The Truth About the Salary History Question

If you’ve ever interviewed for a new job, it’s likely that the most uncomfortable part of the interview process was negotiating salary. That can be particularly true if the interviewer asks you how much money you are currently making, or how much you made at your last job. Many job hunters feel obliged to answer this question, and many hiring managers wrongly presume asking it is the best way to arrive at an acceptable offer. But here’s the thing – your salary history is nobody’s business but your own.

Legally, interviewees are under no obligation to answer it. In fact, doing so may suppress their salary for the duration of their career. For this reason and others, a campaign to ban employers from asking prospective employees for their salary history has recently been gaining momentum.

What You Were Paid Doesn’t Matter

The market value of an employee is not based upon what he or she made at past jobs. Rather, it’s based upon what workers in the same job, who possess a similar skillset and experience level, are making in the same labor market (metro area, company size, industry, etc.)