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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU Desired salary?!?!

63 replies

Crazyhouse123 · 06/03/2021 18:19

A job I have been keeping an eye on has come up and I really want to go for it.

However as part of the application it says "desired salary" and there is no option of skipping it.

I hate this question, I have seen it on other applications recently too. I want to know what the salary range is! End of! I know it will be more than I am on but I don't know how much more. I don't want to say too much in case that means they will dismiss my application...equally I don't want to sell myself short!

Does anyone have any advise about what they would do or have done with the same question?

OP posts:
tttigress · 06/03/2021 20:51

I have seen a few videos advising on the interview process.

The advice is, don't discuss salary until the very end.

The company should give a range though, so you know if there is an actual point in you applying.

peak2021 · 06/03/2021 20:52

I have read that this is a form of sexism as it both allows a justification for paying men more (as they asked for more) and that women perhaps because of the historic lower pay actually ask for less than men.

mellicauli · 06/03/2021 20:53

Put in £1

SnackSizeRaisin · 06/03/2021 21:01

Don't undervalue yourself. Have a good think about what you want to be paid and then add some more. They are not going to turn away a good person because the figure is too high (and you don't want the job if the pay's not enough anyway).

LAgeDeRaisin · 06/03/2021 21:12

Guarunteed the male applicants will be massively overestimating their worth and females will be under.

PresBide · 06/03/2021 21:19

Having gone through the whole job hunt journey recently it's one of the most frustrating questions out there because you don't know what their range is and equally if you end up "unfortunately unsuccessful" you don't know if it was the salary expectation that put them off. In saying that I recently applied for jobs without a salary range in place and ended up with two job offers which offered more than what the role had originally been budgeted (as they were apparently entry level roles) as I negotiated and made it clear what I wanted to achieve. It doesn't mean it always works but there are two different ends of the spectrum.

Tomatobear · 06/03/2021 21:34

I always ignore these jobs. Gives the impression of a crappy company to me.

Obbydoo · 06/03/2021 21:39

@yearinyearout

I would put a figure slightly higher than my current salary

Slightly higher? What If it's a significant step up? You could be really selling yourself short.

If it's a significant step up in salary it will probably be a significant step up in responsibility in which case you wouldn't be qualified to do the job.
NoKingDingaLingTitsInAbsentia · 06/03/2021 21:42

Loathe this approach from an employee and employer perspective.
You put £40k and before you know it that's being used to leverage in total package when what you need to focus on is mortgage wage etc.
When hiring for a peer role it did however flag up to me just how much people in the industry thought we were being paid..how wrong they were....

Obbydoo · 06/03/2021 21:45

@Tomatobear

I always ignore these jobs. Gives the impression of a crappy company to me.
You're potentially missing out on some very good jobs. Working in recruitment, it drives me crackers when I can't publish a salary as it means we get all sorts applying for the role who are either way too junior or way too senior. But, it is absolute nonsense to suggest it is an indicator of the quality of the company.

There is a strong case to say if you can't make a semi-accurate guess as to what the salary is then you're not right for the role.

DrunkBetch · 06/03/2021 21:47

'If it's a significant step up in salary it will probably be a significant step up in responsibility in which case you wouldn't be qualified to do the job.'

You have no way of knowing that! Why be so negative? If it's a job I had been keeping an eye out for I would have been working at gaining relevant experience in my current job so I was ready to apply when a vacancy became available.

G5000 · 06/03/2021 21:51

If it's a significant step up in salary it will probably be a significant step up in responsibility in which case you wouldn't be qualified to do the job.

I have never changed jobs for less than a 25% raise.

Oblahdeeoblahdoe · 06/03/2021 21:54

Can you either put a range or 'willing to negotiate'?

Pancake4life · 06/03/2021 21:58

I've always asked for at least 10k more with every job move and its worked out well 4 me. probably could have gone for a bit more . its the only time you're really going to get the opportunity to make a decent impact on your salary so don't be shy!

CrappyGarage · 06/03/2021 22:00

What @arethereanyleftatall said. Only women worry about this. Men just put what they want

greenemerald · 06/03/2021 22:05

I'd check the national average for that particular role and then state slightly higher than that

Onjnmoeiejducwoapy · 06/03/2021 22:20

Personally I call their HR and say I’m not going to apply without a band as I don’t want to waste either of our time. I’m not taking a day of annual leave to apply for something that pays less than my curent role.

Different companies use titles in totally different places. I have seen my old entry-level role title on for anything between 18k to 32k, which are a different planet to each other.

Justanotherlurker · 06/03/2021 22:49

What @arethereanyleftatall said. Only women worry about this. Men just put what they want

And will accept failure a lot more as well, also be able to brush rejection off and look for another job.

The job should have a defined metric to base salary on, so there should be a ball park figure to base these types of questions on, it's an indicator of where you value yourself in the skillset.

Speaking from working in IT dev for a couple of decades, there are many men and women who band themselves at the top of the pay band who have little real world experience and those who understand that applying for a job does mean you are pitching against other people who could me more qualified than you.

If you want a defined starting salary with clear wage progression, go into the civil service, if you want time served wage increases and defined bands go into nhs etc, if you want to punt yourself out into the private market, even the most progessive company will use the metric of what you are wanting to be paid to actual skill set, if someone is happier to come in a little less than you who has more experience/better fit/ what ever variable then thats it.

If you are unsure of what price you are worth, it is better initially going for the higher middle band of market value, which is where most men go to when they are trying to move 'up'

JaceLancs · 06/03/2021 23:23

I wouldn’t apply for a job unless there was a significant increase in current salary
When I’m advertising for employees its either set salary (no negotiation) or I give a range which depends on experience

blueshoes · 06/03/2021 23:42

I have put a salary in the past and found that the company would still interview me even if they had no intention of paying me because they wanted to get market intelligence off me during the interview.

It is a very off putting thing for a company to do. This tends to happen if you apply directly on the company website, rather than through agents.

I agree with another poster that from a negotiating standpoint it is better not to state the asking price until the offer is on the table. The company should state their range so you know whether it is worthwhile job to go for.

WutheringTights · 06/03/2021 23:51

@DrunkBetch

'If it's a significant step up in salary it will probably be a significant step up in responsibility in which case you wouldn't be qualified to do the job.'

You have no way of knowing that! Why be so negative? If it's a job I had been keeping an eye out for I would have been working at gaining relevant experience in my current job so I was ready to apply when a vacancy became available.

Last year I moved jobs with a £20k pay rise. It was a massive step up for me and a promotion I'd been working towards for a couple of years. How do you think people get promoted?
violetbunny · 07/03/2021 00:19

I think even if you made it to interview, they can't hold you to the number you write. An interview is also for the candidate to find out more about the role - what if you have the interview and the realise they job description entails XYZ so should command a larger salary? Or that the company offer other benefits like flexible working, staff discounts, etc.

Pukkatea · 07/03/2021 00:32

Check Glassdoor for salary ranges at the company and go in just above their usual minimum salary for the role. If not listed add 20 percent to what you currently earn, it's not enough to put off an employer for being ridiculously high and they will just tell you the job pays x at the end of the day.

halloumihalloumi · 07/03/2021 00:49

The main reason companies don't publish the salaries on job descriptions is that everyone is the whole world knows that you earn more money when you come in as an external candidate than those who are promoted. WelL known fact that to earn more money you need to move companies. You can see why they wouldn't put them up for all to see. Would surely cause problems with internals.

I used to work in recruitment for a manor international company and we had that box as well on the application form. I didn't even look at that tab on the application when assessing the candidate's suitability. But would have a convo around expectations of salary in first phone interview to make sure all aligned.

Sparklesocks · 07/03/2021 00:52

In my job the benchmark for salaries is quite broad, it can really vary on experience etc. If it’s a job with no salary listed (grrrr!) but they ask for my salary expectations, I normally put something a bit higher than my current salary but still very much within the benchmark. If there’s a box asking your current/previous salary - I normally just repeat my salary expectations in that box if it lets you do non number characters.

‘My salary expectations are £XXk’.

Might sound a bit silly or avoiding the issue but I’m usually called for interview and they don’t ask about my previous salary, just focus on offers based on my asking amount.

Of course if I get the job they eventually find out my previous salary from my p45 - but by then it doesn’t matter!

But I think it depends on your job/industry etc.