Posted on Mar 11, 2017
1LT Isr Program Manager
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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!
Posted in these groups: USARNGMilitary civilian 600x338 Transition
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Responses: 16
COL Vincent Stoneking
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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.
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MSG Lance Kelly
MSG Lance Kelly
7 y
Sir, thank you for that detailed information. I recently looked at a job ad and they wanted the salary history included. Being in the military since high school I wasn't sure what that meant or how it was to be prepared so I looked it up. The responses came back as to not provide the information and wait until further down the road such as during the interview process. So these articles were coming from the point of don't eliminate yourself just yet while your point explains more of why you want it from the employers perspective on whether you are truly a legitimate candidate or someone that might be asking for too much and therefore be a waste of your time to even consider them.
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COL Vincent Stoneking
COL Vincent Stoneking
7 y
MSG Lance Kelly - Thanks. There is a LOT of horribly thought out interview and application advice floating around out there. I bought into it a lot until I was on the other side of the table. The key skill to bring to the table is "red teaming". Why, assuming the other party is of (somewhat) good will and (mostly) not insane, would they be doing what they are doing? There is usually a reason. It isn't always an objectively good reason, but it is almost always a believed reason. I would argue that during the hiring process is not the time to educate/enlighten/"wake" the the person with the ability to give you the job.

It may well be the time to decide "I don't want to work for someone who thinks like that.", but that is a different discussion entirely. :-)
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MSG Lance Kelly
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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.
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SPC Erich Guenther
SPC Erich Guenther
7 y
Exactly, it is a negotiation for each job, your past salary sometimes plays a role because HR departments always want to bring you on with a boost in pay but I have hired on with companies and took a hit on pay in some cases........knowing I would quickly recover from the dip in pay vs attempting to argue I should be hired at a higher pay level. There are some people that refuse to take a dip in pay in any amount.......that is a real foolish approach because you have to realize the hiring company doesn't know you and is taking a risk by hiring you, giving them a little price break will seal the deal. Then they have room to give you raises. So I did this when I hired with Verizon after 9-11, IBM Salary was $92k (for traveling consultant), Verizon offered $72k plus annual bonus. In two years I was back up above $90k. Did the two year dip mean anything to me long term....nope. In fact I stayed with Verizon for 8 years after hire. Had I held out for the higher pay in a deep recession I doubt I would have done better long-term.
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COL Jon Thompson
COL Jon Thompson
7 y
If they ask a question about your past and you say the past does not matter, you would seem to be hiding something. I think it is far better to be honest in answering a question than to not answer it or be evasive.
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MSG Lance Kelly
MSG Lance Kelly
7 y
COL Thompson, thank you for your insight. Though this was not my question I am getting some really good input that will help me as I seek for a job upon my retirement. I am sure others are also getting something good from these responses. Again, thank you.
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SGT Ben Keen
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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.
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