Generally, candidates try to avoid the question of salary in their resumes because having a limited understanding of the details and responsibilities of the sought position, one cannot quote an appropriate compensation. On the other hand, the interviewer, too, is unaware of the candidate’s qualifications and skills. So, at the most, he can only offer what has been budgeted for the position, but these budgets can be flexible, depending on a particular candidate’s unique skill set and offering.
Yet, some ads will require that you provide “salary history” or “salary requirements” with your resume submission. In such cases, one needs to have a clear idea of how to handle “Salary History,” differently from “Salary Requirements”.
Companies ask for salary history to filter out resumes which appear to be over or under qualified and also to have their say at the negotiation table. For companies that require salary history for consideration of a position, create a separate document that matches the layout and format of your cover letter and resume, or CV, using the same letterhead, font, format, and stationery. Then, following the reverse chronological order, give in the details of your previous job, the time for which you worked there, beginning salary and ending salary to show your salary growth. Also include other compensation information, such as insurance benefits, 401(k), bonus packages, and commissions.
Only when an ad states that “only submissions including salary requirements will be considered,” you should bring up this topic in your cover letter and not the resume. Provide a salary range rather than a single set figure. This will maintain room for negotiation during the interview and salary negotiation phases. In order to know the prevalent salary range in the industry in that location, do some research work, talk to the hiring managers, talk to the current employees and surf online.
To conclude, unless very necessary, do not give in to the temptation of including a salary range or expectation in your resume thinking that it would save you from interviewing for jobs for which I’m overqualified as doing so can severely limit your opportunities. If you provide a salary range that’s too high or too low, prior to an interview, you reduce your negotiation power and possibly remove the opportunity of being offered the position. The bottom line is this: if it’s not asked, don’t volunteer.