Salary Information

While I probably would state it differently than the Johnson admission officer did, your salary information absolutely is important. In order to assess how well you've performed on the job, admissions officers only have several things to go by: What you say in your essays/resume/interview, what your recommendation writers say, and your salary information. Obviously, you will say you were great, and you will probably only request a letter of recommendation from someone who will say the same thing. The salary info provides a sort of indisputable "fact check" to see how much the company really valued you.

Maybe you received two promotions in title since you were hired, but your salary didn't increase much. If that same company (or other, similar companies in the same industry) tends to give much more significant raises to younger employees, that would tell me that maybe they promoted you to keep you from quitting, but you weren't necessarily so great that they were actually willing to PAY you more to keep you. Said another way, did the company put its money where its mouth was, or did your title change each year because that's just what happens with all employees at the firm, regardless of their performance?

Don't worry if you come from a company or an industry that doesn't pay a great deal. The more important point is to demonstrate that your level of responsibility has increased over time (a great indicator of strong performance). Your salary is one way to demonstrate that.

Scott