Salary requirement?

[Lavender Brown]

This may be kind of a stupid question, but what is the best approach when potential employers ask for you to note your salary requirements in your cover letter? I wasn't asked this when applying for my previous jobs and I'm not even sure how to word it. :shrug:

[MalachiConstant]

1. i've often wondered this myself

seeing as i'm looking to take any job just to get my foot in the door i'm not entirely sure how to respond to the salary questions. old-timers, we need you on this one!

[DavidMS]

10. I always let the employer start the discussion.

Then make a counter - offer.

I am curently job hunting. I don't think my present employer (NoVA IT shop) will give me the sort of pay raise that I expect and I am driving way too much.

[lukasahero]

2. How about something generic like "Market/industry standards"?

I guess I'm an "old timer" for answering this ;) but...

Never speak first in salary negotiations. You can so easily underprice yourself if you do.

If asked in an interview, you can generally sidestep the issue with the old "I would rather wait to discuss salary until I know a little more about the job requirements. Can you tell me what you have budgeted for the position?" But in a cover letter, I'm not sure that'd work.

You could use something generic like mentioned above or be even more non-commital with "Salary negotiable" although I think most employers who are asking specifically for such information in a cover letter wouldn't like that very much.

[Lavender Brown]

3. That's the thing

It seems like it would be much easier in person (I hope I get to the interview stage with this job!), but suggesting a salary in the cover letter seems so awkward. I would hate to either overreach or undersell myself, especially if it has some impact on the decision making. :)

[lukasahero]

4. Exactly. Hence my recommendation to keep it generic.

Or omit it entirely.

Here's an interesting article on the subject.

http://www.quintcareers.com/salary_histories_requirements.html

[Lavender Brown]

5. Thank you!

That's a good reference. I know I'm getting worked up over a little detail, but the competition is so fierce these days, and I tend to over-think everything. :D

[lukasahero]

6. HA! You're talking to the queen of over-analyzation! :)

However, I find a lot of people spend a great deal of time learning how to do their job but no time at all on learning how to get one. We need to be educated about what employers are looking for and understand the game so we can play it better.

Monster has some great articles on resume writing, cover letters, interviewing etc and is a good place to start the process. There's also a lot of books available on the subject of getting a job which are worth a look at the library at least.

Good luck in your search and happy holidays!

[northzax]

11. but if it's in the announcement

'forward cover letter, resume and salary requirements..." or some such, and you don't include it, aren't you basically asking them to ignore you?

I'm going through this now, it's a pain.

[lukasahero]

12. Well, that's why I said originally

address it but keep it generic. Give a range or say something like "Salary requirements equal to standard market pricing." I don't think you can ignore the request, although the article I posted offered it as an option (albeit not a particularly good one.) You really should know what the going rates for a particular position in the area are paying so regardless of whether or not you're making that, you can use that as a guide. Good luck.

[Starlight]

7. I've always heard that you should wait until you're offered the job.

But most jobs in my field and level require several interviews over several weeks. That can add up to a lot of time & money and I'm not willing to waste my precious interview resources without having a good idea of what the employer is willing & able to pay. I've gone back for multiple interviews only to discover that the salary was **WAY** below my salary range and totally out of the market range for the position. :grr: I could have been spending that time pursuing a position that I'd actually consider accepting!!!

[Hekate]

13. That line worked very well for my sister. She got an extra 10K/year!

My sis is a tech writer who used to be a computer engineer. She loves what she does, but got laid off (again). During the interview to her current job she was asked about salary requirements and didn't know what to say, so came up with something like your answer. Happily, that resulted in her getting $10,000/year over her old salary.

Hekate

[Crazy Dave]

8. I always go ridiculously high.....

that way I know that the responses I get are even worth my time to consider. In my trade (computer drafting/CAD) if you have the qualifications and they need the help bad enough, they'll pay. Otherwise, as many cheapskates have found out after refusing to meet my guidelines, they hire under qualified individuals, the work gets rejected by the clients if it even gets finished, lawsuits are threatened and then finally the cheap-asses realize that they really didn't save any money by hiring someone at a lower salary as it does no good if you can't invoice uncompleted work and you can't get paid for inferior work either. Then comes the lawsuits because you've held up an engineering deadline.

[demnan]

9. I'm finding that I'm worth roughly 5K less

than I was 5 years ago.

Thanks a motherfucking lot, Bush.

[demnan]

18. I'll correct that

I'm now worth about $20,000 less per year than I used to be worth.

[klook]

14. Never, EVER list your salary requirements in a cover letter!

In fact, you should avoid stating your current or desired salary when you interview, as well.

I've been in the job market for--well, let's just say a hell of a long time--and have made a number of job changes, so I know what I'm talking about. The best pay increase I ever got in changing jobs was when I refused to ever tell my prospective employer what I was currently making. I did finally state a compensation figure as a combination of salary + benefits, which sounded like I was doing a hell of a lot better than I was. They ended up offering me the job at a 33% salary increase, PLUS excellent benefits! (Of course that job only lasted a year, but the next job I took paid a little more than that, so it was still good.)

from Focus magazine, January 5, 1983

What do you feel this position should pay?

Salary is a delicate topic. We suggest that you defer tying yourself to a precise figure for as long as you can do so politely. You might say, "I understand that the range for this job is between $______ and $______. That seems appropriate for the job as I understand it." You might answer the question with a question: "Perhaps you can help me on this one. Can you tell me if there is a range for similar jobs in the organization?"

If you are asked the question during an initial screening interview, you might say that you feel you need to know more about the position's responsibilities before you could give a meaningful answer to that question. Here, too, either by asking the interviewer or search executive (if one is involved), or in research done as part of your homework, you can try to find out whether there is a salary grade attached to the job. If there is, and if you can live with it, say that the range seems right to you.

...Don't sell yourself short, but continue to stress the fact that the job itself is the most important thing in your mind. The interviewer may be trying to determine just how much you want the job. Don't leave the impression that money is the only thing that is important to you. Link questions of salary to the work itself.

But whenever possible, say as little as you can about salary until you reach the "final" stage of the interview process. At that point, you know that the company is genuinely interested in you and that it is likely to be flexible in salary negotiations.

I've also read the advice, "Make them gasp" if you just can't get out of quoting a figure first. If you're currently making $35,000 and you want to make $45k, tell them you want $60k. Then, if they're interested, they'll offer you as much as they can. If you scare them off, no sweat--you didn't want to work for them anyway. (Not always true, of course; you have to weigh each opportunity's pros and cons individually.)

edited to fix incomplete sentence

[Lavender Brown]

16. This particular job listing says that it is required with cover letter.

[klook]

17. My approach has always been to ignore salary in my cover letter

If they're interested in my qualifications, I get an interview. If not, I'm probably not interested in them either.

However, not everybody agrees with me on this point. Here's a good article on the subject:
http://www.youngmoney.com/careers/monstertrak/job_hunt/067

[Nikia]

21. The one time that omitted it when it asked

I received a call from the human resources department asking what my salary requirement was. Evidetly it must have been out of range because I didn't get any other calls from them.

[WestHoustonDem]

15. A recruiter gave me what I think is really good advice

She said the first party to name a number is the loser. So you should say something like this:

“I would be happy to see your best offer. I am fairly flexible when it comes to the compensation since I am looking at everything including the company, the position, the growth potential, the benefit package, etc. Salary is just one piece of the pie and if you think I would be a good fit for the position, I am SURE we can come up with a figure that works for both of us!"

More tips here: http://www.cybercoders.com/developer/tips/interview/

[demnan]

19. Now I think that is GOOD advice!

I'm going to take it from now on.

[BrklynLiberal]

23. Thanks for the advice, and the link.

[liberalhistorian]

20. Always say

"salary negotiable." That shows that you're flexible and not demanding and difficult to work with, and it leaves plenty of room for discussion. Just be sure to let the employer bring up the salary issue during the interview, never bring up salary and/or benefits in interviews until the interviewer does.

This is different, of course, from a request for salary history. With that request, you need to put down what your salary was for each job you discuss on your resume.

[Nikia]

22. This topic is pertainent to me:I have another interview coming up

The company is small. The job posting was a little vague and listed "negotiable" for salary. Every interview that I have been to has asked what I wanted to get paid. In over half the instances, they let me know that my range was too high, either directly or indirectly. In my first job interview, the interviewer said "You don't think very much of yourself, do you?" I guess that I'll just have to play it by ear. It sounds like I'll be direclty interviewing with the owner (privately held company) so there might be more room for negotiation.