>So, the question is - why do employers want to know my salary history?


Sometimes applicants are asked to furnish salary requirements instead of, or
in addition to, a salary history.  My interpretation of this practice is
that they want to know if they can afford to hire a particular applicant.
Not giving a history or requirements shouldn't automatically disqualify an
applicant, it just means the interviewer(s) will discuss salary in the first
interview rather than in the second and s/he may not be wanting to do that.
This kind of game-playing would not happen if a salary range was presented
as part of the job listing--as you noted, it would then be the applicant's
decision whether or not to apply.

I have always felt that applying for a job indicated that the applicant
would be very interested in taking it if it were offered.  Maybe there are a
lot of "job shoppers" out there, who do not intend to take the job, but
routinely interview just to see if they can get a better deal elsewhere or
to leverage their current employers into matching what they have been
offered.  If so, the practice of requesting a salary history may have been
initiated to screen them out.

When I switched jobs 7 years ago I was offered a very low starting salary,
but I told them I could not take it for less than X dollars (about $6000
more than the top end of what they were offering).  They took me up on it,
but made me wait out the fiscal year (2 months) at the old salary.  I
thought it was a fair compromise.  It represented a large jump from my old
job, and they knew it, but it also represented a large change in
responsibilities that I was ready for.  I was requested to provide a salary
history, but it didn't mean that I stuck to it or that they dumped me once
they knew I wanted more than my history warranted.

Maybe it's just one more bit of information they use to judge what salaries
are standard for various positions.  At any rate, I agree that the
information should not have to be provided if the applicant chooses not to,
and that not providing it shouldn't eliminate the applicant from consideration.


Julia Muney Moore
Indianapolis Art Center