What If they Want a Salary History?

Career Q&A: What if they want a salary history?
How to get around that question when seeking your first job
By Liz Ryan

BOULDER, Colo. — Boulder's Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 human-resources executive, a syndicated columnist and a career adviser. Every Monday and Wednesday, she'll dish out job-hunting advice for college students.

Q: When I write a cover letter and I have to give a salary history, what should I do? I mean, I'm graduating college. I earned 10 bucks an hour at my last job. I don't want to earn 10 bucks an hour now.

A: Instead of salary history, give a salary requirement. Companies use the salary info as a sieve, to screen out people who earn too much (and sometimes, people who've earned too little, assuming that they're underqualified). Say, "I'm targeting jobs in the $XX range." That should get you past the salary sieve.

Q: How many references do I need in my back pocket? I have two good ones, and one shaky one.

A: You'll need three solid references, and four or five are better. Most employers will want three,but if you're in the pipeline with two or three employers at the same time, you won't want to burn out your principal reference-givers.

Ex-bosses, ex-co-workers and ex-customers are fine; toss in a professor and a friend of your parents who's in business, and you'll be set to go.

Q: I feel like my name is hurting me in my job search. It's not an easy name for Americans to pronounce. Can I use a different name on my resume?

A: Definitely, and I recommend it, if you're comfortable doing so. You can bet that the Tylers andBrandons we talk to during international tech-support calls weren't born with those names.

Pick a first name you like and use it on your resume, your LinkedIn profile and your cover letters.How about "Liz?" That's a good one. "Ryan" is always popular, too. :-)

Got questions? E-mail them to liz@asklizryan.com.