If you are not familiar with Ask the Headhunter, Nick Corcodilos is a great source for job hunting tips and techniques. In a recent post, Nick addressed one of the trickiest questions to plague any job hunter – what do you do when you are asked to divulge salary history in a job application? Nick’s advice: Just say NO! Even if you are filling out an electronic job 
application, don’t limit your prospects:
“No, you don’t need to fill in a field that puts you at a disadvantage. (If you provide your salary history, you will sacrifice your ability to negotiate salary later.) You can skip it, and you can skip the online application altogether. You are too worried about following instructions, and not concerned enough about where those instructions will lead you — into a holding pen with thousands of other unremarkable competitors. People who feel they must fill in a dollar amount also tend to feel they must answer the phone even when they are busy doing something else. Your action is up to you. Just say NO.”
Nick’s advice, and it’s good advice, is to avoid the application process altogether. Why get caught up in a cattle call and try to make someone else’s application process highlight your unique talents? Instead, do your homework, find out who the hiring manager is, and make your case directly to an authority who has a vested interest and can appreciate what you bring to the job. If you are really willing to work to find the right contact and distinguish yourself from the competition, then you deserve that job.
As Nick says, “Don’t confuse filling out a form with pursuing a job. Don’t confuse applying for a job with showing a manager that you are worth talking to.”
And above all, don’t compromise your chances by offering a salary history. Get paid what you’re worth, not what your employer thinks they can offer you.
[SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION: For more insight on how negotiate the best compensation package, join us for the next Experts-Connection teleseminar with career coach Don Orlando entitled, “Get Paid What You're Worth: Negotiating Executive Level Compensation.” Scheduled for May 28th.]
