It's often required by some employers (chiefly universities and government in my experience -- it's perfectly legal) to list your salary for every previous job and it can be a roadblock -- I know I did not get an offer from at least two employers because they saw the large drop in salary from my previous career to the ones I was interviewing for as a reason I might decide to jump ship later (even though I knew the salary ranges going in) according to feedback I received after the fact.
Luckily, for my current position they asked me outright about it in the interview stage, rather than just assuming I wasn't really committed to the numbers being discussed. It's a tricky area, to be sure, but those policies are usually set by HR and have little to do with the actual hiring manager.
Lisa Grimm
Assistant Archivist
Drexel University College of Medicine
Archives & Special Collections on Women in Medicine and Homeopathy
