Career Tips

Putting Salary on Resume yes or no


Quick question, I' ve been given a lot of opinions on should you put your salary history on your resume or not what do you think?

I don' t put my salary history or requests on my resume. I do however have a cover letter that includes these items for employers who have put in their advertisements that they would like them. It is a way for them to weed out people who are asking for more than what the company is willing to pay.

I have another cover letter without salary history and pay request for those companies who don' t ask outright.

And, whether it is right, wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, if the company advertises that it is willing to pay "up to $XX.00 per hour" I send them my pay request letter to show them that I am asking within that range.

I never lock myself in regardless of the pay. I always state a range that includes my lowest possible pay and then add $3.00 more. For example: "$12.00 - 15.00 per hour" or "$26,500 - $30,500 annually".

I don' t know why you' d have a lot of opinions on this.  The correct answer is flat out no.  If you are asked to provide a salary history, you do that on a separate piece of paper with the company name and job title and dates.

Absolutely not. You will likely screen yourself out of the running for being too low or too high or not showing steady advances in salary and you will also box yourself in when it comes to negotiating.

If salary is explicitly asked for on the resume (unless the resume is for a government or academic position), you must still not reveal your salary, rather "politely" write:  "Happy to discuss salary history at interview."

You may want to the investigate some of the Salary Negotiation tips on Monster.com.

NEVER put you salary history on your resume! If salary history and/or salary requirements are asked for, and the posting states tha submissions without this information will not be considered, you must provide it. However, the way to do this is to put your salary requirements in your cover letter, in the 2nd to last paragraph, always stated as a range, and with the added clause, "depending on further details of the position's requirements (Or, "the full scope of the position") and your company's benefit package" or something to the effect that gives you, and them, some leeway if it comes down to an offer and/or negotiation.

If asked for recent salary history (last 2 or 3 jobs), I would give that in the cover letter as well. If asked for your DETAILED history, others here on the board suggest using a separate sheet of paper attached to your CL, simply listing the company name, your title (with dates of employement, I think), and ending salary. Personally, when asked this, I usually state my prior salaries in general terms, such as, "In my previous positions, I have earned in the range of $XX,XXX to $XX,XXX per year."  Or, "In my last position, my salary was.....,. Prior to that I was earning in the range of ...."

I respectfully disagree with Marky that you should never provide this information--if the employer thinks you cannot follow instructions or the ad says your application won't be considered without this information, you've already got a strike against you. However, if you read posts on this in the Salary Negotiation section, you'll see there are ways around employers assuming you will work for about the same money as you've been earning.... And, unless asked for a comprehensive, detailed salary history, I would only provide the most general, non-specific information as I think I can get away with! Address the question so they know you can read, but don't be too detailed if you can help it.

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