How To Add Salary History To Resume

How do you add salary history to a resume? It is a common question that many potential employers ask of candidates to get a better gauge of what your employment experience is, as well as what your salary expectations may be for the position to which you are applying. This said, how do you answer it both in the form of your resume, as well as the actual figures to ensure that you do not lose ground in getting the salary you deserve, and also, do not give a number that excludes you from applicancy altogether? Below, we take on both aspects of salary history, as regards your professional resume.

First off, how do you approach the topic of salary history? On one hand, you do not want to give them too clear an idea of what you have been paid in past positions; so that you can get a better salary with this company if you were to be hired. This could be for a number of suitable reasons, such as you were underpaid, gained valuable experience and training since your last position, or any number of reasons. On paper, however, you would look like that was the salary range for which you would be expecting-possibly a bit more. On the other hand, you do not want to include a salary range that is above and beyond a range that a company may be considering. Even if you have been paid more in past places of employment, you may still be able to get the salary you want from a new company-which would not probably consider a higher range until you can sell it to them in person in an interview. So, how do you handle this question?

Typically, when salary history is asked on a resume, you can respectfully answer in a couple different ways-most often, with still being considered for a position with the company. First, you can just include your previous salary history, and be prepared to back up why you deserve more than this both in a cover letter and an interview, should one be followed up. Second, you can respectfully tell them that you would prefer to discuss salary history and expectations at an interview. While this may be intimidating to say no, to their request for salary history, it is not uncommon nor is it beyond reason. You have every right to include this information with reasoning to differentiate yourself from the numbers that you have been given. In either event, you have the choice to include the information or not.

If you do decide to include your salary history, where does it go when you are asked to include it in a resume? Include in with your employment history, if you choose to include it at all. Include a starting wage and an ending wage. This will show a potential employer that you worked up to a better wage with hard work and determination. Include it along with the dates of employment, or after the main information of your employment history.