When It’s Illegal to Ask, ‘How Much Do You Make?’
The question saves time if an applicant’s salary needs are out of line with what the employer can offer.
Banning discussion of salary history is wrongheaded, counterproductive and wasteful. The exchange of such information promotes transparency in the hiring process and helps manage candidates’ expectations. Most important, it saves recruiting time. If both an employer and prospective employee keep salary details hidden until the end of the interview process, an applicant’s salary requirements may turn out to be out of line with what the employer is prepared to offer—so the entire process was a waste of time.
.. When it comes to matching employees with employers, more information is always better. The more employers know about potential employees, and the more job seekers know about potential employers, the more likely there will be a successful match. Previous pay indicates employees’ value to their past employers. Often, pay is more telling than education or experience. For the same reason that potential employees should be able to ask the pay of positions they apply for, employers should also be able to ask potential hires about their previous pay.