It has recently become a very popular point of contention for job seekers to refuse to offer salary history to prospective employers and the recruiters they use to source talent. While in some instances this may make very good sense, particularly if someone was significantly underemployed or underpaid, in most cases it is creating an unnecessary hurdle that may cause a candidate to be excluded from consideration for a job they really want.
Let’s look at this as a pure sales situation. Who is selling and who is buying in the employer-employee relationship? I would propose the employee/candidate is selling and the employer/recruiter is buying. So when a buyer asks, “What is the price?” the seller should be able to provide a price and some foundation for the price requested. Have you ever gone to a car dealer and when you ask the price of a car, the dealer says, “What is your budget?” That move is considered unethical in the consumer world and is usually a sign that they are prepared to take advantage of you. The employer will likely view it the same way when candidates are less than forthcoming with salary expectations and a foundation for a specific salary request. Read the rest of this entry »