The question on every job application : Desired Salary. What is the correct answer? Should you leave it blank, suggest that you are "open to negotiation"? Answer with what you feel you are worth, or what the job is worth? I've never known proper etiquette for this.. any ideas?

michealb

I hate that question. You feel always feel if you put too high you won't get a call back and if you put to low you feel you got suckered once you find out how much everyone else makes. I prefer to call the hiring manager and ask what the salary range is that they are willing to pay and then put something in that range if I still want it for that range. If I can't find out the range I put 10% over what I ideally want for the job. Of course I've also applied for things I wasn't interested in and told them what I thought was an insane salary range and still gotten call backs so its hard to say.

Fr_Chuck

I have always left it blank or just put open for discussion. Never had a problem on doing that.

Alkali

My rule of thumb is don't apply for a job you really don't want. Then on the application take the minimum amount you'd be willing to take (probably low because you found a job you really want) then ask for 15-20% more.

They'll want to knock your number down and they'll feel happy when they do. You'll be happy because you didn't go over the top and got the job you wanted.

If you give a number too low then they might not consider you or put you in a lower position with little room to advance. Too high no consideration. No number then they start at their wage and you have to negotiate upward. The last choice is the option of many...but I'm not that good at negotiating.

happy711

i learned about this is school. the teacher told us to always put negotiable.

wewed100606

I would recommend happy711's answer. Negotiable or Open are good answers that never backfire...that is unless the person hiring you is alot better at negotiating than you :-)

vingogly

I agree that Open or Negotiable are good answers if you can use them on a form ... if you're applying online, many sites these days require you to enter a numeric salary requirement or select a range from a list. I find Salary.com useful in those situations (for jobs in the USA), since you can enter the job title and your zip code and it will return a salary distribution curve. Specifying a salary near the mean for your area is a safe bet in most cases (go low if you have little experience, go high if you have a lot of experience or special skills).