This is always such an awkward question to me on job applications. I usually leave it blank. But I've been submitting my resume to a bunch of places, and some of them are asking me to include my expected pay. I honestly have no idea what to say. It seems like such a weird question.
It has always been a tricky question. My thinking is if you're too modest in your expectations then you could be perceived as lacking in a measure of ambition and self-worth. OTH if you're too unrealistic on the high side then you could be perceived as having an inflated opinion of your worth. Usually I've tried to get a sense beforehand of what a given position is worth and adjusted for the experience and qualifications you bring to the position.
Didn't you just get a new job? They're mostly testing to see if you have an unusually high salary at the moment which you're intending to demand from them. It is a tricky question to answer but unless you're applying to small private businesses, the salary they offer you is unlikely to depend on what you write.
Always leave that blank. It's a bullshit question that HR freaks feel is relevant because it gives them control. They are nothing more than cattle herders and paper pushers who have injected themselves into the candidate screening process. I've had them push and bully me into telling them what I currently earn, which is none of their business. The best answer to the "expected pay" question is to state: "I've come here to interview for a position that has many expectations. I am bringing a set of skills and experience while you're offering an opportunity and challenges. Once we both evaluate each others' offerings I am certain we can agree on an equitable and fair compensation". I leave it to the person hiring me to offer the compensation and not some knuckleheaded paper pusher.
I once read somewhere that to answer that question, just call the place and ask what the going pay rate for that given job opening without giving your name. I don't know if I'd try that.
I leave it blank. I feel it's also a way to pay somebody lower if they don't know what the starting wage for the position there is. If a wage is specific in the employment ad, I put, "What the ad specificed, or higher".
If I were changing jobs voluntarily, I would ask for a minimum of my current salary + 15%. That's slightly more than I'd expect to get in the annual raise; and if they can't beat that, why am I looking to work for them?
Well, I can see why it seems odd they're asking you (the actual reason for it is extremely straightforward if you look at it from their perspective and wanting to negotiate the best possible deal for your company), but the question itself is one you should have an answer to, even if you don't write it. You should have an approximate perceived worth of yourself, translatable to a salary or hourly rate. I personally have a fairly clear idea in mind of what I'm prepared to get up for and what I'm not. On the other hand, that figure is mutable based on lots of other variables such as potential other opportunities that might result, job security, opportunity cost, etc, etc.
I've taken pay cuts twice in my career, both times to be employed by a better organization with a much greater upside than where I was currently employed at the time. And both times it worked out better than I had hoped going into it. Sometimes it's about more than just the dollars and cents.
Mr. Picard is absolutely correct in this instance. You never discuss pay until you are being offered the job. It's also of the utmost importance to make them make the first offer and there are ways to do it. For example they'll say this position pays 50-55 K and you'd repeat that figure and say a person with my experience blah blah blah is looking for 55-60K and the real negotiation process begins from there. Leave it blank on the applications...no matter what...leave it blank.
I'm an HR manager and have been involved in executive and corporate recruiting for about 7 years now. First off, to give reasonably accurate advice, one would need to know your qualifications and job description. Generally, a cursory Google search will provide you with a range of numbers to play with, though. Note: I've read some of the above advice, and as a rule, certain positions will not even interview without a salary expectation. The ones I recruit for, for example. I won't even venture a phone call if they can't be bothered to answer all the questions on the App. This fact, however, depends greatly upon the position you are applying for. ~String
That's why I threw the "voluntarily" caveat in there. I was assuming that I was reasonably happy at my current job, and simply checking prospects elsewhere. If that assumption doesn't apply, neither does the suggestion.
What is generally the reason for that? I have noticed lately that even a lot of entry-level/lower skill jobs require salary expectations on the application...I could understand more if it were a management or higher level job, but why would HR/hiring folks want to know ahead of time what you think you should make? Is it just to weed out people that expect too much salary from consideration?
I could answer most of these questions if I knew more about the position in question. As a rule, if you don't know or cannot venture a guess as to what salary you should be provided, simply place the word "negotiable" in the space. That will generally work. But YOU, however, should still do some research into the position to know what adequate pay is. ~String