Demands for Salary History sometimes painful

by Nick
(Sacramento, CA, U.S.A.)

As a human resource professional, sometimes asking for salary history from perspective employees can be painful, not only for the candidate but for human resources as well!

From the hiring perspective, this information is sometimes needed in order to make sure that we are paying you in comparison to what the market is offering. Making sure that we are meeting your expectations early on in the interview process makes for less trouble down the line. There have been plenty of times where the candidate is a great fit and we get to offering and we are off sometimes as much as $20,000 than what the candidate expected! Talk about awkward!

On the other hand I can understand how the candidate feels; they do not want to show their cards too early in fear of being not being paid properly or losing a potential position due to a previous salary.

Good practices that apply to both sides are to be truthful. Be truthful about what you made or paying, and be truthful about what you both can offer. Candidates should not be the ones to offer the salary information to Human Resources, the true HR professional will ask for this information if they require it. Candidates in this current hiring climate and economic turndown should be flexible when it comes to salary, and let the perspective employer know that. It might be possible to take a position for less salary upfront, but negotiate that you will receive set bonuses or increased salary if you hit certain targets. Good luck!