Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Talking Salary

Here's the advice job counselors used to hand out in the 1990s: Never bring up the question of pay. Write "negotiable" on any application that asks about salary expectations. Wait for the job offer before discussing salary in an interview.

Is this advice still valid?

Salary questions on applications and in interviews cause job seekers a lot of stress. The jobseeker wants to avoid losing a job due to unreasonably high expectations or selling themselves short. Employers just emerging from a big recession want to hire fully qualified workers at the lowest cost possibly. These givens have not changed.

What has changed is the availability of salary information via the Internet.

Jobseekers should never apply for a job without doing their homework. Search the web for salary information about a specific company, a job title or the living standard in an area. You can also get the information the old-fashioned way: by talking to someone who works at the company.

Applying for an entry-level job where the salary is stated, a jobseeker should always give the stated as his or her desired wage.

I used to advise job applicants to postpone forking over salary history for job listings that requested that information; now, I lean toward providing this info. Do some research to determine the likely salary range for the position. If your willingness to accept the going rate in the cover letter. Regarding salary expectations, find the likely range by networking or online research. Give a range with the expected salary as the midpoint.

-Bob Lankard CTW Features

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