What looks better on a resume as "current salary" for a NG soldier who is drilling, yearly drill pay or active duty pay?

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 09:43:50 -0500

I currently have a solider drilling, seeking for guidance that he/she is applying for a job, one of the questions is asking "what is your current salary" should he put his yearly drill pay or active duty pay?

I was going to recommend him to place your yearly drill pay since they are in drill status, but do you think active duty pay will make them stand out?

Thanks!

Response by MSG Lance Kelly made Mar 11 at 2017 9:50 AM

MSG Lance Kelly — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 09:50:14 -0500

Salary history is confidential information to be supplied in the interview. I'm new at this as I am looking into the job market as a am retiring but from what I have seen you use that first sentence. You don't give your current or past salary as this is leverage for them. You simply let them know the past doesn't matter and you should be paid based on your skills for the job. I hope this helps and I look forward to hearing other responses to this questions.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 11 at 2017 10:11 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 10:11:22 -0500

Look at National Guard or USAR service as a part time job that has a variable salary.
My recommendation would be to take the daily pay x48 UTAs + 14 days of AT and use that figure. It is the closest you'll get to a real answer to annual salary.
Weekly and monthly numbers don't work because of AT.

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Mar 11 at 2017 10:14 AM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 10:14:40 -0500

He really has two choices here: refuse to provide the information OR provide accurate information.

If he decides to provide the info, it would need be his drill pay - he is not on active duty and not making active duty pay. Were he to put that amount down, it would be a lie. This would fall under the heading of a blatant lie, intentionally making a part time job appear to be full time employment. As a former, and soon to be again, hiring manager, if i catch you in a blatant lie, I will not hire you. If I catch it after I hire you, I will start the process to terminate you.

If he decides not to provide the info, he needs to understand that SOME hiring managers will circular file the application. You will find many "experts" telling you not to provide the info. And that is, of course, the person's right. That ranks right up there with the advice to ignore an interviewer's questions and instead tell them what YOU think they should know. It's a ... method. Hiring managers who care about prior salary information care for a number of reasons. One, of course, is to try to offer as little as they can get away with. A much more common one is to use it as a (poor) metric for size of the prior position. As an example, when I hire, I am mostly looking to hire project managers or developers right around the 6 figure mark. If your prior salary was in the $18K ballpark, it is not likely that those positions were equivalent to what I am hiring for.

I tend not to ask (though HR may have had you put it on their application somewhere - I generally focus on the resume and cover letter) or get excited about prior salary. There are better ways assess prior job size, and salary can vary wildly between employers and regions. I also tend to be more interested in whether you can do the job applied for than prior positions. But that's just me. For lots of hiring managers, it would be a deal breaker.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Mar 11 at 2017 11:05 AM

SPC Erich Guenther — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 11:05:20 -0500

Your current salary is absolutely not important for the next job unless you make it so. I would leave the answer to that question blank as it really is not important and if they feel it is important they will ask it in the interview process again.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Mar 11 at 2017 11:23 AM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 11:23:01 -0500

Government pay rates are public information. Usually private sector compensation is not. Assuming potential employer may not know how to compute "drill pay" I say do the computation for them and report honestly. Only give out your private sector compensation if your employer allows it. Potential employer can verify your employment by calling your current employer's HR office.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Mar 11 at 2017 11:29 AM

SGT Ben Keen — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 11:29:25 -0500

Neither! Keep that type of information off your resume and do not bring it up in the initial interview either. It is seen as unprofessional and can cost you the position.

Response by Capt Brandon Charters made Mar 11 at 2017 11:30 AM

Capt Brandon Charters — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 11:30:01 -0500

Good conversation here. Some of our RallyPoint veterans who work in the recruiting space might have other suggestions when it comes to navigating salary questions: SFC Michael Hackworth CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR LT George Bernloehr COL Sid McManus SSG Arron Daniels Sgt Private RallyPoint Member SSG Jason Montgomery

Response by SSG Arron Daniels made Mar 11 at 2017 11:56 AM

SSG Arron Daniels — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 11:56:11 -0500

Unless the position is a federal job, civilian employers don't need your salary history. If someone is looking to make a move, the are plenty of salary tools to get a good ball park of what should be expected. However, if your Soldier is going to disclose something anyway, it needs to be accurate. Go bwith the M-day pay.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Mar 11 at 2017 12:41 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 12:41:25 -0500

If you're working a regular job, then your MIL salary has nothing to do with it. It's not related to what you're making doing say similar work to the position you're applying for. If you're wondering what the salary range should be just Google "prevailing wage", "discipline", "location". You'll see a spread and that's what becomes the ballpark you're dealing with. BTW putting a salary in can be a double edged sword. If you jack it up and they find out, grounds for termination for lying on your resume. If part time, you can go with an hourly rate and they can multiply it for an annual figure if they want. It'll be hourly times 2088 less whatever they have for holidays, leave, etc. Results vary.
I was a senior hiring manager for the Feds for a long time. The salary spot on the USA Jobs stuff is used to determine what "step" you might get hired in at during the offer/acceptance period. That has it's limits as most HR policies frown on direct hire at Step 5 or above.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Mar 11 at 2017 2:03 PM

SN Greg Wright — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 14:03:02 -0500

I've never seen or hear of anyone putting their salary on a resume. That's for followup conversations.

Response by CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR made Mar 11 at 2017 3:34 PM

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 15:34:58 -0500

There is no need to put salary history on a resume. I have seen that question on an application before and ts typically used to like what LTC Vincent Stoneking said try to determine where you are an the potential increase. You will not likely go from 18k to a 6 figure job.

Actually changing jobs is the best opportunity for increase.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Mar 11 at 2017 3:48 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 15:48:02 -0500

Granted I have been out a short time, I have not seen salary information on resumes, nor would I advocate to have it be. Whether it is legal to ask for it or not, I don't know. We have hired a bunch of people where I currently work. I am a Director level person. I see all the resumes we get. I have not seen salary on any of them.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 11 at 2017 3:48 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 15:48:55 -0500

1LT Private RallyPoint Member Salary information does not go on a resume. The resume and all information provided on application forms/interviews has to be 100% accurate. This soldier is not active duty, so he/she can not provide active duty salary. Providing false information is a good way to have a short career.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 11 at 2017 7:45 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 19:45:53 -0500

Never put your current or padt salary on your resume. If the hiring person asks you, reply it is confidential. Repeat if necessary.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Mar 11 at 2017 9:59 PM

COL Jon Thompson — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 21:59:13 -0500

If this is a question on an application, it by far best to answer it and answer it honestly. Use the drill pay if that is the only source of income but do not use active duty pay salary. I have never put a salary on an resume but there have been some jobs where they wanted my salary history on the application. So I provided the answers to those questions. If they ask that question and you do not answer, it is not going to help you getting the job. So regardless of how you feel about that information being confidential, if this is a job you really want, provide an honest answer.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Mar 12 at 2017 11:22 AM

COL Charles Williams — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 11:22:15 -0400

Unless is is Federal Application at USA Jobs.com, I would not put anything. At one point USA Jobs - Federal Resume Templates - Resumix required hours per week and pay information. But, that was the standard. Other than that, I have never listed it. USA Jobs Resume templates are extensive... But, my civilian resume is either one or two pages.