Salary History & demographic info?
 

OK... I've been applying to a ton of different places... there are some that I haven't applied to though b/c of the "Send a copy of your resume AND Salary History to..."

Why do they want my salary history? It's an entry level position.. and I've been making crap for the past couple of years (with the exeption of my internship.. but still) It just really makes me uncomfortable telling strangers what I've been getting paid..

Another situation I have encountered after I applied for a job was the whole demographic-type information. After I submitted my resume, I recieved a prepaid postage card to send in. They basically wanted my race, gender and all that stuff b/c of the company's Affirmative Action things going on. Technically, I'm a double-minority (i'm a female and hispanic) but I don't want to be hired b/c of some stupid affirmative action thing. Hmm.. well that was about a month ago.. I didn't return the card.. and haven't heard from them either..:p

What is the best way to deal with this?

Re: Salary History & demographic info?
 

You are joking right? Right?

Re: Re: Salary History & demographic info?
 

well i don't want an interview or a job for that matter just because of my race or gender. that's just my opinion though.. someone else might think differently.

the reason for this thread was because i was hoping to get tips on how to deal with these situations (required salary histories and gender/race information)... not an affirmative action debate.

I believe that theoretically you don't have to answer questions based on your age, gender, race, religious or political affiliation.

Re: Re: Re: Salary History & demographic info?
 

the card would be used to collect data to prove EEO compliance. This data is then used in a variety of governmentally related ways. (contract bids, tax status verifications, workforce development grants etc) Generally the information is retained separate from the applicants resume etc.

I work in Pediatrics Administration at a hospital, and we're basically the HR department for Pediatrics. We do a lot with posting new positions, interviewing candidates, hiring, etc. I know that everyone in the hospital is required to fill out surveys for all of the applicants that they get for any position and send them down to the Affirmative Action Office and get clearance from them before they hire someone. The position you're applying for could be in a place that has a similar policy.

Is that legal before you hire them? i can see an after hire survey, but it makes it look like you might discriminate bsed on gender, race, age or something.

I'm not entirely sure of how it works but it is legal. The applicant's resumees are attached to what we send down to Affirmative Action. It's basically just done to make sure that everyone hires the best candidates and doesn't pick or dismiss someone based on race/gender preferences or whatnot. Just a precaution so the hospital doesn't get sued.

Thats interesting. I don't know that I have actually seen someone put there race, gender or age on a resume. I mean usually the gender is obvious from the name . ...

Since I'm not involved at all in this I'm not 100% sure if I'm correct, but I believe that we have to report applicants who were called in to interviews, and you could get demographic information by that. Oh and you can't always tell someone's gender from their name, especially if you have a lot of international staff working for you. After working there summers and winters for 3 years, I had images in my head of the doctors, then when I'd meet them when they came to pick up paychecks I'd learn that someone was actually a man and not a woman, and vice versa.

Part of my job is putting together AAPs (Affirmative Action Programs), so maybe I can help. :)

For our clients, they are required to give us the race and sex of any applicant, whether or not they are called in for an interview. When it comes time to update their plan each year, we have to count each and every one of these applicants for that particular position. If you have 100 applicants, and 50 of them did not provide the employer w/ their race and/or sex, it really skews the results, as we can only then count the 50 employees that did provide this information.

So, please fill out that card and send it in! You will be doing the company a favor.

will you still hire the applicants that didn't provide demographic information which is supposed to be strictly voluntary?

Of course our clients will hire the applicants that don't provide the voluntary info! Provided, of course, that they are the best qualified applicant. BUT, if they hire one of those applicants, they will then know that applicant's race & sex, so they can then go back and fill in that info.

EDIT: Let me clarify what I meant by "count those applicants." I meant that what we do is take the total # of applicants for each position, and divide the # of applicants hired, and we look at their minority/female status, and that's how we determine if there has been an adverse impact. I don't mean that they don't count as applicants or won't be considered for the job if they don't provide that info.

You don't have to fill out the info on race, religion, etc. If you don't feel comfortable, don't do it.

Regarding pay, it's not taboo. It doesn't really apply to you as much as it would myself. When I apply anywhere they want to know my base salary, my annual bonuses, and other benefits (car services, dinners, travel, insurance, etc.). I would just write this in there and not care if I were you.

-Rudey

OK can we talk about me?

I'm getting a RIDICULOUSLY low salary at my current job. I'm applying at several new places, and with the combined factors of my education, experience, clearance, (and the fact that I shouldn't have settled for such a low salary to start with, but whatever, i wanted a foot in the door) I'm putting my LOW salary range at a LOT more than I'm earning now. That range is still pretty typical (if not on the low side!) for my position in my field.

My point being -- for obvious reasons, I don't want to list my ridiculously low current salary. I don't want them to think I'm worth that, for starters. And I certainly don't want them to think they can offer me that -- that's the whole point of switching jobs.

So what do I do? Not list it? Even when it's requested?

Well, certainly don't lie.

List your salary, and when they ask you what you're thinking a good compensation amount would be, explain to them what you just explained to us.

Do you get anything else in your compensation package? For example I get meals and car service so if someone asked how much I made on a survey like that, I would feel comfortable factoring that in. Maybe you get something like classes or whatever too...

-Rudey

good call, Rudey -- I could either factor that in or use it to explain why my previous salary was so low.

AXiD670, I certainly wasn't planning to lie -- more of a question of "to leave out or not to leave out?"

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that you would. It was more of a general reminder to anyone who is searching for a job to not lie about such things. :)

I know someone who, while being interviewed for a new job, said he made "about xxx" in his current position - which was "about" $3,000 more than he really made. I think you can guess the outcome of that interview. ;)

Hahaha!

Dumb question -- but how'd they find out what he really made?

They verify your salary and employment history by checking with your previous employers.

DON'T LIE ON YOUR RESUME.

OK. Again -- wasn't planning on lying on my resume.

I'm not giving permission for any potential employers to check with my current employer -- in my case, it'd be ridiculously unprofessional for someone in my field to do that. And I'm concerned enough about maintaining clearance that I don't have much interest in lying about, well, anything when it comes to getting/maintaining a job.

I just can't imagine how that conversation would go.

"Hi, this is Jan from XYC. We're considering hiring a job applicant, Mary Myrick. Did she work with you? How was her job record? What was she paid?"

maybe I'm just from a family where, still, what you make just isn't discussed.

I know a lot of times the previous employer will only verify that yes, Mary Smith worked for us as a ___, and yes, she made $xxx. (By the way, that's how he got busted - they called to check his salary.)

If the new employer has your ss#, can't they check it using that?

What if they don't ask?

For example, let's say there is a job posting... it lists the job duties/responibilities, the "requirements" of the canadates to be considered for the job, and that a salary history is required. In other words, they won't give a range of what that position will be paid.

As paranoid as this is, I honestly wouldn't doubt if there was a candidate- in this example, we'll use Mary Sue - that met all the requirements, etc., but included a salary history that was ridiculously low for the field.

So Mary Sue is called in for an interview and they think she is a good candidate, but since her salary history is kind of low, they knock a couple thousand or whatever off what they were planning on paying before... and they tell her (notice I didn't say "ask") what the pay would be.

That sucks, but that's just business sometimes. That was my concern w/ the whole salary history thing. And I wasn't planning on lying either.. that's just asking for trouble :p

well my company can find out what i made at two of my previous employers, because my company is in hr outsourcing and my two previous employers where my current companies clients. the company that i work for already had my salary data


though i dont know your specific situation, i think its a bad move to not allow a future employer to not contact your current employer. it shows that you have something to hide, whether or not you do. its also impolite not to let your current employer know what your plans are. employers are understanding that people want to be challanged more or make changes in their life.

plus, out of experience, companies already have a good idea (if not a predetermined) salary. When i graduated from college on my first job applications/resumes, i was asking for a salary that was about $5000 less then what i was hired for, and a salary history that is typical of a college student. My company started me at the starting salary that they gave to everyone who were entering my position right out of college.

It's actually pretty common to not allow your current employer to be contacted.... depends on the field you're in, regarding the appropriateness of letting your current employer know you're "searching".

i know that its common, its just that it always appears shady to future employers, i know it appears shady to me as well as my company.

part of my job is to interview and help with the hiring process, and whenever we have to conference calls to discuss applicants, believe it or not, that comes up

either way, do what you want. i do think you are overthinking the salary stuff. like i said before, employers usually already know exactly what they are going to pay a future employee for a certain position before they even start the interviewing process. i know that we dont really even pay that much attention to salary history, if anything we take note if the applicants previous salary is higher than we are willing to offer, so we can sell them on the other things that are great about my company

What is shady about not contacting your current employer if you are looking for another position? So my current employer should know that I am actively (or passively, for that matter) for another job? That just doesn't seem right to me.

They may rethink giving you additional raises and/or other responsibilities if they figure you won't be around long.