Expert Advice: Should Salary Be Disclosed On A Resume?

Posted by • June 16th, 2011 • 82 Comments

Dear Abby,

Should I put my current salary on my resume? My brother-in-law says everyone does. He seems to make a lot of money and I think he should know.

Signed,
Upwardly Mobile But Just Not Gettin There

____________________________________

Dear Upward,

Yes, definitely put your salary at the top of your resume and never, ever inflate the amount. Also, whenever you have three aces in your poker hand, you are supposed to tell everyone before the betting starts.

And, I would like you to be my personal guest at my new Dear Abby Casino. Please bring all of your money.

Signed,
Abby

__________________________________

Imagine that you go to a car dealer and want to buy a car. Which strategy do you think will work better:

  1. Tell the salesperson what you can afford;
  2. Ask the salesperson how low they can go; or
  3. Come prepared to negotiate knowing the invoice price and the general profit that the dealer needs to make.

In any negotiation, disclosing your number first is a fundamental blunder unless you are thoroughly prepared and know what’s possible and what your limit is. Even then, you’re generally better off biding your time before you start the negotiation.

Disclosing your salary is shooting yourself in the foot. What is at stake in the negotiation is what you are worth to the company, not a multiplier of what you used to be paid. So, when they ask the inevitable question, be prepared to tell them what you are worth.

  • Find an equivalent job and its salary range online. Start with the salary surveys here at Glassdoor.
  • Get several answers. There are a large number of sources of salary information. Average them and account for the cost of living in your city.
  • Tell the company that you want to agree on a benchmark salary. “Once we agree on that, the rest is easy”, you can say.
  • Present your findings and ask that they give you a similar analysis based on their data.
  • Now you are ready to negotiate about the details of your experience and their compensation philosophy.

When it’s all over, continue to resist the temptation to disclose your salary.

Guest Blogger John Sumser, a member of the Glassdoor Clearview Collection, is the founder and editor-in-chief of HRExaminer, a weekly online magazine about the people and technology of HR. Widely respected as an independent analyst, Sumser has been chronicling and critiquing the HRTechnology industry for eighteen years. During that time, he has consulted with more than 100 HR vendors on matters of strategy and positioning in the market. Prior to his involvement in the HR Technology industry, Sumser was a senior executive in Defense Technology. From large scale software development to naval architecture, he was the leader of tech development teams in a broad variety of settings. His passion is the intersection of people and technology.

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Interviews, Salaries
  • Kristen

    In every phone interview I've had with HR in the past 6 weeks the HR person always asks me my salary requirements. Additionally, online applications are also asking for expected salary up front.  In both cases, I don't feel as if there is any way to get past disclosing either a past salary or stating a number. Any advice?

  • Shirley

    I agree with Kristen.  Since the economy went south, I feel like most employers don't even list the range for a position anymore, so it's hard to find out if you're even on the same wave length as the employer.  Many applications  and postings ask for it upfront.  Not as easy as it sounds…

  • John Sumser

    There are plenty of online resources for determining your worth or the worth of a particular position. Start with the material here on Glassdoor and then confirm it with one or two others. 

    If you are forced (and being asked once does not constitute being forced) to disclose a number for a job you really, really want, determine the range of compensation possible for the job (online research), determine what percentage of that you want to make and tell the person that this is your salary requirement.

    The way to avoid disclosing the number up front? Don't disclose it. If they really, really want you, you'll get a call or a note asking you for more information. At that point, please reread the article. 

    It's easy to find out if you are on the same wavelength but you have to do your own research. If you want the employer to do your work for you (by telling you up front), then you will understand why they want to have you give them the number first.

    Do you really think they are going to walk away from you over a couple of dollars? Do you really want to work for them if that's the case?

  • Kristen

    Thank you John for the response.

    I understand the question asked once by HR is not being forced to disclose the salary; however, when I tried to get around the question, they wouldn't budge off of it and continued to push me to state some number.

    With regards to the online applications, when filling out the online application required to even submit a resume, the “expected salary” field, a field allowing numerical entries only, is a required field; therefore, to even submit the resume, a number must be disclosed.

    You wouldn't want to include a number so low in order to be asked to come in for a face to face interview that you're stuck with a salary much lower than needed (although of course there's no requirement to accept the position), but at the same time stating a salary could easily price the applicant out of the position when the applicant would accept something in the ballpark. So many companies vary with regards to what they are willing to pay for a position, with the variance based on any number of factors.

    I guess it's a fine line between what you would accept and what you would like to make. For those online applications where it is a requirement to include a number, do you think it would be problematic to simply state “0?” Apparently “negotiable” is no longer an acceptable response.

    Thank you.