HR Question regarding job application

[krissy3483]

Hi everyone, there are so many great people here on the DIS, I know someone can answer this question for me. I'll be graduating college in May and I've started looking for Information Systems jobs. One company that I am looking at would like salary requirements sent along with my resume. Do I include this in the cover letter? Also, is it acceptable to say that my salary requirements are open? This is definitely an entry level position, and I do not want to price myself so high, being fresh out of college and all, so I am afraid to put a number down, but I will if it looks better that way.
Thanks in advance for your help.

Just thought of another question....do I use regular mail or should I send the resume certified mail? Thanks again

 

[krissy3483]

anybody?

 

[giddygirl]

Hi krissy3483! Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! I am only a year behind you, with fingers crossed!!

I wouldn't see a reason why there would be a problem with stating salary requirements open or negotiable. Hopefully, the HR person will recognize that you are fresh out of college, so it's not like you are leaving a "career" type of job to take this one. It might not be a bad idea to do some investigating to see what entry level salaries are.

But, I would definitely NOT put it on the cover letter though. The cover letter is just stating why you have the person's attention.

Good luck!
Laura

 

[WDWorBUST]

If they request it - put one. I do work in HR and our line of thinking is "well they couldn't read the directions in the ad" - and yes....if they ask for requirements I would put it in the cover letter - if they ask for history I would put that on the resume with each position held. Although it is common sense -- check and recheck your cover letter for typos, bad grammar, etc. And NEVER - and mean NEVER EVER - mark something out with a pen and then correct it in your handwriting - it looks very bad. You would be amazed at some of the resumes I have seen. I would always recommend having someone else read it too - sometimes when we write things we know what we are trying to say so we read it like we meant to say it - not how we really have it on paper. Good Luck!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I work in HR but it is for the federal government so I can't help you were you would place the salary requirements because our salaries are not negotiable, but I would like to second what wdworbust says because grammer, spelling is a must. Make sure you do everything they ask for or else they may never give your application a second look.

If I were you I would put that salary is negotiable on the Resume, NOT the cover letter. You can also do some research on what other companies are paying for the same position and put that salary down.

But like I said I work for the government and they are very different then the private sector.

 

[jrydberg]

Sorry, but I disagree as far as putting in specific salary requirements. Or at least, if you do, make them on the high end of your scale. Employers have additional motivation for getting you to put it in there -- namely to pay you less than they thought they might have to.

It's a negotiation. If they're prepared to offer $50k/year and you say $35k/year, they've just saved themselves $15k/year just by letting you speak first. That said, I'd familiarize yourself with salaries in the area for similar jobs, bearing in mind that someone with several years experience will get more than someone fresh out of college. In other words, I'd be prepared to discuss it, but never would I put a specific amount on an application.

My current employer asked me what my "desired salary" was. I said $3-4 million/year. Ask a stupid question...

 

[disneyatl]

My only other comment is if they are asking for your salary history make that an additional page to your resume. For salary requirements, I would insert a Salary Requirements - Negotiate heading at the end of the resume. This is totally acceptable.

 

[WDWorBUST]

But be careful making it too high at the same time.....we use the salary requirements to weed out people who would waste our time. I mean if someone puts $50,000 down and it's a $35,000 paying job - some people would interview and accept the job because they NEEDED a job but will leave at the first opportunity. As an employer we don't want to put the time and money into a person to have them leave - we know if they put that they have to have $50,000 for the job not to waste our time. Of course the company I work for would never offer the job for less just because a person was willing to take less. Do though research what the going salary is for the position your interested in - in the area you are interested in living. And cover letter or resume either one should really be okay....we just tend to use the cover letter as a jumping off point when we are hiring. If your cover letter looked good minus the salary requirements we would go on to the resume. If it didn't we wouldn't. So you should be covered either way.

 

[caitycaity]

i would state "salary requirements are negotiable" in my cover letter, towards the end since they specifically asked for it.

it's funny that you mention this because dh and i were talking about this over dinner last night. when i got my first job out of college, i did a lot of research so i would know what a reasonable salary was. when asked during salary negotiations, i said the high end of that salary range. of course, after i was hired, i found out i probably could have gotten more. at my next performance review, i mentioned this and got a significant raise.

i would not mention specific amounts now, but if you actually get into salary negotiations, in person, later i would always aim high.

 

[disneychrista]

I was told in a job interview seminar that you should only discuss salary if you are being offered the job. However, since the company is asking I would do some research in what the going salary ranges are for the job you are applying and put that you are looking for a salary between $$ - $$ and would be happy to discuss further if offered the position.

 

[krissy3483]

Thanks for the advice guys. I agree that it does present a bit of a sticky situation stating my requirements, but I know that by leaving them out, it looks like I didn't follow the directions. Even working retail now, I would do a preliminary sorting of applications and resumes, specifically to sort out the ones where people didn't follow directions. Anyway, I know I have to address it, and I have an idea as to what similar entry-level positions will pay, so at the end of my cover later, I stated a range and that I would be willing to discuss my salary requirements further upon learning more about the specific responsibilities for the position.

Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it

 

[ToyStory Fan]

Krissy,

there are plenty of ways to find out what the "going-rate" for that type of position is. You can contact a recruiting firm (fancy name for headhunter), and they will be more than happyu to have your name on file to aid in future job searches (btw- these contacts are not a bad thing to have). This will help you at least zero-in on a target number.

Certain companies will pay a premium for the right person - others are so big and well respected that they know they can pay lower than market because everyone wants to work there and they can pick and choose. If you are working in finance I can get you some phone numbers of recruiters in the NY/CT area, that may be able to assist you.