A sales manager's perspective...

by Mike McClure
(Downers Grove, Illinois)

I think there are two main reasons salary information is requested. The article points out the first; laziness. It's much easier to figure out how much to pay someone by looking over the collective shoulders of other companies and paying the same amount they are paying their employees for similar positions instead of actually figuring out the worth of the position to the company and then coming up with a salary figure. The second reason is to contain the amount of increase in pay an employee would realize by changing jobs. HR seems to have in mind a percentage of increase in salary an employee is entitled to without considering, again, the worth of the position to the company.
That said, as a hiring sales manager I often asked candidates for salary history as a way to confirm their success. I have interviewed many, many people for positions in sales and never met any candidate that was not at, or close to, 100% of their given quota. Comparing actual earnings to their compensation plan was a solid way to determine their level of achievement.

Shirley's Comment: Good point Mike. In sales, with commission based compensation, a good way to confirm a candidate's success rate is through his or her actual earnings. I'm wondering whether you requested the info before or after you interviewed the person?