldn't get out of their own way come in the door getting 10% more than me (with less education and experience), I started increasing my salary requirements to the high end of the market range, and usually get it. It is all in the negotiation...but one thing for sure, if you don't ask for it, it is rare that you get it.

    Once when I was moving from a state that had state income tax to one that didn't, the person trying to hire me was using that as an excuse to not increase my salary over the present. He said, 'you won't have to pay state income tax so that is like getting an automatic 7-8% raise if you come in at your current salary'. I politely told him that income taxes had nothing to do with my market value. I wonder what excuse he used for people who already lived in that state. I didn't get that position because we could never come to terms on the price, but I found another within a couple of weeks paying what I was seeking, which was fair for the market.

    If it was easy, everybody would be doing it!;)

  • I did not put my salary history on my resume, but if the company had me to fill up an application form and required me to put in my salary, then I had to put in.

    Taking a pay cut does not mean that you are desperate for a job. I took a couple job that offered me a high salary and both jobs were the worst jobs I ever had. As someone said if the job provides me opportunity to learn, that is more important.

    Here in update NY where I live, a DBA does not earn 6 figure. For the past year I was looking for a job, more and more the company combines DBA, developer, data architect and data warehouse developer in the job description. Some even requires to have the skill of .NET and C#, web development.

    So the fact is most companies want to hire a person to do 3 people's work but they offer 1 person's salary.

    The worst of all one contracting company offered me $25 for a SQL Developer position, I used to pay $15 for a college intern.

    I don't know if just happens to where I live or across the country. Let me know where the jobs are, I move!!!!

  • For my current role in the UK, I needed to fill out a screening form which had sections for employment history. Leaving the salaries blank, I was soon called by the screening company saying they couldn't progress without this information.

    And obviously this information is supplied after the negotiations and subsequent agreement by the previous employer in their reference.

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  • I don't offer any salary history during an interview but certain types of places ask for one. Once they do, I do two things:

    1) Tell them my current salary, then obfuscate it with additional information (it's annual review time soon, getting a raise soon, COL is low here, blah blah blah)

    2) Quietly lose respect for the organization. I've always enjoyed working at a place when they seem more interested in my experience and skills than when they are more interested in what someone else was paying me for said skills.

    I'm not a fungible commodity, different organizations have different needs. With my same skillset I can be invaluable in one position (say SQL Server DBA) and pretty much worthless in another (NHL Trainer maybe?). I expect to be paid in line with what the market will bear. A company that can see I will contribute quite a bit to the organization will know what I'd be worth to them and be willing to pay it.

  • I avoid providing Salary Information as much as possible. Having provided it once cost me job because the company thought they could get me cheaper than someone else because of my last salary. Where I was working you could buy a house for 75-80 thousand, where I was offered the position a comparable home was between 150-200 thousand. Just in housing alone I needed to make 10-15 thousand/yr more to break even. I clearly provided the salary I was looking for and the offer was 10 thousand less! And, they wouldn't negotiate at all. Since then I have not provided previous salary information. By the way the salary I requested was toward the middle of the range advertised for the position.

  • Having been a plant manager for a manufacturing facility and as such I learned that the personnel department's (now known as Human Resources) major function is to weed out applicants and only pass on for further interviews a minimum number of those who appear qualified.

    Considering the span of employee skills required the HR rep can only ask the simplest of questions, as the majority of hiring managers do not supply HR with a list of simple questions and answers to screen applicants. So what must the HR rep do to make the decision to reject the individual or pass the candidate to the hiring manager.

    What better than salary, after all salary ranges are set for most positions and if the candidate is not in that range then the HR rep has a reason to reject the individual.

    Now when I am asked the salary question I turn it around and say I review offers based on total compensation of which salary is but a single element. I factor in health insurance or lack there of, vacation time, number of paid holidays observed, do I have to cover x number of nights/weekends, and other elements such as do I have to pay for parking (working in a down town location parking is rarely free) etc., and ask the HR rep which is a better method of evaluating an offer, salary or total renumeration ... this generally throws the HR rep for a loss and they nod towards renumeration and I have never had one press for an actual salary amount and I do get passed on to the hiring manager for an interview.

    If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

    Ron

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  • "So these days I don't provide salary history, even if it's asked for. What about the rest of you?

    Steve Jones "

    In the process,

    First you submit resume,.

    Second you fill the form that need to input salary information.

    Note: If you go by Head Hunter, your salary history will be there.

    If you go direct to customer, they will ask you fill the form that expose previous salary.

    ****

    Do you have any tactic not provide salary history, even if it's asked for?

    ****

    I do not provide salary info with resume but on the second step I can not deny to expose my salary info.

    Does this count as provide salary info with resume?

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